STREET PILLAR COMMUNICATION
Brigadier-General R M Dungeon, His Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary for Scotland and civic representatives of Saltcoats, Ardrossan and Stevenston attended the inauguration of the pillar system of communication in Saltcoats Police Station yesterday.  Seventeen pillars have been erected in the three towns in direct communication with Saltcoats Police Station.  There are two methods of communication on each pillar – once for the public and the other for the police.  There is also a light on each pillar which can be flashed to call a policeman on the beat.  Brigadier-General Dungeon emphasised that the value of the system lay in the cooperation of the public with the police and he said that in Glasgow last year, an enormous amount of valuable information had been given to the police by the public using the phones.  Chief Constable Munro, Ayrshire, said that this was the beginning of a system which would link up the whole of Ayrshire.
          The Scotsman, 14 July 1939, page 8

 ICI FACTORY EXPLOSION – TWO MEN KILLED IN SOUTH-WEST SCOTLAND
An explosion occurred at a factory in South-Western Scotland on Thursday night (9 November 1939) as a result of which, two men lost their lives.  The following statement has been issued by the management.  ‘Imperial Chemical Industries Limited regret to announce that, as a result of a small explosion in one of their factories at about 9pm on 9 November, one worker lost his life and another received injuries from which he has since died.  There was no material damage to plant or property.  The names of the workers who lost their lives are Walter Maxwell, aged 43, of Winton Street, Ardrossan (shown below in 2002), married and Arthur Findlay, aged 22 of Burnbank Street, Stevenston, single’.
          The Scotsman, 11 November 1939

 HIDE-AND-SEEK FATALITY – BOY’S FALL OVER CLIFF IN PARK – ARDROSSAN CLAIM FAILS
The duty upon authorities for the maintenance of public parks was referred to by Lord Stevenson in the Court of Session yesterday (20 December 1939) when he gave a judgement in favour of the Burgh of Ardrossan in an action brought against them by Peter Farrell, 93 Hayburn Street, Glasgow, who claimed £400 as damages for the death of six-year-old son, Michael.  The boy, while playing hide-and-seek with other children in Castle Hill Park, which is under the defenders’ control, fell over a precipice on 18 July 1938 and died from his injuries four days later.  Lord Stevenson said that counsel for the pursuer laid emphasis on the fact that children often played on the ground and that the police had warned them of the danger of doing so and argued that it was the duty of the defenders to prevent a child getting access to any part of the cliff and that they failed to see that the cliff was sufficiently fenced to prevent children getting there.  The duty upon those responsible for the maintenance of public parks did not, his Lordship thought, extend to fencing physical features which might prove attractive to young children from which they might suffer damage should they stumble and fall when playing thereon.  They were entitled to maintain a cliff in its natural condition.  Crags and cliffs were natural features of parks in Scotland, a good example being the King’s Park, Edinburgh.  There was no obligation to fence any features which might be dangerous to children.  Were this necessary, a large number of our parks would require to be shut and His Lordship thought what was more important still, a great deal of our shores would require to be fenced to keep children from them.  There were many cases in their Reports which had decided that it was unnecessary to fence ponds and other physical features which might be productive of injury to careless persons or young persons frequenting these parks.  His Lordship did not think that the defenders were under obligation to fence the ground to prevent the children playing thereon and he would assoilzie them from the conclusions of the summons.  The counsel for the pursuer were Mr J B Paton, King’s Counsel and Mr John Wheatley.  The solicitors were Allan McDougall and Company, SSC, Edinburgh and R Maguire, Cook and Company, Glasgow.  The counsel for the defenders were Mr Charles Macintosh, King’s Counsel and Mr H R Leslie.  The solicitors were Allan, Dawson, Simpson and Hampton, WS, Edinburgh and Jno Shaugnessy and McColl, Glasgow.
          The Scotsman, 21 December 1939