Irvine man looking for answers behind historic scrap book find

William McGougan brought a scrap book to the Times office - which his daughter found in her former home in Bank Street.

He was left intrigued by the book when he was clearing out the home following her passing last year.

Contained inside were a number of images, articles from newspapers and even a pencil drawing - which dated back as far as the 1840's.

These included numerous historic photographs of Irvine, including monuments such as Eglinton Castle and of the old town centre.

Old images of the house it was found inside - 227 Bank Street - were also contained within the book.

Some images appear to show how the house in Bank Street (where the book was found) used to look. (Image: Newsquest)

William was, however, struggling to find answers of who exactly the book belonged to - with little to no information of this inside.

The only name which seemed to be recurring inside was 'Sir Archibald Hunter' - with a number of old newspaper clippings from the Fullarton Times, Irvine Herald and other national titles referring to the man.

One of the articles about Major General Sir Archibald Hunter - from the Fullarton Times in 1899. (Image: Newsquest)

These dated back to the late 1800's.

Sir Archibald Hunter was a major general in the army, was decorated in the Boer War and later became Governor of Dongola Province in Sudan. He would then become Governor of Gibraltar and a Conservative MP.

Further in the book, there are also numerous images from Asian countries such as China and India, which may be related to his time in the army.

An image labelled as from 'North China' from the scrap book. (Image: Newsquest)

Now William is keen to find answers, and potentially find a descendant of the book's original owner.

Does any of this ring a bell with you? Could you help?

Let us know if you can by emailing editorial@irvinetimes.co.uk.