I WAS recently given a copy of a book from 1975 which makes fascinating reading for those interested in local history.

Entitled simply ‘Greenock’, it was written by the Rev James L Dow, who was minister of the town’s Cartsburn-Augustine church for 23 years. In addition to this post, he was also a journalist — he wrote for the Telegraph even after retiring to Arran — broadcaster, playwright and producer and amateur actor.

His book was published by Greenock Corporation and printed by the Telegraph.

In his foreword, ex-Provost James Boyd explained that the corporation felt that there was a need for a publication to update the history of Greenock. The last similar book had been R M Smith’s ‘The History of Greenock’, which was published in 1921.

Mr Dow’s book examines Greenock from the early days but much of it is devoted to the town’s social and economic developments in the half-century or so up to 1975.

The year 1975 saw the end of Greenock’s three-and-a-half centuries as a Scottish burgh.

Local government reorganisation meant Greenock Corporation, Port Glasgow Town Council and Gourock Town Council would be replaced by a single entity — Inverclyde District Council. On 15 May 1975, Elizabeth Martin ended her term as the last Provost of Greenock. At that time many long-established major Lower Clyde employers were still very much in business. These included the Scotts’ and Lithgow shipyards, marine engineers John G Kincaid and ship steering gear manufacturer John Hastie. Greenock still had two sugar refineries — Walker’s and the Westburn.

All these names were to disappear.

‘Greenock’ includes an illustration of how the important the area’s traditional industries were just over 40 years ago. In 1972, shipbuilding and marine engineering accounted for 7,146 jobs, 1,550 were employed in food, drink and tobacco and 1,322 worked in textiles.

Mr Dow’s book includes many nuggets of interesting information.

His chronicling of matters arising in 1958 includes: “Chief Constable Gray lost some of his popularity with motorists when Greenock became the first town in Scotland to employ a radar device to trap those breaking the speed limit. One alleged offender in the early days simply pleaded not guilty, and got away with it, the sheriff describing the device as ‘a doubtful little machine of limited performance’”.

I don’t know where one might purchase a copy of James L Dow’s ‘Greenock’ but it is a most informative and entertaining publication.

The accompanying pictures from the book show Dellingburn electricity works in the 1920s and Scotts’ Cartsburn yard in 1968.