Ardeer Sports and Gala Day 1954

Join in all the fun of Ardeer Sports and Gala day in 1954, with men in colourful tights and high spirited pillow fights. The participants stoically face the gusting Ayrshire winds in this entertaining amateur film, with a historical pageant, rifle shooting, skipping race and tug of war. Climb on board as Mr Dunsmuir takes the wonderful Britannia miniature steam train round the track with a very happy load of small and excited children.

Ardeer was the site of a large explosives factory built by Alfred Bernhard Nobel. The man whose name is now synonymous with the famous peace prize was once described as a “merchant of death”, whose explosives were responsible for the destruction of many lives. Nobel had thought that dynamite would act as a deterrent for war, and was horrified at the way he was perceived. He used the fortune he had accumulated in the manufacture of the explosives to set up the Nobel prize. The factory at Ardeer was a dangerous place to work, with numerous fatal accidents over the years. The Scottish Screen Archive holds films not only of the operation of the factory, but also films depicting much needed recreation for the workers.