The Speirs Centre
The former public baths and gymnasium building located in Primrose Street, Alloa was built in 1895 and modified in 1897. The building was built for the people of Clackmannanshire by John Thomson Paton and contained a swimming pool, gymnasium and Turkish baths. The building was designed by the architectural firm Burnet, Son & Campbell.
Swimming clubs and bath houses were established in Scotland from the 1850's following the enactment of the 1846 Act to encourage the establishment of Public Baths and Wash-houses, which was established to improve general public health with access for all classes of citizen. Bath and wash houses were seen as essential public services. The Act, which affected the whole of Britain, encouraged local authorities to open up these facilities in areas of dense population. These bath and wash houses soon started to cater for recreational swimming rather than washing and became a hugely popular social past time during the 20th century.
By the mid 1960s the baths required some refurbishment and in 1965 work commenced to improve the Turkish baths. In 1966, during the refurbishment work, fire broke out damaging the east section of the building and in particular destroying the Turkish baths. The pool itself was closed in 1986, with the building re-opening in 1998 as a gym. The pool being re-used as a soft play area. At this time the building was renamed the Speirs Centre.
In 2014 the building was again refurbished and re-purposed as the local library, museum and registrar offices. The Clackmannanshire archives service also operates from this building.
Speirs Centre post 2014 refurb - pic. Clackmannanshire Council
The building was renamed the Speirs Centre after Thomas (Tommy) Speirs (or Spiers), a local boxer who trained in the gym, and won the Scottish Amateur lightweight boxing championship in 1929 and the Scottish Lightweight Championship in 1933 after going pro.
That, and many other stories, can be read in the 1986 Clackmannan District Libraries book Tommy Spiers – The Story of a Boxing Champion from Alloa.
The legendary boxer, whose critics at the time branded him the "Kid from Nowhere", is perhaps even better known in the Wee County for his work with young people after he hung up his gloves.
Tommy Speirs
20th Century Boxing legend Thomas Speirs (or Spiers) was born in September 1908, son of Robert Speirs, a Gymnastics, Jiu-Jitsu and Wrestling instructor.
Robert Spiers was himself a keen physical culturist, and about 1920 re-formed the Alloa Gymnastic Club, which had been defunct during World War I. Tommy was one of his father's pupils. He attended the Public Baths gym regularly, and travelled round the countryside giving shows with the Club.
His first boxing 'fight' was at the Alloa Town Hall aged just four, against his older brother. Following this exhibition match both he and his brother were presented with a medal by Pat Breslin, the then heavyweight boxing champion of Scotland and a hero of Tommy's.
When James Young started giving instruction in boxing in conjunction with the Gym Club, Tommy was one of his first pupils. When a Boxing competition was put on in the Baths in 1926, his name was one of the first to be entered. The competition was open to the County and at this time, Tommy, who was around 17 or 18 years old, weighed in below the 8 stone 6 pounds limit.
In this competition match he beat Willie Cook in the second round to win the County championship. Later that year he entered the Scottish Amateur Championships at Edinburgh. Tommy made good progress but was beaten on points.
The next year, in 1927, Tommy tried again - this time in the Eastern District Championships - but he was unsuccessful. Early in 1927 Tommy decided to have a crack at the British Territorial Championships, and, enlisting the aid of his friend, Captain "Jimmy" Walker, managed to get his name put forward. There he managed to get through to the second round.
Undaunted by his Eastern District defeat, he went forward for the Scottish Amateur Championships - again in Edinburgh - and managed to win his way through to the finals.
There he met Jimmy Smith, who had beaten him in the Eastern District championships. Tommy went all out to avenge his previous defeat and at the end of the fight was confident he had done so. To his amazement, however, the verdict again went to Smith. It was thought that he had lost partially due to not having signed with an east of Scotland club, and so following this Tommy joined up with the Glasgow Amateur Athletic Club.
Tommy Turns Pro
After winning the Scottish Amateur Lightweight title in 1929, Tommy had a couple of fights on home ground. He fought in a Territorial Army Show in the Drill Hall, Alloa, on the same programme as British Champions Elky Clark and Johnny Hill, who gave exhibition bouts.
1930 came with Tommy right on top of his form. This was the year, aged 22, that he won the Scottish Amateur Lightweight championship.
Shortly after returning from a successful campaign in Norway, Tommy received a number of offers to join the paid ranks, which he gave a lot of consideration before he eventually decided to make boxing his business.
Tommy was signed up to meet an up-and-coming boxer, Alec Tennant of Glasgow, and The Ring, Camlachie, was picked as the venue for his first fight as a pro, which he won in the eighth round.
Tommy Speirs was crowned Lightweight Champion of Scotland in 1933 and narrowly missed out on the UK title. Ultimately, he fought in 54 professional fights, winning 42 of them. Tommy Spiers last boxed in 1938, aged 30.
When he wasn't boxing, Tommy worked in the local coal mine where he lived in Clackmannan. Around 1933, he got a job at the Kilbagie Paper Mill. Tommy later became a groundsman and games instructor at a local school and also spent four nights a week working with clubs.
Tommy Speirs died in Alloa in June 1983.
References :
Tommy Spiers - The Story of a Boxing Champion from Alloa. - compiled from newspaper clippings of the time.
BoxingHistory.org.uk - Full list of his professional fights, opponents, venues and dates .
Ancestry.co.uk