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Daily Record
Daily Record
National
Nicola Findlay

Exhibition to honour man who gave his name to historic Lanarkshire swimming pool


A display linking an iconic grade A-listed swimming pool in Lanarkshire with the man it was named after will be officially launched next week.

The permanent Patrick Dollan Display - East Kilbride at 75 - will be unveiled at the Dollan Aqua Centre on Thursday, May 12.

East Kilbride was officially granted new town status on May 6, 1947 as part of Scotland's regeneration effort after WW2.

The display is the culmination of months of work from staff at East Kilbride Central Library, South Lanarkshire Leisure and Culture (SLLC) and input from East Kilbride Heritage Group.

And it is a chance for locals to learn about the life and work of Sir Patrick Dollan, who was chairman of East Kilbride Development Corporation from 1947-1958 and his vision, which was essential in the taking the new town forward.

Born in Lanarkshire in 1885, he later joined his father working as a miner at Clydeside Colliery in 1900 but moved in to journalism as a staffer on the Socialist weekly "Forward" then eventually becoming Scottish editor of the Daily Herald.

Dollan formed his own Scottish Socialist Party in 1932 after being chairman of the Scottish section of the Independent Labour Party (ILP) from 1922.

(EKN)

He also rose to become Lord Provost of Glasgow and was was knighted in 1941 for his efforts to support the war effort against fascism at the start of WW2.

Scott Broadfoot, information services librarian at EK Central Library told Lanarkshire Live: "This latest display is a continuation of the John Wright Sports Centre display linking it to Provost John Wright.

"With Sir Patrick Dollan there is so much history as he was knighted before he even made his way to the new town.

"I think a great way to get people engaging with local history is to re-connect the buildings named after local people, with the person they are named after.

A permanent display on the namesake of the Dollan Aqua Centre will be unveiled (EKN)

"There's some wonderful images of Sir Patrick too. He met JFK when he worked for the Glasgow Corporation, he met Churchill during WW2 and there are more images from various collections.

"He was heavily involved with the Independent Labour Party and radical political movement 'Red Clydeside' as was his wife, Agnes. She was a leading campaigner during the Glasgow Rent Strikes, and a founding organiser of the Women's Peace Crusade.

"So he connects with so much Scottish, British and world history too. I find him really fascinating.

"I hope everybody who doesn't know too much of his story will too, and appreciate his contribution to the vision of the new town."

Sir Patrick Dollan far right with Princess Margaret at the unveiling of plans for The Murray (EKN)

Scott added: "I think it's such a shame that people have used these sports centres (and other buildings) for years and maybe haven't been aware of the person behind them.

"It's been really handy to work with the East Kilbride Heritage Group, who were able to offer us some their expertise, connections and funding on projects like this.

"It's also great to be able to link library collections to people who might not have engaged with them before, especially in this anniversary year where it is hopefully more prominent in people's minds."

The official launch of the display from 6.30pm is a free event but contact EK Central Library to be added to the guest list on 01355 220046.

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