The Bruce Peebles Archive

Bruce Peebles was a famous Edinburgh engineering company. My grandfather trained there as an electrical engineer before WW1. The City of Edinburgh Archive Service holds some Bruce Peebles memorabilia and, thinking there might be photographs of apprentices circa 1910 or even some personnel records, I made an appointment to view the artefacts this morning. There are three big boxes of photographs but none from before 1930. I looked at most of them and I never imagined there could be so many different turbines, wiring systems and general widgets.  No grandfather though. The archivists are so friendly and helpful. 

Undaunted I went to Register House to review the microfilms of Excise Officers of the 19th century.  You can't say I don't have niche interests. Here I was more successful though I've had to transcribe some information peppered with abbreviations and jargon. 

It turns out that my great, great, great grandfather, John Munn, met a horrible end. John was an Excise Officer in Ayrshire and other parts of the west of Scotland. This is what I discovered:

30.11.1835
We regret to learn that on the night of Tuesday last Mr  John Munn, EO of Lochgilphead and late of Greenock, while walking on the bank of the Crinan Canal, missed his footing and falling into the water was drowned. He has left a widow and seven young children . 

I've asked the National Records people for a digitised copy of the microfilm frames (photography isn't allowed) to that I can try to decipher the handwriting of whoever catalogued John Munn's death.