Records of the Clydesdale Harriers, Amateur Athletic Club, Clydebank
GDC9/4/28 Entry Form for Clydesdale Harriers Annual Event (1904).
West Dunbartonshire Archives holds the papers of Clydesdale Harriers, Scotland’s first amateur athletics club open to all members of the public, founded in 1885 and celebrating its 140th anniversary this year. The Harriers are still going strong, and thanks to the kind donation of over 180 items from the club’s past from Brian McAusland, we hold the history of the club. Brian has been part of the Clydesdale Harriers in various capacities (runner, coach, Assistant Secretary, Secretary, President and Captain) for nearly 70 years, and has comprehensive knowledge of the club’s history.
The Clydesdale Harriers previously included football, cycling and rowing sections, but quickly focused on amateur athletics and cross country running. The club initially drew members from across the west of Scotland, rising from 120 members in 1887 to almost 1000 by 1914. This membership counted footballers from Rangers, Celtic and Partick Thistle (at whose ground the first Clydesdale Harriers’ track race was held), and Sam Stevenson, the only Clydesdale Harrier to have competed in the Olympics, in 1908.
Both World Wars took their toll on the club, including approximately 200 members lost in WWI. A War Continuation Committee from 1939 to 1945 ensured the resilience of the club after WWII. The club continues to produce champions in many events, achieving this in 3 different centuries.
We hold a variety of types of records and objects within our Clydesdale Harriers collection.
Administrative Papers
GDC9/1/1 Minute book (1895-1912). Minutes of Special Committee Meeting held 21st February 1896.
The collection contains minute books from 1895 to 2020, showing the day-to-day workings of the club, interactions with other clubs in the running community, the club’s achievements and stories of its members.
Due to war, committee meetings were paused from 1915 to 1919, and held in a reduced capacity from 1943 to 1945, so no meeting minutes are available for these periods.
The matters discussed and committee members in attendance give a full picture of activities undertaken and evolution of the club.
GDC9/2/1 Cash book (1892-1910). Cash and Contra transactions from November 1894.
The cash books from 1892 to 2000 detail both credit and debit transactions, including subscriptions paid by members, race entry fees, room rents and sundry costs such as postage. We also hold a cash book noting payments made into an account for the Centenary Function Savings Fund.
These records give a great insight into how the costs associated with club activities have changed over time.
GDC9/4/35 Roll Book (1906-1913). List of members and their addresses from the 1912-13 and 1913-14 sessions.
The club’s roll book shows the movement of members into and out of the club. Within the membership, family groups can be seen, here living at the same address.
GDC9/4/24 Club handbooks and members’ tickets (1887-1988). Members’ tickets showing fixtures from 1899-1900, and 1918-1919.
The Clydesdale Harriers collection holds club handbooks and members tickets spanning just over a century. These would have been issued to all members, with a note of fixtures across the west of Scotland.
It is interesting to note at the foot of the 1899-1900 fixture list, that “All Runs take place, “Wet” or “Dry”” showing the level of commitment from runners, bearing in mind that the vast majority of these runs scheduled are in the winter months! This phrase was adopted as the title of the Scottish Cross Country Centennial Handbook.
History of the Club
GDC9/3/6 One Main’s View: A Look back at 50 Years in Clydesdale Harriers By Brian McAusland (2007).
This summary of the 50 years spent, as at 2007, by Brian McAusland in the club combines anecdotes, race results, narrative history and biographies of members.
This sits alongside over 100 biographies that Brian has researched and compiled on Clydesdale Harriers members. These focus on eras such as pre-, inter- and post-war, and topics such as footballers in the club, notable officials and the running boom of the 1980s.
Celebratory records and items
GDC9/4/8 Photograph (1985). Centenary Run Photograph taken in front of the Black Bull Hotel, Milngavie.
GDC9/4/61 Programme and menu for Clydesdale Harriers Centenary Dinner (1985).
The photograph above shows the centenary run starting from the Black Bull Hotel in Milngavie, recreating the first run the club ever arranged in 1885. This outstanding anniversary was also recognized by a centenary dinner held at Cameron House, the programme and menus for which are shown above.
Other organisations recognised the club’s centenary – we hold a silver salver presented by Greenock Glenpark Harriers and a souvenir medal presented by the Scottish Cross Country Union.
Celebrations pertaining to a number of other notable events are represented in our holdings, such as 60th, 75th and 90th Anniversary Dinners. Annual dinner dances were also held, at which prizes were presented, and programmes for these are part of our collection.
Ephemera
GDC9/4/86 Book of collected news cuttings (2005). Two articles on the Clydesdale Harriers in local newspapers, April 2005.
A wide range of ephemera has been collected pertaining to the Clydesdale Harriers including books of news cuttings from 1996 to 2007, represented here by a 2005 diary in which articles have been filed at the appropriate date.
GDC9/4/33 Programme (1905). Programme for Amateur Athletic Sports Events, Dunoon, 15th & 17th July 1905.
The Clydesdale Harriers participated in and hosted numerous sports events at a number of locations across Scotland and beyond, including Dunoon above, Celtic Park and Meadowside Stadium in Partick, plus the annual Edinburgh to Glasgow Relay Race. We hold programmes, tickets, entry forms for many events of this nature.
The collection also houses a wide range of photographs, from formal photographs capturing events such as anniversary functions and commemorative runs, to more relaxed and informal photographs during races, training sessions and trips.
Clothing
GDC9/5/6 Running Singlet (c1930s-1940s). Charlie Middler’s Running Singlet with Clydesdale Harriers’ “C” logo on chest.
As part of the Clydesdale Harriers collection, we also hold some objects – rather than splitting the collection by housing papers within the archives and objects within the museum collection, it was decided at the time of the first accession that these should sit together in the archive holdings.
These objects include clothing such as the running singlet worn by Charlie Middler. This singlet has the C for Clydesdale Harriers printed onto the front – the black C was coloured using Indian ink and based on a template made in Singer’s, the sewing machine company on which the town of Clydebank was founded. Charlie Middler was a well-known name in Clydesdale Harriers history. He joined the club in 1919, became captain in 1923, and served as president throughout WWII.
More recently, Tshirts from the 1990s have been donated into the collection, from athletics meets across Europe attended by Clydesdale Harriers runners. We also hold green and red sashes, worn by the “pace” leading a pack of runners and the “whip” at the rear of the pack respectively.
Awards and Commemorative Items
GDC9/6/5/5 Medal in presentation box (1938). Edinburgh to Glasgow Relay Race Medal, inscribed “1938 Clydesdale Harriers Charlie Middler”.
GDC9/6/5/7 Medal in presentation box (n.d.). Medal awarded to Charlie Middler, inscribed “Clydesdale H[arriers] Championship 2nd C. Middler”.
Finally, we hold a dozen medals in our collection, won by members of the Clydesdale Harriers. Seven of these medals belong to Charlie Middler, and were awarded for placements in different races. These are in great condition and many of them are held in presentation boxes displaying the name of the maker.
Other medals in the collection were awarded for the club’s 7 mile cross country handicap, the national championships and the Dunky Wright Road Race, first run in the early 1970s and named for the Clydesdale Harriers runner who donated the winner’s trophy.
If you would like to view material from this collection, please contact us at archives@west-dunbarton.gov.uk to arrange an appointment. Please note that some material is closed due to Data Protection legislation.