Thank you to Nancy Margaret England (née Leith) of Windsor, Ontario, Canada for providing the following notes and photographs about her father William Campbell Leith who was the recipient of the Arthur Trust Dux Medal in 1913 at the Bank School.
WILLIAM CAMPBELL LEITH
William Campbell Leith was born on June 7, 1899, the second son of James Leith and Mary Campbell of Afton Brigend. His siblings were John, Margaret Black and James. They lived at Bank Lodge at the entrance to Bank House. James Leith Sr. was the coachman and later chauffeur for the Laird of Bank.
William Leith was presented with the Dux Medal in 1913. His older brother, John, won it in 1911(?).
After leaving Bank School, William (“Bill”) apprenticed for seven years for his papers as a stationary engineer.
In 1922, he emigrated to Canada (Windsor, Ontario) with three other young fellows from New Cumnock – Andy Lees, Tom McMurdo and Rob Burns. He returned to Ayrshire in 1928 to court and marry Agnes McCulloch Vallance McNab, of Cumnock. They made their home in Windsor, where Bill worked at the Ford Motor Company’s Power House. They had two daughters – Mary (“Mollie”) Blackwood Shankland and Nancy Margaret.
Bill Leith died in 1949.
Submitted by Nancy Margaret England (née Leith)
Back Row: Margaret, William; Middle: James (senior), John, Mary; Front: James
William Campbell Leith’s Arthur Trust Medal (Photos Courtesy of William Campbell England)
Auld Kirkyard , New Cumnock
- William Campbell and Margaret Black
- Parents of Mary Campbell, the wife of James Leith
- Great Grandparents of Nancy Margaret England (née Leith)
2. Peter Black and Susan Jardine
- Parents of Margaret Black
- Granparents of Mary Campbell
- Great Great Grandparents Nancy Margaret England (née Leith)
NEW CUMNOCK HERITAGE 