French wartime orphans return to Lanark
THE last time two elderly Frenchwomen returning to Lanark next month saw the town it still had four kirks, three cinemas, two railway stations, a thriving racecourse and a Provost and town council.
Having said that, there were no Lanimer celebrations for the then childhood pals Jacqueline Vicart and Marie-Paule Sergeant to enjoy during wartime ... and sweeties were strictly rationed.
It was a very different Royal Burgh they left near the end of World War Two; even their home here for four years, the Smyllum Orphange, has gone, transformed into luxury flats.
For more on this story, pick up a copy of this week’s Carluke and Lanark Gazette.