Faith Carey says

I remember my English teacher from Garnock Academy, Mr Johnstone (first name Alistair, I think) talking about this. He too used to play there when he was a lad. 

Jimmy Murray says

Yes, I well remember the "flaggie". As you say Archie, this was on

our way home from Ladyland School in the mid-fifties. I can see my Mammies face ,as once more she had to dry out a pair (the only pair) of shoes for the next day. A stalwart lady, who never complained. I think there will be people in Kilbirnie who will still remember Peggy Murray (nee Mctaggart) and all the Murrays and Mctaggarts who originaly sprung from the Cornpark,  The Raws, and the Longbar.. Anyway, to get back to the "Flagie". As I remember it now, it was a concrete structure, about fifteen feet sqare , the sides tapered from the bottom to the top , a slope of maybe ten feet..  At the (flat) top there was a rusted iron cover which could be looked down into to see the innards of the "Flaggie" which was hollow.. Inside could be seen what I now know  were large valves and their associated operating spindles. The "Flaggie" was located at the junction (oops I had better say confluence in case my great teacher Mary Williamson (Lang) is reading this)  of the Garnock and the wee burn that flows under the road past the derilect Presto site ,and over the years it was gradualy reduced to a stump. Now, to what I am leading up to..I am sure that the "Flaggie" was connected to a water supply system , I would take a guess at the supply to Paisley from the reseviors built between Kilbirnie and Largs ,,Camphill . This valving point would contol the supply/flow as required. Another point to back this up, where the car park at the carry out shop is, there was a tall wall , behind which for many years lay large numbers of large diameter (three feet) flanged at the ends, obviously surplus to  requirements . Anyway,,, the poor auld "Flaggie" has gone the the of all flesh (concrete).. I would welcome any comments or more history on anything about Kilbirnie Glengarnock

Robert Graham says

I also remember playing on the 'Flaggie' and in the surplus large metal pipes (some must have been 3 feet in diameter) that lay behind the advert billboards at the bottom of Milton Road.

The story I was told about was, that the Flaggie was the control point to divert water from the Garnock to the Dye Works via a Lade.

Redirecting river water for industry was common practice before electricity was available.

The man made river dam behind Main Street was also for this purpose and I remember the valve/wheel at the gate on Garnock Street where the Garnock would be diverted from this dam into the Lade.  This is where the name Ladeside comes from (beside the Lade).

2 similar river water removal devices can still be made out in Dalry.

Jim Steven says

I have some great early memories of going hame the "burn way" from school. The flaggie was always the starting point, unless you went up the road a wee bit to where the chickens were kept and went down to the burn that way. I always wondered why the pipes were left there for so many years.

Archie McMillan says

Yes those were good days,you crossed the wee pundevan burn then it was the flaggie,you crossed the garnock then reached just below the dyework pool.then you crossed again to end up at Holehouse road.then it was up the hill to Lynn drive.many a wee trout i ginled on my way home.