WINCHBURGH FOOTBALLERS

INTRODUCTION

 

What follows is the text of a presentation made to Winchburgh History and Heritage Group on 5 December 2023.

The author trusts that he has identified the majority of the football players with a connection, either by birth or residence, to Winchburgh, but that cannot be guaranteed.  If any reader can provide further details, these will be gratefully received and acknowledged.

As Winchburgh expands considerably, in area and population, it becomes even more vital to preserve and protect its history as a community.  This small work is offered as an element in that process.

As well as social history generally, the author’s major interest is in genealogy.  He is happy to accept commissions researching family history.

 

Alex. Wood

21 November 1923

 

 

WINCHBURGH FOOTBALLERS

 

1. JIM MARSHALL (1890-1958) James Hynd Marshall  was born on 9 June 1890 in Glenugie, Peterhead, Aberdeenshire, son of Robert Marshall (originally from Bo’ness, who died in 12 Duntarvie View, Winchburgh, in 1927[i]) and Jessie Marshall MS Hynd[ii].   By 1901 the Marshall family was residing in Bridgend[iii] and by 1911 at 38 Oakbank Place, Winchburgh, when Marshall was a shale miner[iv].  Jim Marshall began his senior career as an inside-left with Partick Thistle in 1911, signing for Bradford City in June 1914.  He made 33 Football League appearances for Bradford either side of World War I, scoring 12 goals; he also played in four FA Cup matches, without scoring.  After turning out for Partick and Ayr United as a guest player (the Scottish Football League continued during the conflict), Marshall returned to Bradford but left Valley Parade in September 1920 to join Oldham Athletic.  Following three seasons at Boundary Park he had short spells at Bangor City in Wales, at Southport, Rotherham County and Lincoln City and at Queen of the South back in Scotland[v].  He died in Glasgow Victoria Hospital on 8 July 1958.[vi]
2. WILLIE HARPER (1897-1989), son of William Harper and Christina Brown Harper MS Nisbet, was born in Tarbrax on 19 January 1897[vii] but came to Winchburgh as a young boy and was residing at 40 Oakbank Place in 1911.[viii] As a boy, he developed skills as a goal-keeper.  He followed his father’s footsteps and became a blacksmith at the local oil works but enlisted in the Scots Guards during World War I.  After the war Willie played for local junior side, Winchburgh Violet, not in goals, but at centre-half.  Harper then signed for new junior side, Winchburgh Thistle, and reverted to the keeper’s role, before switching to the now defunct Edinburgh Emmet.  He was then signed by Hibernians.  He was noted on the 1921 census as a professional footballer, employed by Hibernian F.C. and residing with his parents in 40 Oakbank Place, Winchburgh.[ix]  He was residing at 40 Oakbank Place in March 1922 when he married Emma Gray, from Kirkliston.[x]    While playing with Hibs he was capped for Scotland, against England in 1923, 1924, 1925 and 1926,[xi] and for the Scottish League.  He played for Hibs in two Scottish Cup Finals, against Airdrie and against Celtic, losing in both[xii].  He then moved to the United States, playing for Fall River Marksmen, in Massachusetts, one of the most successful US football clubs in the 1920s.  In 1930 Fall River Marksmen toured Europe.  Harper did not return to the US but signed for Arsenal and transferred, in 1931, to Plymouth Argyle[xiii] where he finished his playing career and became club trainer.  During WW2 he returned to Scotland and worked at Rosyth Dockyard, and frequently revisited Winchburgh.[xiv]   He returned to Plymouth Argyle as trainer in 1945.[xv]  His son, Tommy Harper, another goal-keeper, signed for Newport County from Queensferry Amateurs in 1947.[xvi]  Harper died on 12 April 1989 in Plymouth.[xvii]
3. THE MCLEANS. The Winchburgh Games Souvenir Programme of 1948 notes Jimmy, David and Robert McLean as brothers[xviii]: in fact Jimmy was the nephew of David and Robert, the son of their older brother, also James McLean.  The McLean brothers, sons of William McLean and Jane McLean MS McQueen, were born in Bridgend but the family had moved to Winchburgh by 1911[xix] when, and again in 1921[xx], they were residing at 14 Hopetoun Place.
   1955. DAVID MCLEAN, son of William McLean and Jane McLean, was born on 27 November 1893 at 8 Bridgend Rows.[xxi] He was at the peak of his football career at the beginning of World War 1 when he played at full-Back for Hearts.  He was an oncast worker at the Totley Wells Mine and an active member of the Labour Party.[xxii]  He died, aged 61, at his home in 56 Main Street, Winchburgh, on 13 August 1955.[xxiii]
   1956. ROBERT MCLEAN was born on 26 January 1899 at 16 Bridgend Rows.[xxiv]  He played for Edinburgh team, St Bernards.[xxv]  He died, aged 73, in St Michael’s Hospital, Linlithgow, in 1972.  He also had remained in Winchburgh, his home being in Glendevon Park.[xxvi]
   1957. JAMES or JIMMY MCLEAN (1919-1989) son of James McLean and Annie McLean MS Scott, was born on 19 February 1919, at 81 Castle Terrace, Winchburgh.[xxvii] Known as ‘Dykes’ McLean, he signed for Hibs from Winchburgh Albion and made his debut against Aberdeen in August 1936.    He scored 16 goals in 63 appearances for Hibs before World War 2, during which, service with the Gordon Highlanders robbed him of arguably his best football years.  After the war he played for Airdrie (1946-47), Stirling Albion (1947-49) and Alloa (1949-50).[xxviii]  In an almost unbelievable twist of fate Jimmy McLean died, aged 70, of a heart attack at Easter Road Stadium on 14 October 1989.  His home remained in Winchburgh at 157 Millgate.[xxix]
4. WILLIE HUGHES (1909-1996) played, usually at outside-left, for Bathgate, Celtic, Arbroath[xxx], Hamilton and Clyde.[xxxi] He was the son of James Hughes, a shale miner, and Elizabeth Hughes (MS Feeney), who had come to Winchburgh from County Mayo.  Willie was born on 7 July 1909 at 15 Abercorn Terrace, Winchburgh.[xxxii]  His first club was Bathgate, then a senior team. He signed for Celtic in 1928.  His first wife, Bridget Kelly, with whom he lived in Blantyre, Lanarkshire[xxxiii], was the daughter of James Kelly, Chairman of Celtic FC.[xxxiv]  He transferred to Clyde in 1936.  He died, aged 86, in Keith (although he was then residing in Fochabers where he had settled some 20 years previously) on 1 January 1996.[xxxv]  Willie Hughes’s parents, James and Elizabeth, lived in Winchburgh, at 15 Abercorn Place, until their deaths in 1952 and 1959.
5. BOBBY SINCLAIR (1915-1993) played for Hearts, Falkirk, Chesterfield and Derby.[xxxvi] Robert Dunlop Sinclair, son of Alexander Sinclair, Barman, and Jessie Baird Sinclair, MS Dunlop, was born at 3 Graham   Place, Winchburgh, on 29 June 1915.[xxxvii]   He played, at outside right, in the Scottish First Division for Falkirk in the 1930s and in the Football League in England for Darlington in the years following the Second World War.  As a youngster, he was on the books of Heart of Midlothian, but never played in competitive first-team football for the club.  He went on to play for junior club Musselburgh Athletic before joining First Division club Falkirk in January 1938.  He made what the Scotsman described as “quite a promising debut” in the Scottish Cup defeat of St Mirren on 12 February, and in the absence of several regular players through injury, made his Scottish First Division debut the following week, in a 2–0 home defeat to Motherwell. He opened the scoring as Falkirk beat Second Division Albion Rovers in the next round of the Cup, and scored again in a 4–2 win away to Hibernian. At the end of the 1938–39 season, Falkirk intended to retain Sinclair, but they accepted a £475 offer for his services from English Second Division club Chesterfield, and Sinclair became one of twelve new arrivals ahead of the 1939–40 season. He played in Chesterfield’s first two matches before the Football League was abandoned for the duration of the Second World War, and played for the club in wartime competitions  (he also guested for Plymouth Argyle) and in the 1945–46 FA Cup, but moved on to Third Division North club Darlington during the 1946 close season. He remained with Darlington for two seasons, scoring 11 goals from 68 League appearances.  Sinclair died in Darlington on 2 July 1993 at the age of 78.[xxxviii]
6. WILLIAM THORNTON (1920-1991) William Thornton, son of William Thornton (Under Mine Manager, and later noted as a shale mine manager) and Alison Goodall Thornton, MS Stirling, was born on 3 March 1920 at 123 Craigton Place, Winchburgh.[xxxix]  William Thornton senior was from a shale mining family, originally from MidCalder.  The Thornton family, William, Alison, and their sons, James, Peter and William, were residing in 123 Craigton Place at the time of the 1921 census[xl] and, indeed, remained in 123 Craigton Place until at least 1942, when William Thornton senior died there.[xli]  By the time of her death in 1949, Alison Thornton nee Stirling, Willie Thornton’s mother, had moved to Bearsden.                                                                                                                   Willie Thornton first came to prominence as a school pupil, playing in the Lindsay Cup Final for Winchburgh Public School against Bo’ness Academy.  He then moved to Broxburn High School. From the age of 14, he played Juvenile for Winchburgh Albion.  His first international honour, won while playing for Winchburgh Albion, was a Scotland Juvenile cap, playing against England in Greeenock.[xlii]      Willie Thornton was signed by Rangers from Winchburgh Albion in 1936.  His entire senior playing career was spent with Glasgow Rangers, and he is considered to be one of the greatest players in the club’s history.  Thornton played for Rangers from 1936 to 1954, then became a manager with first Dundee and then Partick Thistle. Thornton later returned to Rangers as assistant manager to Davie White in the summer of 1968 and was briefly caretaker manager in 1969 after White’s dismissal. Thornton then worked as assistant to Willie Waddell until 1972. The club won the two matches when Thornton was in charge. Thornton is one of Scotland’s all-time top goal-scorers, with 138 league goals.  He won eight caps for Scotland and one for the Scottish League.[xliii]                                                                                                                                                  Like many of his generation, the outbreak of War in September 1939 put his career on hold, with Thornton enlisting as a Trooper in the 80th (The Scottish Horse) Regiment of the Royal Artillery, seeing combat in Tripoli, Sicily, Anzio and Monte Cassino. He was one of the only two of Rangers’ 1939 1^st XI to volunteer for active service[xliv].  In 1943, he was awarded The Military Medal for coolness under heavy shell and mortar fire in the battle for the Sferro Hills in Sicily.  His citation says everything:  “On the night of 31/7 , 586278 Gunner Thornton, accompanied his Battery Commander as signaller to an O.P on Point 22. He maintained constant communication for 18 hours and passed down Fire Orders often under heavy shelling and mortar fire.  By his coolness and devotion to duty Gunner Thornton gave great assistance to his Battery Commander in bringing down his fire on the enemy.”[xlv]                                                                                       Wullie Thornton was remembered in the 1940s by Alan Findlay.  “Wullie Thornton comes from Winchburgh as well and has been in the Rangers first team from he was only sixteen.  His faither, auld Wull, the deputy at Duddieston mine, still bydes down the bottom row in the New Raws, ower from the bowling green and through the wall from the Symes….. Wullie’s been Scotland’s ‘Player of the Year’ for two out of the last three seasons and got a medal for bravery against the Japs in Burma.’[xlvi]  (It wasn’t of course, in Burma that Thornton earned his medal!)

He married Margaret Boyd McLeod at Ruchill Church, Glasgow, on 11 June 1951.  He was then aged 31, residing 16 Hillneuk Drive, Bearsden, and noted as a journalist.[xlvii]  He died, aged 71, of a Metastatic Gastric Carcinoma, in Gartnavel Hospital, Glasgow, on 26 August 1991.  His residence at the time of his death was 11 Ballater Drive, Bearsden.[xlviii]   https://uk.news.yahoo.com/remembering-legend-willie-thornton-rangers-090912509.html

7. WILLIE DUFF (1935-2004) William Duff, son of William Duff (Joiner) and Mary Gibb West Duff MS Douglas, was born on 6 February 1935, at 80 Main Street, Winchburgh.[xlix]   Both his parents were from Winchburgh shale mining families.[l]  His family moved however to Edinburgh while he was a child.   He played schools football, and then played, in goal for Easthouses Lily, until he was signed by Hearts for £200 in 1952.  He married Wilhelmina Alexander Leask at Fountainbridge Church, Edinburgh, on 7 April 1954.  He was then noted as a journeyman cabinetmaker, aged 19, residing at 114 Broomfield Crescent, Edinburgh.[li]  He won a League Cup Winner’s medal with Hearts in 1954-55 and a Scottish Cup Winner’s Medal in 1955-56.[lii]  He and his wife had two children born in Scotland: William Douglas Duff, born in 1954, in the then family home at 43 Granton Crescent, Edinburgh,[liii] and Elaine Margaret Duff, born in 1958, the Simpson Memorial Maternity Hospital.[liv] Interestingly Willie Duff described himself as a cabinet maker on the 1954 birth certificate of his son but as a professional footballer, residing in 1A Charlton Village, London, on the 1958 record of his daughter’s birth.  While completing his national service with the Royal Horse Artillery in 1956-57, he guested for Charlton Athletic for whom he subsequently signed permanently.  He later played for Peterborough United and for Dunfermline and, after formal retiral, guested for Raith Rovers, East Stirling and Albion Rovers.  He migrated to the USA but returned to Scotland.[lv]  He died, aged 69, of an Acute Myocardial Infarction, in the Royal Alexandra Hospital, Paisley, on 30 August 2004.  He was then noted as a cabinet maker, retired.  The informant on his death record was his son, W. Duff, whose address was 12529 War Admiral Way, Potomac, Maryland, USA.[lvi]
8. DAVID WEDDERBURN GIBSON (Davie Gibson), son of David Gibson, Shale Oilworker , and Isabella Gibson MS Paterson, was born at 55 Abercorn Place, Winchburgh, on 23 September 1938[lvii].  He played for Hibs, Leicester City, Aston Villa and Exeter City.[lviii]  He signed for Hibs from Livingstone United in 1956 and transferred to Leicester City in January 1962 for a fee reported to have been £40,000.  He later played for Aston Villa and Exeter City from whom he retired in 1974.  He won seven caps for Scotland, scoring three international goals.  After retiring from football, he worked as a postman and subsequently ran a residential care centre in Leicestershire.[lix]
9. ALISTAIR MCCROSTIE FINDLAY (b 1949), son of Robert Findlay and Isabella Moffat, was born in 72 Main Street, Winchburgh, on 1 February 1949[lx]. He played for Hibs, 1965-1968, “during which time (in his own words) he never got the ball off Peter Marinello once, or beat George McNeill in a sprint”.[lxi]  He was the younger brother of Alan McKinnon Findlay, author of Football Boots for Christmas.  He worked as a social worker until 2007.
10. JOHN GORMAN (b 1949) John Gorman, son of Bernard Gorman (Slater) and Annie Gorman MS Hamilton, was born on 16 August 1949, at 127 Millgate, Winchburgh.[lxii]  His great-grandfather, Peter Gorman, was born in Longford, Ireland, spent some time in Sheffield, and came to Winchburgh, with his wife Margaret and his children, Bernard and Margaret, in the 1880s.[lxiii]  Bernard Gorman married Ellen McWilliams in Glasgow in 1901.  They had seven children: Peter (1902), James (1904), Bernard  (1906-1906), John (1907), Bridget Ann (1910), Margaret (1912) and Bernard (1916).  Bernard Gorman, born in 1916, and who had played juvenile football for Niddy Violet[lxiv], married Annie Hamilton in 1941.  Their son, John Gorman, wrote a fine autobiography, Gory Tales, with some interesting reminiscences of his youth in Winchburgh.  “We were very much a Catholic family and both my mum and dad were religious, my mum particularly so.  But I had loads of friends who were Protestant and religion was never a problem growing up in Winchburgh.  Football was something that united so many of the kids living there.”  He signed for Celtic in 1967, at which time the family was still residing in 127 Millgate and gthe young Gorman had been playing juvenile football for Uphall Saints.[lxv]  Gorman however played only one game for Celtic who released him in 1968 when he signed for Carlisle United.  He married Myra Auldjo on 27 June 1970 in Our Lady’s RC Church Currie.  At the time of his marriage he was still residing with his parents at 127 Millgate.[lxvi]  He moved to Tottenham Hotspur in 1976.  In 1979, he moved to the United States where he signed with the Tampa Bay Rowdies where he remained for four seasons.  In the fall of 1982, he moved to the Phoenix Infernoes.   He played two seasons with Phoenix, the second after the team became known as the Phoenix Pride.  On his return to the UK he had a series of coaching and managerial positions, with Swindon Town, Reading, Tottenham Hotspur, Wycombe Wanderers, Gillingham, Northampton Town, Southampton, Ipswich Town, Queens Park Rangers and MK Dons, as well as a spell as Assistant Manager (to his friend, Glen Hoddle) of England.  He retired from football in 2012.[lxvii]  The Gorman family were at 127 Millgate in 1989 when Bernard Gorman, John’s father, died there,[lxviii]  with John’s mother, Annie Gorman (MS Hamilton) remaining there until her death in 1997 at which time John and his wife were residing in Binfield, Bracknell (near Reading).[lxix]
11. THOMAS EDWARD WILLIAMS (b 1957)   Thomas Edward Williams, son of Thomas Addison Williams (Distillery Worker) and Alison Williams MS Harvey, was born at 143 Millgate, Winchburgh on 18 December 1957.[lxx]  His family moved from Winchburgh to Leicester when he was 9.  He made his debut for Leicester in October 1977 at full-back against Chelsea.  He played for Leicester City, Birmingham City, moving there in 1985, and Grimsby Town.  After finishing his playing career he spent 24 years as a police officer in Leicestershire.[lxxi]
12. ALAN THOMAS DEVLIN (b 1953) is a Scottish former footballer who played as a forward for Dundee United, Exeter City and Broxburn Athletic. He was born in Edinburgh on 10 October 1953.  He played youth football for Tynecastle Boys Club and joined Dundee United as a schoolboy signing. He turned professional in October 1969 and became a regular in the reserve team, going on to make over fifty appearances at that level. He made his first team debut as a substitute against Morton on 9 January 1971, scoring a goal in United’s 3–2 defeat. He made his first starting appearance the following week, but was unable to establish himself as a first team regular, scoring four goals in twelve appearances. He accepted the offer of a free transfer in September 1972.  Devlin signed for Exeter City in November 1973, making one Football League appearance for the club.  He returned to Scotland and played junior football for Broxburn Athletic.[lxxii]

[i] Deaths  (CR)  Scotland.  Kirkliston, West Lothian.  10 November 1927.  MARSHALL, Robert.  GROS Data: 667  41

[ii] Births  (CR)  Scotland.  Peterhead, Aberdeenshire.  30 June 1890.  MARSHALL, James Hynd.  GROS Data: 232/1  231

[iii] Census  (1901)  Scotland.  Linlithgow, Linlithgowshire.  Vol.668.  ED13.  pp.20-21.

 

[iv] Census  (1911)  Scotland.  Wincburgh, West Lothian.  Vol.667.  ED5.  p.10.

[v] James Marshall.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Marshall_(footballer,_born_1890) : accessed 20 November 2023

[vi] Deaths  (CR)  Scotland.  Cathcart, Glasgow.  9 July 1958.  MARSHALL, James Hynd.  GROS Data: 644/12  835

[vii] Births  (CR)  Scotland.  Carnwath, Lanarkshire.  30 January 1897.  HARPER, William.  GROS Data: 632/1  19.

[viii] Census  (1911)  Scotland.  Kirkliston, Linlithgowshire.  Vol.667.  ED5.  P.10.

[ix] Census  (1921)  Scotland.  Winchburgh, West Lothian.  Vol.667.  ED6.  p.5.

[x] Marriages  (CR)  Scotland.  Kirkliston, West Lothian.  3 April 1922.  HARPER, William, and GRAY, Emma.  GROS Data: 667  8.

[xi] Dundee Telegraph  (1945)  15 August.

[xii] Winchburgh Games  (1948)  Souvenir Programme

[xiii] PETTIE, Andrew  (2014)  Old Winchburgh.  Stenlake Publishing Ltd.

[xiv] Winchburgh Games  (1948)  Souvenir Programme

[xv] Dundee Telegraph  (1945)  15 August.

[xvi] West Lothian Courier  (1947)  27 June.

[xvii] Bill Harper.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Harper_(footballer,_born_1897) : accessed 20 November 2023

[xviii] Winchburgh Games  (1948)  Souvenir Programme

[xix] Census  (1911)  Scotland.  Winchburgh, West Lothian.  Vol.667.  ED5.  p.6.

[xx] Census  (1921)  Scotland.  Winchburgh, West Lothian.  Vol.667.  ED5.  p.7.

[xxi] Births  (CR)  Scotland.  Linlithgow, Linlithgowshire.  12 December 1893.  MCLEAN, David.  GROS Data: 668  285

[xxii] West Lothian Courier  (1955)  Obituary.  August 19.  p.9.

[xxiii] Deaths  (CR)  Scotland.  Kirkliston, West Lothian.  15 August 1955.  MCLEAN, David.  GROS Data: 667  29.

[xxiv] Births  (CR)  Scotland.  Linlithgow, Linlithgowshire.  20 February 1899.  MCLEAN, Robert.  GROS Data: 668  37.

[xxv][xxv] Winchburgh Games  (1948)  Souvenir Programme

[xxvi] Deaths  (CR)  Scotland.  Linlithgow, West Lothian.  17 April 1972.  MCLEAN, Robert.  GROS Data: 703  32.

[xxvii] Births  (CR)  Scotland.  Kirkliston, West Lothian.  22 February 1919.  MCLEAN, James.  GROS Data: 667  18.

[xxviii] James McLean.  https://www.vintagefootballers.com/product/mclean-james-image-1-hibernian-1938/ : accessed 28 November 2023.

[xxix][xxix] Deaths  (CR)  Scotland.  Kirkliston, West Lothian.  17 October 1989.  MCLEAN, James.  GROS Data: 702  32.

[xxx][xxx] Wikipedia.  Willie Hughes (footballer).  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willie_Hughes_(footballer): accessed 18 October 2023

[xxxi] Winchburgh Games  (1948)  Souvenir Programme

[xxxii][xxxii] Births  (CR)  Scotland.  Kirkliston, Linlithgowshire.  21 July 1909.  HUGHES, William.  GROS Data: 667 100

[xxxiii] Wikipedia.  Willie Hughes (footballer).  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willie_Hughes_(footballer): accessed 18 October 2023

[xxxiv][xxxiv] Press & Journal.  4 January 1996.

[xxxv] Deaths  (CR)  Scotland.  Keith.  3 January 1996.  HUGHES, William.  GROS Data: 295  3.

[xxxvi] Winchburgh Games  (1948)  Souvenir Programme.

[xxxvii] Births  (CR)  Scotland.  Kirkliston, Linlithgowshire.  15 July 1915.  SINCLAIR, Robert D.  GROS Data: 667  87

[xxxviii] Bobby Sinclair.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Sinclair : accessed 20 November 2023

[xxxix] rths  (CR)  Scotland.  Kirkliston, Linlithgowshire.  20 March 1920.  THORNTON, William.  GROS Data: 667  34.

[xl] Census  (1921)  Scotland.  Winchburgh, Kirkliston, West Lothian.  Vol.667.  ED6.  p.34.

[xli] Deaths  (CR)  Scotland,  Kirkliston, West Lothian.  2 December 1942.  THORNTON, William.  GROS Data: 667   38.

[xlii] Winchburgh Games  (1948)  Souvenir Programme.  Winchburgh’s Football Idol

[xliii] Wikipedia.  Willie Thornton.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willie_Thornton : accessed 8 October 2023.

[xliv] CRAMPSEY, Bob(1990)  The First Hundred Years.  The Scottish Football League, Glasgow.  p.107.

[xlv][xlv] Follow, Follow.  The Great Willie Thornton, Born on this Day 98 Years Ago. https://www.followfollow.com/forum/threads/the-great-willie-thornton-born-on-this-day-98-years-ago.21381/ : accessed 8 October 2023.

[xlvi][xlvi] FINDLAY, Alan  (2013)  Football Boots for Christmas.  p.10.

[xlvii] Marriages  (CR)  Scotland.  Maryhill, Glasgow.  12 June 1951.  THORNTON, William, and MCLEOD, Margaret B.  GROS Data: 644/12  194.

[xlviii] Deaths  (CR)  Scotland.  New Kilpatrick.  26 August 1991.  THORNTON, William.  GROS Data: 507  207.

[xlix] Births  (CR)  Scotland.  Kirkliston, Linlithgowshire.  22 February 1935.  DUFF, William.  GROS Data: 667/5.

[l] Marriages  (CR)  Scotland.  Kirkliston, West Lothian.  24 July 1934.  DUFF, William, and DOUGLAS, Mary G.W.  GROS Data: 667 21

[li] Marriages  (CR)  Scotland.  St Giles, Edinburgh.  9 April 1954.  DUFF, William, and LEASK, Wilhelmina A.  9 April 1954.  GROS Data: 685/4  280.

[lii] Wikipedia.  Willie Duff.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willie_Duff : accessed 18 October 2023.

[liii] Births  (CR)  Scotland.  Leith, Edinburgh.  7 September 1954.  DUFF, William D.  GROS Data: 685/8  1060.

[liv] Births  (CR)  Scotland.  George Square, Edinburgh. 17 January 1958.  DUFF, Elaine Margaret.  GROS Data: 685/5  43.

[lv] Wikipedia.  Willie Duff.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willie_Duff : accessed 18 October 2023

[lvi][lvi][lvi] Deaths  (CR)  Scotland.  Paisley.  3 September 2004.  DUFF, William.  GROS Data: 646  785

[lvii] Births  (CR)  Scotland.  Kirkliston, West Lothian.  26 September 1938.  GIBSON, David W.  GROS Data: 667  31.

[lviii] GORMAN, John  (2008)  GoryTales.  Green Umbrella Publishing.  p.21.

[lix] Wikipedia.  Dave Gibson, Scottish Footballer. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Gibson_(Scottish_footballer) accessed 21 November 2023.

[lx] Births  (CR)  Scotland.  4 February 1949.  Kirkliston, West Lothian.  FINDLAY, Alistair McCrostie.  GROS Data: 667  6.

[lxi] FINDLAY, Alistair  (2007)  100 Favourite Scottish Football Poems.  Luath, Edinburgh.

[lxii] Births  (CR)  Scotland.  Kirkliston, West Lothian.  19 August 1949.  GORMAN, John.   GROS Data: 667  27.

[lxiii] GORMAN, Christopher John (2010)  Across the Great Divide.  pp.5-6.

[lxiv] West Lothian Courier (1942)  A Bit Of Football History.  29 December.  P.4.

[lxv] GORMAN, John  (2008)  GoryTales.  Green Umbrella Publishing.  pp.16-20.

[lxvi] Marriages  (CR)  Scotland.  Currie, Midlothian.  29 June 1970.  GORMAN, John, and AULDJO, Myra.  GROS Data: 682  15.

[lxvii] Wikipedia.  John Gorman (footballer)  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Gorman_(footballer) : accessed 12 October 2023

[lxviii] Deaths  (CR)  Scotland.  Kikrliston, West Lothian.  30 June 1989.  GORMAN, Bernard.  GROS Data: 702  25.

[lxix] Deaths  (CR)  Scotland,  Kirkliston.  14 July 1997.  HAMILTON, Annie.  GROS Data: 702  36.

[lxx] Births  (CR)  Scotland.  Kirkliston, West Lothian.  20 December 1957.  WILLIAMS, Thomas Edward.  GROS Data: 667  16

[lxxi] Leicester City Football Club  (2023)  Fornmer Player Remembers: Tommy Williams.  https://www.lcfc.com/news/1635208/former-player-remembers-tommy-williams/featured?lang=en : accessed 21 November 2023

[lxxii] Wikipedia.  Alan Devlin (footballer).  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Devlin_(footballer) : accessed 6 December 2023