Welcome to the memories section of s1dumbarton. This is where the town can record it's own history - not just the old, formal stuff, but personal histories too. Of course it's interesting to read about the development of the town, but it's just as interesting to reminisce about last year's school sports day. And if you have pictures to post, so much the better!

Just to kick things off, here's a brief timeline for Dumbarton. It's very basic and not very detailed, but there's a host of local knowledge out there, so let's see who can be first to post a better one - or just add a completely different article about Dumbarton's rich and varied past, recent and long ago.

Iron Age - Archaeological evidence suggests the first settlements at Dumbarton may even pre-date this.

c450 AD - St Patrick writes to the Britonnic warrior Coroticus, who has been identified with Ceretic Guletic, King of Clyde Rock (Alcluith).

c870 AD - Dumbarton is capital of the Kingdom of Strathclyde.

1222 - Dumbarton is declared a Royal Burgh.

1350 - Dumbarton is ravaged by the Black Death.

1545 - Dumbarton castle is captured for Mary Queen of Scots, then still a child.

1548 - Mary shelters in the castle before escaping to France.

1568 - Mary is heading for Dumbarton Castle when she is defeated at Langside and flees south.

1652 - Dumbarton Castle, now deemed undefendable, is surrendered to Cromwell without a fight.

1670 - Work begins to rebuild the castle in the form it takes today.

1850s - Shipbuilding comes to the town and soon replaces glassmaking as it's main industry

1869 - The Cutty Sark is built at Dumbarton.

1872 - Dumbarton FC, the Sons of the Rock, is founded.

1910 - A public library opens thanks to a donation from industrialist Andrew Carnegie.

1940s - Dumbarton is bombed during the Second World War.

1959 - The famous Scotch Watch flock of geese take up their guard duties at Ballantine's.

1963 - Dumbarton's famous shipyard, William Denny & Brothers, closes.

2011 - s1dumbarton is launched to give the community a place to discuss local issues, place small ads, air their opinions, advertise events and show off pictures and video

Now it's your turn!

That's the briefest of brief summaries, and hardly covers the most important dates. But this is where you come in. There's lots of interest in local history and lots of local knowledge out there - so why not share it here?

Perhaps you'd like to build your own, more complete, time-line, or start an article about your favourite aspect of the history of Dumbarton? And there must also be a wealth of wonderful photographs of Dumbarton in years gone by - maybe even some video of more recent events - and those are more than welcome here.

Remember, history doesn't need to be in black and white! It's good to bring back memories of just a few years ago, too. Post it all here, and let's see if we can really chronicle the history of Dumbarton in a way we can all share!