Albion Rovers memorabilia to be exhibited at Summerlee Museum

An archivist is working to shed light on North Lanarkshire's sports heritage, showcasing the collection of life-long Albion Rovers fan Robin Marwick!

Article Source: North Lanarkshire Council
Last Updated: 17 February 2016 11:58

Marwick (1936-2015) grew up in Coatbridge and as a toddler was taken to Cliftonhill Stadium by his uncle to watch Albion Rovers. That began a life-long love affair with the club, during which Robin collected and recorded all things Albion Rovers.

His collection is now known as 'The Robin Marwick Collection' and was donated to North Lanarkshire Archives by Robin's widow Fiona Marwick, this fantastic collection spans the entire history of Albion Rovers football club with material covering over 100 years of footballing history.

As a young boy, Robin recorded every detail of Albion Rovers matches by hand and kept these in a number of notebooks and scrapbooks detailing the passion and dedication that Robin had for recording and preserving the history of his beloved team. Robin also collected a wealth of newspaper cuttings and articles from whenever Albion Rovers were mentioned in print.

The collection contains a comprehensive and fascinating photographic document of the club from black and white to colour. Contained within are original prints of players at a 'Promotion Party' dance in 1936, images of Jock Stein's time at the club and photographs of fans celebrating in times of triumph. There is also a comprehensive set of team photographs and of Cliftonhill stadium. North Lanarkshire Archives will be digitising a selection of these images which will be viewable online in February.

Robin was a commercial manager, director and chairman at Albion Rovers and this is documented in the collection through club correspondence, accounts and board meeting notes. A principle architect in a private firm in Coatbridge, Robin collected a series of stadium plans covering every aspect and angle of Albion Rovers ground.

The collection not only vividly documents the story of Albion Rovers and of Scottish football but also documents a wider social history of the times. There is an Albion Rovers themed propaganda cartoon for purposes of the Defence of The Realm act during World War II. There is even a telegram from Harry Lauder requesting Albion Rovers matchday tickets!

The collection will be shown at Summerlee Museum from February 13th to March 6th, 2016.

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