History in our hands

Here at Bo’ness, we keep alive the traditions of the big railway, not just through our collection, but in the minds and hands of our volunteers. In celebration of Community Archives and Heritage Group Scotland’s 5th anniversary and to highlight that last year the UK formally joined the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, we are collaborating with Scottish Council on Archives to create a special online exhibition that will showcase how SRPS celebrates and safeguards Scotland’s living heritage.

Our submission will focus on the John McKay archive, which connects the crews who operate our steam engines on the BKR with their own professional origin story.

John began his career at St Rollox shed in the early 1950s and spent a quarter of a century as a fireman/ driver on the mainline. His detailed diaries and photographic collection shed light on the value of traditional mentoring practices and capture a world and a community that is largely missing from the official record. Later in life, he mentored the BKR footplate crews who safeguard his legacy today by transferring knowledge, skills and meaning to new generations, evolving heritage practice, and reinforcing the atmosphere of care and support that built Scotland’s railway.

The project will deliver a professionally presented digital showcase hosted on the Scottish Council on Archives website, promotion through the CAHG Scotland newsletter, social media, and press liaison, and technical support to digitise the curated material.

The exhibition will go live in November. Look out for more news on the Museum of Scottish Railways blog.

If you have a story to share about Driver McKay, please get in touch with Vicky in the MoSR archive. We will be collecting reminiscences throughout the year.