Hammermen of Glasgow

Deacon Raymond has been working with the KINDNESS STREET TEAM GLASGOW who are a charity dedicated to supporting and lifting people in need in Glasgow and surrounding areas. He delivered the first donation last week on behalf of the Incorporation of Hammermen and EKGTA, providing tents, sleeping bags, clothes and more. A huge thank you to the Trades House chain gang for supporting the cause by donating scarves, gloves, and hats.

Our 2024 Scottish Engineering/Incorporation of Hammermen Award has been awarded to Ross McPhillie of RUA Life Sciences plc.   Ross works as a Research and Development Engineer developing next generation medical devices at RUA Life Sciences. Ross’s focus is on innovating heart valve replacement technology through exploitation of Elast-Eon™ polymers, the world’s leading long-term implantable polyurethane, and textile manufacturing expertise within the company.   The project has been successful in developing a novel composite material in the form of flexible leaflets, with attractive mechanical and blood contacting properties. Ross aims to continue to play a significant role in accelerating the commercial potential of the heart valve leaflet material and developing further implantable textile products. We look forward to hearing how this project further develops. Thanks to Marie McCormack and Rebecca Rigg from Scottish Engineering and william brown from RUA Life Sciences for attending our dinner.   For more information about all our awards visit our website. https://lnkd.in/eMMRYhcP

Our 2024 Prince Philip Prize winner in the College category is David Pearson of City of Glasgow College.   Since winning the Prince Philip Prize David has started an apprenticeship as a site engineer for the company Heron Bros. David attends Glasgow Caledonian University one day per week to study Civil and Environmental Engineering having directly entered the course in 2nd year, and hopes to graduate by 2027. David’s ambition is to become a chartered civil engineer, and is just now starting to oversee projects at Heron Brothers and gain leadership experience.   We wish David the best of luck in his studies and his apprenticeship and look forward to following both.   For more information about all our awards visit our website. https://lnkd.in/eMMRYhcP  

Our 2024 Prince Philip Prize winner in the University category is Lisa Chestnutt of the University of Glasgow. Congratulations.   Lisa graduated in June this year and has started studying for a PhD in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at UCL Mechanical Engineering.   Lisa is part of the new UCL x Ulster University Centre for Doctoral Training in Digital Health Technology, which offers additional industry-focused training opportunities alongside studying. Her project aims to use synchrotron-based hierarchical phase contrast tomography (HiPCT) to better understand the phenotypes associated with single ventricle disease, and she will be working with a team at the UCL Institute of Cardiovascular Science to achieve this.   We wish Lisa best of luck in her future and look forward to following her studies and career.    For more information about our awards visit our website. https://lnkd.in/eMMRYhcP

Another amazing Hammermen dinner was hosted recently by our new Deacon Raymond Lyons with the usual traditions and fun, along with brilliant speakers Kirsty Pinnell, Andrew McGrouther, and Richard Paterson. One of the highlights of this dinner is announcing our Prince Philip Prize winners and the Scottish Engineering/Incorporation of Hammermen Award for 2024. Some of our past winners including Dr Mick O'Connor CEng CDir (Late Collector), Katie Lyon, Kirsty Pinnell were there too, who have all endorsed what winning the Prince Philip Prize did for their careers. Separate posts coming on winners to highlight their importance.   Thank you to all those who attended and Master Court members David Cumming (Collector), Prof Bruce Wood (Late Deacon), Nina Baker (DL Ex Deacon), David Westmore (Ex Deacon), Susan Cresswell, Anjali De Silva, Alan Horn, Dean Young, CFA, and a special thank you to Grant Johnston for organising the dinner.  

The annual Hammermen dinner is taking place on Thursday 14th November at the Trades Hall of Glasgow. Deacon Raymond Lyon invites you to join us at 6:30pm for a 7:00pm start for an evening of excellent food, informative talks, and more. To reserve a space at the dinner, download the form attached and submit with payment to Clerk Grant Johnston.  We look forward to seeing you there! 

Such brilliant stories out there about what our members do outside their Hammermen activities . Please have a read about Dr Mick O'Connor CEng CDir our current Collector . If you have a story you think our members would enjoy reading please share with us too. https://lnkd.in/eNprefjR

It was a delight for Prof Bruce Wood and Susan Cresswell to meet up with Alice Biolo at the launch evening of The 'Hybrid' showcase on Tuesday, which features innovative works by Artists in Residence of the The Glasgow School of Art. Alice received The Hammermen Prize in June 2023 during the Glasgow School of Art Degree Show, and found it not only a confidence boost as her project was valued and awarded by such an esteemed organisation, but it was also pivotal for her artistic development. It allowed Alice to invest time and materials to create a new body of work. Alice’s individual work is titled ‘In Memory of Good Memories’ and is a collection of three brooches designed and created in remembrance of the Alice's late grandfather. The collection celebrates cherished memories and reflects the grieving process, encompassing sadness, happiness, and guilt. The work explores the idea of loss through three aspects: a personal heirloom, mundane happy moments that can never be repeated, and the relief from a sudden physical departure rather than a seemingly endless fading of memories. If you have time to visit, the exhibition is open until Friday 7th June at The Haberdashery on Sauchiehall St which is a great new events venue.  

Deacon Prof Bruce Wood and Late Deacon Nina Baker attended the Stirling Walking of the Marches on the 25th of May. The Walking of the Marches is an important part of Stirling’s heritage, where inspectors known as Birlawmen travel around Stirling, ensuring that the boundaries or Marches are intact. The event was organised in part by the Hammermen of Stirling. The morning began with an introduction from the Provost and Bellman of Stirling, followed by a message from the Captain of the Birlawmen confirming the Marches had been inspected and were intact. Find out more about the day on our website. https://lnkd.in/eJ-NgWFU

On Friday 17th of May, Collector Dr Mick O’Connor and Late Collector Raymond Lyon attended the East Kilbride Group Training Association (EKGTA Ltd) annual awards ceremony at the East Kilbride Training Centre. Awards were presented for skills in fitting, machining, CNC, mechanical, and engineering, along with the final award for overall best apprentice. Dr Mick O'Connor CEng CDir also gave an inspirational talk on his career journey titled “Reach for the Stars”. Find out more and view photos of the event on our website. https://lnkd.in/e5ycu3ii