Donald Adamson

Dreaming in black and white

Family History

My family, certainly in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, was neither rich nor grand. Instead it was a largely Scottish working class family, and as such may be regarded as representitive of thousands of other Scottish working class families.

The first section, CLICK HERE:  “An Ordinary Scottish Family: sixteen Victorian lives”,  sets out some of the stories told by my grandparents about their grandparents. This takes the form of over thirty short stories (as told to me; for they were always told in somewhat embellished story form), and then an appendix of hard facts, compiled by me, which relate to the story.  In due course I hope to add similar stories which relate to my great-grandparents, grandparents and parents.

The second section is about photographs and documents which come from the pre-1914 period. CLICK HERE: Visit

The third section covers photographs and documents relating to World War One. In particular, it tells the story of Douglas Thomson, a young territorial soldier in the Highland Cyclist Battalion, who was transferred to the newly raised Machine Gun Corps, and fought in some of the bloodiest engagements of the war. CLICK HERE:  Visit

The fourth section is dedicated to the inter-war period. CLICK HERE:  Visit

The fifth section shows photographs and documents relating to World War Two. In particular it follows the war of my father, John Adamson, who was with the RAF in North Africa and then Italy. CLICK HERE: Visit

The sixth section shows photographs and documents relating to the era after World War II.  It centres on the lives of John and Sheila Adamson. CLICK Here: Visit

The seventh section is the history of the coal mining Hoggans from late 16th century Dunfermline down to the 20th Century. This is the family of my grandmother Elizabeth Paton Hoggan, who married John McLaren Adamson in 1915. It was created by my cousin, Guy Redmond. CLICK HERE: Visit