Military

A HELENSBURGH man, Archie Renfrew, was one of the survivors of the Lancastria tragedy off the coast of France in 1940, when some 4,000 troops perished.

Now a commemorative medal is to be presented to the families of those involved what was dubbed the worst ever maritime disaster.

A FIRST World War German spy was caught in the Helensburgh district and executed at the Tower of London in 1915.

The fate of Augusto Alfredo Roggen, who was a long way from being a James Bond but paid the ultimate penalty for espionage after being arrested at the Tarbet Hotel (left) is an extraordinary story.

THE man who came to the Helensburgh district to fish and ended up being shot as a First World War spy at the Tower of London was a remarkable true story.

Elsewhere on this website is the story of Augusto Alfredo Roggen (pictured left) 91 years after he was shot by a firing squad composed of men from the 3rd Battalion, the Scots Guards, and this is a sequel.

A HELENSBURGH octogenarian was one of those who benefitted from one of the final acts of former Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Mr Blair announced in the House of Commons that thousands of conscripts who worked down coal mines during World War Two, known as the ‘Bevin Boys’, would receive a commemorative lapel badge.

AN AUDACIOUS attempt to fool the Germans in World War Two, masterminded by the Rhu-based Marine Aircraft Experimental Research Establishment, nearly came to grief.

Robin Bird, who wrote ‘Top Secret War Bird of World War Two’ about his father, photographer Bob Bird, has discovered what happened, and hopes to feature the story in a new book.

THOSE Helensburgh and District men who died on active service in World War Two are remembered with pride.

Elsewhere in this Military section of the website is the story of Sergeant Campbell Lowrie, who died when his bomber was shot down near Paris on June 3, just three days before D-Day.

THE World War Two death of Cardross man Sergeant Alexander Glass Dunbar is shrouded in mystery.

The former Hermitage School pupil, the son of Francis G.Dunbar, who maintained the Kilmahew Castle gardens, and his wife Mary, died on September 23 1940 at the age of 23 when his training aircraft crashed in Shropshire.

AN important piece of Helensburgh history was demolished in December 2005, after having become an eyesore.

The decision to demolish the old drill hall at 75 East Princes Street brought to an end a long battle for permission to pull down the corrugated iron building.

ONE of the saddest events in the history of the Gareloch is the K13 submarine disaster, which took place on January 29 1917.

What follows is the first of four accounts of the tragedy, this one by courtesy of the Submariners Association website.

ONE of the saddest events in the history of the Gareloch is the K13 submarine disaster, which took place on January 29 1917.

What follows is the second of four accounts of the tragedy.

A WELL known Helensburgh man, the late Bill Morrison, OBE, is included in the Guinness Book of Records as having made the deepest unaided ascent from a sunken submarine — although he knew very little about it at the time.

Former garage boss and local Conservative district councillor, Bill lived for many years in Cove and Kilcreggan and was a member and treasurer of its town council prior to the reform of local government in 1975. He also owned the Knockderry Hotel at Cove for some years.

A TORPEDO Range was operational on Loch Long from 1912 to 1986, and the abandoned Admiralty buildings, pier and slipway remained visible on the west shore of the loch, opposite Arrochar, until 2007, when the site was destroyed by fire and demolished.

Originally an Admiralty facility, the range (pictured right circa 1950) became the Royal Naval Torpedo Testing Station and Range, referred to variously as the Loch Long Torpedo Range and the Arrochar Torpedo Range.