Mearns in Wartime

2018 marked 100 years since the outbreak of World War 1

To recognise the debt we owe to the men of Mearns who lost their lives in that conflict, members of Mearns History Group have researched the background of the men commemorated on the Civic War Memorial.  Names commemorated on War Memorials in churches and other locations within Mearns have also been researched. Names of Mearns men who died but who were not recorded on any memorial locally were traced and these names are also listed in the pages which follow. If you have knowledge of any of the men or their families which you could share with us, or if you know of any other men who should be included, we would be pleased if you would contact us.

In 1914, when the First World War was declared, Mearns was still a rural area with many farms and several bleachfields. Many of the people living there had been born and brought up in the area and would have described themselves as Mearns folk. The names on the War Memorial of those who fell in the 1914 - 1918 war are almost all Mearns Men. In the years between the wars, Newton Mearns changed very rapidly. New homes were built, transport links to Glasgow developed  and people moved out of the city to the Mearns area. Fewer of those who fell in the 1939 - 1945 conflict were natives of Newton Mearns, many were from elsewhere and had chosen to come and live in the area. If you have knowledge of any of the men or their families which you could share with us, or if you know of any  other men who should be included, we would be pleased if you would contact us.

Before memories of the Second World War and how it affected Mearns are lost, Mearns History Group set out to record what life was like during wartime from the memories of those who lived here at that time. Some of those we spoke to were still at school when war broke out and some were in their late teens and early twenties. Two men we interviewed had served in the armed forces. We are very grateful to all those who welcomed us into their homes and shared their memories. These memories are quoted in inverted commas throughout the text.

No trace is to be found today of the Prisoner of War camp which was sited  at Patterton  and at one time housed up to six hundred men, initially Italians and subsequently Germans. Details of the camp are scarce, but a survey carried out by Glasgow University Archeological Research Department in 2004, uncovered not only some remains of the camp buildings but also some of the history. If you can add to our knowledge of Mearns in Wartime or of Patterton Camp, please contact us.