For our family, Montrose Football Club is not simply a football club. It is part of growing up, Dad’s memories, William’s matchdays and one very special request we made in his name.
Some clubs are followed. Some are part of the family.
Montrose Football Club falls into the second category for us.
Our Dad was a huge Montrose supporter. We were taken along as bairns, so football at Links Park was never just about the 90 minutes.
It was part of growing up.
Those early memories stick with you. The walk, the ground, the noise, the people, the anticipation of a game and that feeling that, for a couple of hours, you were all there for the same thing.
Years move on, bairns grow up and life changes. But some things stay.
Dad told us much later that his Grandad, William McHardy, and our Grandad, also William, would take him along to the home matches back in the 1940s/50s.
Long before Dad followed the club as a young man himself. ⚽️
They say it’s in yer blood… But you still have to love an Arbroath Smokie, don’t you?
A wee nod to the Red Lichties v Gable Endies rivalry. 🔴🔵
Some things change. Some things stay in the family.
Goals and Gable Ends — A History of Montrose Football Club by Forbes Inglis.
A club with a long story
Montrose FC was formed in 1879. The club’s own history records its first Association Football match in Montrose on 8 November 1879, against Arbroath Wanderers.
And it wasn’t a winning start — Montrose lost 4-0.
A few years later the club had its own Links Park pitch, before moving to the present Links Park location in 1887.
So when you walk through the gates today, you are stepping into a place with well over a century of football behind it.
That is a lot of Saturdays.
A lot of players.
A lot of arguments about referees.
And, hopefully, a lot more memories still to come.
Links Park means different things to different people
For me, there is always that family connection.
Dad was the reason football became part of our childhood.
My brother William still enjoys going to a home game when he is in town. And that is one of the things I love about football—it can jump generations without needing much explanation.
You don’t have to sit down and give somebody a lecture on why it matters.
You just take them along.
They watch.
They listen.
They pick their team.
And before you know it, they are the one asking when the next home game is.
Handmade plaque featuring the Montrose FC crest, 1879 and Bonnie Montrose messages.
Dad left us with one wee job
When Dad was no longer here, there were things he had asked us to do.
One of those was to do something for Montrose FC — the club he had lived and supported.
So we decided to put that into something tangible.
We presented the club with two handmade plaques carrying the Montrose FC crest, the club’s 1879 date and our Bonnie Montrose messages.
They were not meant to be anything grand.
They were simply our way of saying thank you.
Thank you for the memories.
Thank you for being part of Dad’s life.
And thank you for giving generations of families somewhere to belong on a Saturday afternoon.
The second smaller of the 2 handmade Montrose FC plaque.
A special day at Links Park
William and his son were involved in the photographs, and we had the chance to meet people from the club and present the plaques.
For me, that made the whole thing even more special.
It wasn’t just about handing over two pieces of wood.
It was about connecting the old memories with the next generation.
Dad taking us along as bairns.
William still going to games.
His son standing there with him.
And the club itself carrying on.
That is how local history actually works.
It isn’t always found in a museum display.
Sometimes it is standing on a football ground holding a handmade plaque.
Montrose at sunset 2025 — the town behind the memories.
The book, the club and the town
There is another little connection here for Bonnie Montrose.
Our project is built around a book of poems and songs originally published in 1899 by W.F. McHardy, and we have always tried to connect the book with the wider story of Montrose.
Football is part of that story too.
Montrose FC has been part of the town since the 19th century. The people who supported it, played for it, worked around it and passed it down through their families are part of the club’s history.
That is why I like the idea of the plaques carrying both Montrose FC and Bonnie Montrose.
Different stories.
Same town.
Same sense of belonging.
Still going to the game
Dad is no longer sitting beside us.
But every now and again something brings back that feeling of being a bairn again — and football can do that.
A photograph.
A plaque.
A familiar ground.
A name from years ago.
Or William heading off to another home game when he is in town.
And I suppose that is what clubs like Montrose FC are really good at.
They give memories somewhere to live.
So here’s to the next generation of Gable Endies.
To the players.
The volunteers.
The supporters.
The folk behind the scenes.
And to everyone who has ever stood on the terraces, sat in the stands, or simply shouted at the telly because they couldn’t get to Links Park.
Dad would have understood that perfectly.
in,
Bonnie Montrose 🌅 #MorethanjustaBook 📚
Montrose Football Club approx 1999 — a well-trodden path for many.
Fact-check & reference notes
The historical details in this draft have been checked against heritage, local-history and/or official club sources. The wording above is original Bonnie Montrose copy, not copied from those sources.
- Montrose Football Club — Our History: https://montrosefc.co.uk/history/
- Montrose Football Club — About Us: https://montrosefc.co.uk/about-us/
- Montrose FC — 145 Years of Our History: https://montrosefc.co.uk/2024/11/08/145-years-of-our-history-the-good-times/
Photo note: Images in this draft were supplied in the Bonnie Montrose working material. Keep any photographer/website credit that appears on an image, and only publish images where you have the right to use them. ©️ Bonnie Montrose 2026
