Collecting a trove of Bonds Glen lore

Holding its regular meeting on the last Thursday of the month tomorrow Thursday, September 29, in Kildoag Hall at 8pm the club is encouraging anyone with old photographs or tales of days-gone-by to come along and share them.

It wants Sentinel readers to help with information concerning various events and characters in local history.

The club has already obtained a range of fascinating pictures connected to the local area and is keen to piece together their background.

For example, the club has located a picture of the old Bonds Glen School House it believes could date as far back as 1900 and wants anyone with old photos or information about the school to come along to develop a comprehensive story.

They have also been given a photograph of the school they believe to date from same era with a group of schoolchildren and former teachers believed to have been the Lantrys.

The picture was supplied by Mrs Craig - originally Allen - from the Bonds Glen and the club are keen to identify anyone in the picture if possible.

Two later pictures of the school have been dated at 1946 and 1952 respectively and the club is sure it will prove easier to identify the pupils captured in these. The 1946 pictures includes the former teachers Mr Buchanan and Mrs Hamilton and the 1952 picture includes the former teachers Mr Christy and Miss McFarland.

Two other interesting pictures: one, a scene outside Ballycaligan House; the other of David Andrew Dunn and his sister Isabella Dunn, who left Bonds Glen for Canada in 1915; have also been obtained by the club.

Stanley McCombe of Kildoag and Bonds Glen History Club told the Sentinel he wanted people to come along and help put correct dates on the existing photos or to bring along new ones tomorrow night or on the last Thursday of any month.

He said the pictures will be scanned for posterity and their owners allowed to take them home again.

“We need Sentinel readers’ help with the picture of Ballycaligan House. The address shows it must have been when Ireland was one.

“David Andrew Dunn and his sister Isabella Dunn came from Ballycaligan in Bonds Glen and they went to Canada. David joined the army and went to war in 1916. He died and was buried in the war graves in Belgium,” said Stanley.

The Sentinel asked how the club had been getting on over the past number of months in its search for local folklore and history.

He replied: “Fairly good. We’ve been taking a subject every two or three months or so. We happened to start with the school and we are doing one on people that joined the army, the air force and the navy from Kildoag and Bonds Glen.

“We’re interested in the service men that went away to war. I had an uncle that joined the Royal Horse Artillery and he wasn’t killed now. He died on the way home from disease.”

The next theme the club is working on is the old network of delivery men who used to serve Londonderry’s rural hinterland with everything from groceries to the weekly news.

“The next one will hopefully be the grocery vans from around the area - the Riddles, the McCombes, the Irwins, the Buchanans, and the breadmen, the Eatons, English, ABC bakery (Abercorn Bakery Company).

“We are also interested in the flax mills. I’m trying to get older people to come along and tell people about the old way of life that the young people know nothing about. They didn’t even know that there used to be grocery vans that came around.

“It was the only way you got the papers. The breadmen brought the papers and comics like the Dandys, the Beanos. There was also one came around called Thomson’s Weekly News, I think it was an English newspaper. There used to be a column in it about a detective called Black Bob and it was very popular. We relied on the breadmen to get the Sentinel, the Standard, the Journal.”

The club has already turned up some extremely interesting local yarns and tomorrow promises to be a fascinating meeting as local man William Rossborough will be coming along to talk about a local health well located in Bonds Glen reputed to have healing powers. Up until recently Stanley was unaware of it but the club are keen to find out more.

“We are going to have a man called William Rossborough come up to talk about a health well in the Bonds Glen. He is originally from Bonds Glen but living around the town somewhere now. He’ll be coming next Thursday night (September 29).

“It must have been years ago. But I never ever heard tell of it and I’m nearly 70 but he said you had to leave part of your clothing. You couldn’t have left a hankie or a tie or anything. You had to tear a bit of your clothing and leave it,” he explained.

The club is also on the track of what they believe may be a 16th/17th century food urn they believe is now in New York.

“The story came up about the food urn that was found and ended up in the university in New York. A man was out ploughing and the horse wouldn’t plough no further so they brought the boss and he couldn’t understand why it wouldn’t plough any further.

“So they dug in front of the horse and found this food urn. They reckon it dated way back to the 16th and 17th century. There was nothing in it. It was just a big urn. People by the name of Moore owned the estate in the Bonds Glen and they must have sent it to America. We are trying to find out more information about that.”

More information is also sought about the pictures of Ballycaligan House. Explained Stanley: “I had two of the pictures myself but a Mrs Craig - originally Allen - from the Bonds Glen gave me that very old one. We would like to know who the people are.

“We haven’t been able to identify anybody from the oldest picture. People said the Lantrys were the teachers at that time so we’re working from that.

“The first one is really a mystery otherwise. We would really love to know who the people were. I mean, there are very young ones in the picture. There could be some people alive.”

If any of this tickles your fancy or if you have any information or just have an interest in local history come along to the next meeting in Kildoag Hall tomorrow Thursday, September 29 at 8pm. Everyone welcome. Contact Stanley 02871398720.