Lochwinnoch
The purpose of the site is to help those new to the village to connect with its past and for those who have left for pastures new to remember what was left behind
The Last William Orr of Kaim
When William Orr of Kaim was born in 1806 he was the 13th William Orr who had held that property. His sister Agnes, born in 1809, married Willaim Crawford, owner of the Calder Glen Woolen Mill in 1845. William’s first wife was Margaret Connell with whom he had a daughter Margaret. She married James Dickie from Troon who also had connections with India. They had six children but none had any issue. Williams second wife was Christina S. McBride of Lochranza, Arran. They had one son and as he was the male heir to the Kaim property he was named William by tradition,. He died in 1915 without issue making him the 14th and last William Orr of Kaim.
In historical records these Williams are most often referred to as a “Portioner of Kaim”. A portioner was originally someone who had rented a portion of a property from a landlord. The tenancy often became hereditary and 'portioner' a term for a modest farmer.
The last William was born at the Kaim in 1866 and resided there until his death in 1915. He was involved in business ventures other than farming. He was a partner in ABOTT Engineering of Paisley, an early automobile parts manufacturer along with his cousin, James Heburn. He was also an agent for Bullock Bros., a large importing firm that dealt extensively in rice from the Far East, particularly Burma. He and his travelling companion James B Dickie were returning to duty in Burma after being home in Scotland.
The P&O liner SS Persia left London on 18th December 1915, and was about 70 miles off the coast of Crete at 1:10 pm on the 30th of that month when it was torpedoed without warning by U-38. The target was struck on the port bow and 5 minutes later the boiler blew up and the ship was lost. Of 501 persons aboard there were only 167 survivors, most of whom were picked up by a trawler around 30 hours after the attack.
The Persia was carrying a variety of passengers, including Lord Montagu of Beaulieu and purportedly a large shipment of jewels belonging to Maharaja Jagatjit Singh of Kapurthala. The jewels and Scottish salvagers, Alexandra and Moya Crawford, have been the subject of a program on UKTV History Channel entitled “The Lost Liner and the Empire's Gold”.
William drowned in the sinking but his nephew and traveling companion, James B. Dickie, survived. James was the son of the first wife to Williams father James Dickie. He was a partner in the Bullock Bros. company. James managed to get into one of the lifeboats and after several days of trouble was landed at Alexandria. He never recovered thoroughly from this ordeal and died in Burma some months later. As William was the last of that Orr line, ownership of the Kaim fell to the Dickie family.
This article started by showing the link to the Crawfords who owned the Calder Glen Woolen Mill. By a strange coincidence the ship William drowned in also has a link to the Crawford family. The grandson of William Crawford, James Thomas Orr Hepburn, was involved with the manufacture of this very ship. Seventeen years prior to the ship sinking this was the last trial ship he sailed on before changing career. During William’s visit to Scotland his mother died. She was also grandmother (through marriage) to James. The visit to Scotland may have been because both men had perhaps been on compassionate leave from their duties in Burma and the expected death of Chirstina S. McBride.
