The Thistle Archive

I enclose an account of the start of football in Brechin as I remember it, as it may be of interest to natives of the place of my birth, which still reserves a big place in my heart…

So wrote a John D. Strachan, a Brechiner, of Boston, Massachusetts. In late 1929, his letter voyaged all the way to the Brechin Advertiser, and was duly published therein on the 3rd December that year. John's letter was a fascinating first hand account of Brechin twin brothers who, as it turns out, played for Partick Thistle and inspired the start of Association football in Brechin. Whilst it often pays to have a sceptical view of such claims, his recollection was vivid, sincere and, most importantly, almost all of his information stacks up beautifully under investigation, so much so that we've decided to lay it out here for your interest in 2025, as we move into the 150th anniverary season of Partick Thistle FC.

Sir, an item appeared under the heading to the Brechiner of 24th Sept that refreshed my memory a bit about the start of Association football in Brechin. Some years previous to the club of which I write, two Brechin schoolboys, twin brothers, went to live in Glasgow. After a few years they returned to spend their holidays in their native city and got the Brechin boys interested in Association football, with the result that a club was formed of which I was appointed secretary. In the year 1880 we invited the Partick Thistle (of which the two Brechin lads were members) to come to Brechin. The team arrived on New Year's Day of 1881, and played two games, the first of which, I think, in Brechin Castle Park, but about this I am not sure. The second game was played in the Public Park when the two teams were mixed up, the Brechin backs with the Glasgow forwards and vice versa. In the spring of that year, a great many of the Brechin players left the town and the club was dissolved. In the fall of the same year, my people in Brechin received a letter from Glasgow addressed to me, which they forwarded, and in it was an invitation from the Partick Thistle for the Brechin club to visit Glasgow at the New Year of 1882 which, of course, was out of the question, and I believe the relationship between the two clubs ended there. About the make-up of the Brechin players of those days, my memory is a little hazy, but Mr. Alex Bruce (who I believe is still in the town and is in some way connected with the Auld Kirk) might be able to supplement the list - A. Bruce, B. Croall, D. & W. Gellatly, Dave Duke(?), John D. Strachan - I am he… ONE OF THE BRECHIN TEAM OF 1881.

IDENTIFYING THE TWINS: PETER & CHARLES BUCHAN

As you'll maybe have noticed, Mr. Strachan didn't quote any names for the twins, which was a little frustrating. This letter we've known about for a number of years, but the match in question lay undiscovered until we checked again in late 2024 and, hey presto, there it was! Thankfully, the British Newspaper Archive is constantly adding new titles and, with that, chances for new discoveries always remain open. When examining the team lines for the game on New Years Day 1881, one thing stood out straight away - there was a Buchan in the Brechin team, and a Buchan in the Thistle team. It was a sign!

● Line-ups for the game, 1 January 1881. (DET)

To say Thistle team lines were a rarity in the early days would be an understatement. In fact, the West of Scotland cup final of April 1879 was the only occasion in the 1870s when an eleven was named (as far as we know). This newly discovered Brechin game - by far Thistle's farthest venture at the time - is now just the 3rd earliest instance of a full eleven being named (the other being the Rangers Scottish Cup tie of October 1880). We got to work in no time at all and had the boys fully traced and identified as the twins Charles & Peter Buchan, born on 23rd November, 1859, in Careston, Angus, sons of Mary Buchan, an unmarried domestic servant. We were able to see that the boys had indeed travelled to Glasgow for work (they were lodging together in Govan in 1881) and, despite the aforementioned difficulties with teamlines, we were able to spot quite a few handy references in our reserve games lists, thanks to our colleague Jack Little who has been painstakingly compiling these for many years.

We first see BUCHAN as a scorer on the 2nd February 1878 in a 2-0 win away to Surrey (not a glamorous touring outfit - they played at Queen's Park!) Furthermore, the North British Daily Mail was able to verify a handy initial: “Goals kicked by P. Buchan and R. McFedries.” Buchan was on the scoresheet again on 19th October 1878, helping Thistle to a 4-0 win away to Greenbank Rutherglen (don't you just love these names?) He once again turns up as a scorer in a 2-1 home win over Harmonic in March 1879. Incidentally, "home" in these days was a public park at Overnewton. As you can see from the first-team line at Brechin, it's implied that Peter played as a central forward for Thistle and Charles played wide in the 2-2-6 line for Brechin, so we kind of get the impression that the Buchan scoring all the goals for the reserves was more likely to be Peter. We've no reason to doubt that Charles played too, but non-scoring players had very little chance of getting a mention in the 1870s.

THE BIRTH OF BRECHIN AFC

● Published 7 November 1879. (DET)

● Published 29 September 1880. (DC)

As we can see from these two press snips, John Strachan wasn't the first secretary of the new Brechin club in November 1879, but perhaps he was still involved as a member. For sure, he was the quoted secretary by the time of the first AGM in September 1880. The term 'Association' is emphasised as the Brechin Football Club (est. 1876) was a rugby-playing team and this was a rugby-playing city. According to contemporary accounts, the first stated match played under associaton rules in Brechin occurred on 3rd January 1880 on the public park; Brechin 0 Montrose 2. A large number of spectators turned out, and the Brechin brass band, under the new leadership of Mr. Smart, provided accompaniment as the match progressed. “The play of neither of the football clubs was up to the average” in the eyes of the Telegraph's reporter.

The folks of Brechin once again turned out in good numbers for the visit of Our Boys (Arbroath) on 7th February 1880 and this time they had a win to celebrate, the home side edging it by one goal to nothing. One of the Buchan boys played for Brechin that day, the 8th listed player in a 2-2-6 formation. We think this was Charles as his initial has cropped up a couple of times in early Brechin line-ups. Other opponents in this formative period for Brechin included Angus (Forfar), Strathmore (Forfar), Strathmore (Arbroath) and Montrose United. There was a period of inactivity, but the Brechin Association club did last until the mid 1880s. By that time, other clubs in the city had got active, including Rangers & Thistle, and from the morass emerged Brechin United in September 1886. Following a meeting at the Alma Hotel between members of the aforementioned clubs, a Mr. Sinclair agreed to help fund the new club.

The United name was last used in November 1887 when they reverted once more to the simplified Brechin. One player (forward John Dakers) remained from the original Brechin club's first match in 1880. It could be said that senior football began in earnest in 1888 when the Brechin club joined the Scottish Football Association. They played in the (localised) 1st round of that season's Scottish Cup, but were trounced 8-1 by Montrose. Unpaid rent led to bankruptcy in 1896, but football in Brechin was unstoppable by then, and a number of junior clubs were doing well. Brechin Harp and Brechin Hearts would amalgamate as Brechin City in 1906.

A JOLLY ADVENTURE

● The picturesque grounds of Brechin Castle. (WIK)

Until now, Partick Thistle's furthest northerly adventure had been to Stirling in late 1879. A trip to Brechin? Well, this was positively exotic! The match was also notable in that it was played on New Years Day 1881, another first in the Partick Thistle story. The game was fixed for a 2pm kick-off. Brechin played most of their matches on the main Recreation Ground in the city, but it seems the public park was deemed too common for such a notable occasion. After all, the Partick Thistle was now a member of the S.F.A. and had recently played in the Scottish Cup against the Rangers! The 13th Earl of Dalhousie (the would-be Secretary for Scotland) opened up the grounds of Brechin Castle, setting a memorable backdrop for a gala day. He was made a Knight of the Thistle later that same year. We've yet to see it denied that this was in relation to bringing Partick Thistle north of the Tay for the very first time.

The local brass band was booked to entertain the patrons. The ground was in fine condition, but a strong wind blew right down the pitch, which wasn't ideal for a footballing showpiece. John Gardiner captained Thistle, whilst John Dakers captained Brechin. Dakers brother, Andrew, acted as umpire for Brechin, whilst Hugh Miller, who was one of our committee men and a former player, was umpire for Thistle. Sure enough, our letter-writing hero John Strachan played as a half-back for Brechin. For added spice, the Buchan twins opposed each other, Charles for Brechin, Peter for Thistle! Curiosity drew a large crowd, as it often did when Brechin had a special game, and there must have been some degree of disappointment that they did not get to enjoy a goal from their boys. Thistle won the toss and kicked-off. It was soon evident that “the strangers” would be masters of the proceedings and, predictably, it was the more experienced Thistle lads who ran out easy winners by six goals to nothing. Alas, the goalscorers remain elusive. The locals did cheer all the good play, and that is to their credit. It's likely the cheerful mood around the ground was enhanced by the Brechin brass band, who continued to play a selection of tunes all throughout the afternoon!

It was traditional on these occasions for the two parties to come together for a hearty evening meal, and for toasts to be offered and received generously on both sides and, whilst we haven't seen that reported, it'd be very surprising if that wasn't the case. We certainly get a good feeling of the camaraderie from John's letter and it's interesting to note that a second, more informal, match took place on the public park, either the following day (Sunday the 2nd) or the next (Monday the 3rd), whereby the teams were mixed up; Brechin Defenders & Partick Thistle Forwards vs. Brechin Forwards & Partick Thistle Defenders. No doubt, a good time was had by all, just a pity no-one kept a diary. A pity also that the Brechin boys were unable to accept the invitation for a return match in Glasgow the following new year, having temporarily disbanded at that time.

Having broken the travel mould with Brechin in 1881, New Year trips north of the Tay became an annual feature of Thistle's calendar. On Wednesday 2nd January 1884, our boys found their way back to the scenic Brechin Castle Park. Had the local club improved any in the 3 years? 10-1 to Thistle suggests not! Again, the match was witnessed by a large turnout of spectators, notwithstanding the wet, disagreeable day. How miserable it must have been for the Brechiner. It would be 70 years until we faced a club from Brechin again. 90 years on from the first battle, Brechin finally took her revenge on the 17th October 1970; Brechin City 1 Partick Thistle 0 in the Second Division. It was the wake up call that we needed in the league campaign that season - Jags lost only 1 of the next 27! We can't help but wonder if any descendants of the Buchans were there that day. Peter passed away at the Brechin Infirmary in late 1924, when he was described as the beloved husband of Mary Donald. The funeral took place on Monday 10th November 1924 when Peter was laid to rest at Brechin Cemetery, next to… Glebe Park! Such is the weave of football's great tapestry.

● 30 years on, but it's nice to get an impression of the Brechin brass band, ready to entertain at Brechin public park. (IBW)