The Buccleuch Hall, sometimes called the ‘Milligan Hall’, was used for dances, meetings, target shooting, carpet bowls and other events. It was also popular as a cinema, trading as Electric Pictures.
It was a former woollen mill building (Byers Mill), bought in 1889 by joiner Robert Milligan (1843-1916) and converted into an entertainment hall.
By 1915, its ownership had passed on to Robert’s three sons:
- Thomas (1864-1941). Joiner. Two of his four sons did military service in the war.
- Frank (1870-1951). Tweed pattern weaver. No children.
- John (1877-1923). Joiner. No children of military age.
The Milligan family also had a band that was available for hire, either in the hall or at other venues. Some of the band accompanied the silent movies (three of them in the first photo below have bowler hats and wing collars, like Charlie Chaplin’s Tramp).
Thomas’s eldest son Robert (1893-1917) became a stationer in Glasgow and joined the 17th Highland Light Infantry, also known as the 3rd Glasgow Battalion, initiated by the Glasgow Chamber of Commerce. He was killed by shellfire in December 1917, aged 24, and is buried in Ypres, Belgium. He was awarded the Military Medal for gallantry and devotion to duty under fire, and also the Langholm Burgh Medal posthumously in 1919.
Thomas’s second son Thomas served with 1/5th KOSB until May 1919.