Saturday 28 August 2010

Willie Shearer 1881 - 1960


Grandad with me in front and my pal Elizabeth Ross behind

My grandad William Corbett Shearer was born to David Shearer and Nicholas Hyslop Corbett in Maxwellton, Dumfries. In 1901 census he was a cab driver at the Kenmure Arms in New Galloway near Castle Douglas.


He was working as a chauffeur at Kincaid House in Milton of Campsie when he married Charline Clark in 1909. My mother Lena was born in Kincaid Lodge on 1st September 1910.

During the Great War he was with the Army Service Corps, Military Transport and served in France. I have some cards he sent from France to Lena between 1915 -1919 at Millburn Lodge, near Dalserf in the Clyde Valley where he was chauffeur.







Later they moved to Glasgow where he was chauffeur to Sir Daniel MacAulay Stevenson, who had been Lord Provost of Glasgow between 1911-1914.

In 1922 they were living at the prestigious 5 Parkgrove Terrace in Glasgow where my uncle Colin was born. This sounds like the home of an employer.

He was also employed by James Morton of 7 Hughenden Terrace.  I have a postcard sent to him c/o this address from actress Doreen Morton in Jamaica in 1936 commenting on the roads there.



I don't think he ever owned a car himself but he was still going his bike in his seventies!








In Westbourne Terrace Glasgow

7 comments:

  1. Ken - unsungglaswegian at hotmail co uk14 March 2012 at 16:47

    Hello there,

    Just tripped over your blog much to my delight as I've just started researching the history of Sir Daniel Macaulay Stevenson, in my opinion, a great unsung hero of Glasgow. In fact, I used to live in his house in Glasgow and often wandered into what would have been the stable block but laterly the garage where your Grandad would have worked.
    Your blog has just supplied another link or two in a chain that is taking me across the globe so thanks very much.
    Any further info I get about your Grandad, all good I hope :-), I'll pass it on.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Ken
    Thanks for taking the trouble to comment.

    Was Westbourne Terrace the home of Sir Daniel?

    I'll try and find the original photo as my father wrote on it what make and model the car was.

    Good luck in your research.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Kay,

      No.His home was Cleveden, 5 Cleveden Road, Glasgow.
      All converted now into individual flats as is the back garden.
      Not quite sure where I'm going with this at the moment. Will have to go down the family tree road a bit but I'm on the hunt for his diaries and papers to unravel everything he did, much of which is little known but did create things we all take for granted nowadays. Maybe long gone now but you never know.
      Will keep you posted from time to time.
      Kind regards
      Ken

      Delete
  3. Hello Kay, Brian Morton calling from Pender Island, British Columbia, Canada (west coast). I was reading your blog and noticed your entry on August 28, 2010 about your father "Willie" Shearer about a post card being sent from Jamaica by Doreen Morton to her father James Morton at 7 Hughenden Terrace in 1936. James Morton is my cousin twice removed and his daughter Doreen Morton is my second cousin once removed. I am just now collecting information on Doreen Morton and was wondering if you could send me a JPEG pic of the post card. My email address is: lowlander2@shaw.ca

    Many thanks,

    Brian Morton

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks for getting in touch, Brian. Postcard duly scanned and emailed!

    ReplyDelete
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