A DALMELLINGTON author has donated £4,500 in royalties and book sales to community groups in the area.

Donald L Reid’s Doon ‘Valley Tales’ includes numerous stories, past and current, about the historic area where he grew up.

On its release in October 2016, it was snapped up by eager purchasers at home and abroad.

Among the book’s highlights is a story of a man who emigrated from Dalmellington to Canada, Wallace Gibson, who was first to design, build and fly an aircraft in his adopted country.

Mr Reid’s book also tells of when part of the English army gathered at Dalmellington, before heading through the hills in search of the elusive Robert the Bruce in 1307.

Now, more than 700 years later, Dalmellington Community Association hosted an event, during which Mr Reid distributed £3,000 in royalties to six organisations and schools.

As well as the community association, Doon Academy, Dalmellington Primary and Bellsbank Primary all received donations.

Also benefitting was the village scout group and Dalmellington Band — Mr Reid was a member of both in his boyhood days.

He also donated copies of his books to voluntary organisations to sell for their funds, They jointly raised an estimated £1,500 for Ayrshire Railways Preservation Society, Scottish Dark Sky Observatory at Craigengillan, Loch Doon Roundhouse, Patna Boys Club and Carsphairn Heritage Museum.

Other copies were donated to schools and libraries as well as heritage and historical groups in North Ayrshire, where he now lives.

Guests packed into the hall included councillors John Bell and Elaine Dinwoodie as well as representatives of the beneficiaries of Mr Reid’s generosity.

He said: “It’s a real joy for me to research and compile Ayrshire local history books which are so well received at home and abroad.

“For me it’s simply a pleasurable hobby, so I’m very happy to donate royalties to local groups and give something back to groups where volunteering is so important.

“Volunteers are precious and should never be taken for granted and it gives me great satisfaction to help in that process in small ways.

“Because this particular book related to the Doon Valley area, the majority of royalties were donated to groups there. In addition these groups were also very helpful to me in my research.

“The work carried out by the team at Dalmellington Community Association in bringing the village community centre into community ownership is quite outstanding and the committee are an amazing team, very committed to their village.

“After the presentation of cheques I was invited to look in at Dalmellington Scouts moving up ceremony and that was also very encouraging to see that my former Scout group are really flourishing because of great volunteers.”

Sharon Smith, secretary of Dalmellington Community Association, added: “We are very grateful that Donald always thinks of Dalmellington when distributing royalties from his Doon Valley books.

“We can’t thank him enough for his help and generosity and for his writing and research skills which have put the Doon Valley on the map for its wonderful history.”

Copies of Doon Valley Tales, priced £10, are still available by contacting Mr Reid at donaldleesreid@hotmail.com, 7 Manuel Avenue, Beith KA15 1BJ, or by calling 01505 503 801.