A PROUD Bankie who devoted almost half of his life to researching the area’s rich shipbuilding heritage has left behind a legacy for future generations.

Billy Tierney amassed a fine collection of artefacts relating to Clydebank shipbuilding before he died recently, aged 69.

The Parkhall man was featured in the Post seven years ago and said that he wished the younger generation would “take heed of their heritage”.

Educating younger people about the town’s famous shipbuilding past will now be much easier after Billy’s family donated his remarkable collection of maritime objects to West Dunbartonshire Council’s libraries and cultural services.

These donations include a stunning model of the RMS Queen Mary, which was built at John Brown and Company shipyard, and became one of the world’s greatest ocean liners following its launch in September 1934.

The collection also includes many framed photographs and prints of famous Clydebank-built ships including the QE2, which has hit the headlines recently, HMS Hood, and RMS Aquitania.

Billy’s family also included his own Clan Line uniform jacket from his time serving in the Merchant Navy.

The council’s libraries and cultural bosses unveiled some of the prized items at Clydebank Museum and Art Gallery in the town hall on Friday. They now plan on including objects from the Tierney collection in an exhibition planned for next year.

Billy was born in Clydebank in 1946 and worked as a fitter at John Brown’s yard for three years. He went on to worked at Dawson and Downie Clydebank and also on the Clan Line.

The proud Bankie moved to Australia in 1984, but returned to the town in 2006 and set up home in Parkhall. He died on April 11 this year.

In January 2008, Billy told the Post: “I don’t want the shipbuilding memories to die here so I’ve got all this memorabilia stored up that can be passed on through the years.

“It’s absolutely tragic that the kids growing up in Clydebank do not know much about the shipbuilding heritage that is all around them in the area — that needs to change.

He added: “I’m really interested in the shipbuilding heritage of Clydebank because it’s so utterly brilliant.

“I started to collect all this stuff about 25 years ago and I did it because I’m so proud to be from Clydebank. I’ve dedicated a lot of my life to studying John Brown’s yard and everything that it has done. The more you read it becomes quite amazing.” His collection stretches to more than 20 huge picture filled frames, countless videos about the yards and books about shipbuilding, and various other artefacts.

A council spokeswoman said: “These donations will help augment West Dunbartonshire Council’s existing museum collection, which contains many objects relating to the shipbuilding past not only of Clydebank, but also of Dumbarton, Bowling and Old Kilpatrick.

“Collectively, these objects help tell the story of the area’s past as an industrial powerhouse, and help us remember the individual roles played by the local people who worked in the shipbuilding industry.

“Libraries and cultural services’ heritage team look forward to including some of the newly donated objects from the Tierney collection in their planned 2016 exhibition ‘When the Clyde Ruled the Waves’. This exhibition will bring focus to the area’s shipbuilding past and the people involved in this industry.”