Some of Ayrshire’s most infamous crimes have been chronicled in a new book by a retired English teacher from Prestwick.
For his fourth book, titled ‘Scottish Villains and Victims,’ John Kellie sheds some light into a dark corner of the region’s past.
During the 19th Century, hundreds of Scottish men and women suffered in their lives due to the actions of others.
This could include highwaymen and horse thieves; poisoners and pirates; housebreakers and fire-raisers; wife-beaters and drunks.
And Scottish Villains and Victims contains 23 of their most gripping stories - with many tales from Ayrshire.
The book covers crimes and sufferings stretching from Dumfries in the south all the way to the far north-west Highlands, as well as most parts of the country in between.
There are a number of stories in the book from Ayrshire’s murky past.
The break-in and murder of a shepherd in a remote cottage at New Cumnock is related in full gory detail, as is the story of Christina Gilmour, a farmer’s daughter from Dunlop, who poisoned her farmer husband.
There’s the tale of Thomas Ross, a poacher on Bargany estate, near Girvan, who murdered the gamekeeper.
And we read about Robert Watt, of Saltcoats, who was the captain of a ship and what transpired after he discovered stowaways on board.
At Moscow, near Kilmarnock, we also discover more about the murder of Robert Rankin, a crime that has never been solved.
The author studies the personalities involved and investigates the circumstances and events that led them to court, or prison.
As you read the book, it’s impossible not to be struck by how many cases involve people- both criminals and their victims- at the very bottom end of Scottish society.
Kellie’s descriptions of poverty and deprivation give a startlingly vivid insight into the grim reality that was the lot of many working-class folk at a time when there was no safety net for adults and children alike.
Of course, there’s no getting away from the fact that some of the crimes described in the book are despicable by any standards, but there are others which come across more as acts of despair and desperation.
In each of the cases Kellie considers, the reader is left with a surer understanding of what it was like to live in such conditions.
Many of Kellie’s characters are followed throughout their life – often ending up in further trouble, or else being transported to Australia on a convict ship.
Some, however, melt into oblivion, and tracking them down seems impossible today.
In a few cases, the murderer remains unidentified, whereas in others, the skill, or in some cases luck, of the police constable or detective has resulted in the villain being captured and punished accordingly.
Most of the cases studied by the author are long forgotten, and, aside from contemporary newspaper reports, a good many have never previously appeared in print.
Scottish Villains and Victims paints a vivid - often chilling - picture of life and death in the nineteenth century.
John Kellie has previously written Ayrshire Folk and Ayrshire Echoes, both published by Carn Publishing.
His other book, Hanged Until Dead, tells of 25 cases of crime where the villain ended up executed.
Scottish Villains and Victims, is published by Carn Publishing and costs £14. Go to www.carnpublishing.com/villains for more information.
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