Beechwood- A Story of Childhood by Will Cross

This month we welcomed back a frequent past speaker in Will Cross. This time, however, his talk was a little different being about his own family rather than about some historical figure.

The Beechwood of the title is the name of the house in Will’s home village of Cleland, Lanarkshire, Scotland. We heard about its industrial heritage with the iron works at nearby Omoa and the brick making at Auchinlea. Of course, time changes most things and the wood of Beechwood has now disappeared under a housing estate. Will emphasised the need to record details of the past before all is lost and forgotten.

We also heard the story of Will’s family revealing many interesting characters and events such as science fiction authors, political affiliations and secretive careers at Bletchley Park. Will’s determination to record details before they are forgotten will likely eventually lead to another book in the Cross catalogue.