This photograph of Ella Maclean was taken in July 1976. Ella had a deep love of Bridge of Allan. She and her husband Archie lived at Helenslea on Henderson Street. Archie’s family are all buried in old Lecropt churchyard and have had a presence in the district back to at least the 18c.

It was Ella who wrote this book [copies are available in Bridge of Allan Library]:

Archie MacLean was a close friend of John Scott of Drumdruils:

Here they are on a YMCA trip in 1908 [the annotation is by Robin Maclean, son of Archie and Ella]:

Sadly, John Scott developed Spanish Flu on the way home from America. He died in Orchard House, Bridge of Allan in July 1912. He was only 34 years old. In the group YMCA photographs, for a number of years after John Scott’s death, Archie Maclean deliberately left a space next to him where his friend John would have been standing.

The above photograph is of Archie Maclean with his two sons beside the Lecropt gate to Keir before it was moved to make way for the M9 motorway.

Archie always looked out for the family of his friend John Scott [1878-1912], Drumdruils. Such that my grandfather Rab Scott [1905- 1979] considered Archie a father figure. In September 1948 Archie sent this letter to John Gibson Scott [son of Rab Scott]:

Rab Scott of Drumdruils helped Ella with some of the research for her book: