How letters of support linked the women of Airdrie and Leningrad

It was a wartime gesture of support that travelled from Lanarkshire to an under-siege Leningrad, and then back again.

Now two collections of World War Two letters linking Scotland and Russia are to go on display in Airdrie.

The unlikely connection dates back to the autumn of 1941 when volunteers from the Airdrie branch of the Russia Today Society decided to collect and send messages of support to women in Leningrad.

In just two weeks they gathered thousands of signatures and messages of support and collated then in a bound volume, which became known as the Scottish Album.

Incredibly, the book not only reached the Soviet city - but one was sent back in return.

The blockade of Leningrad - now known as St Petersburg - by Nazi Germany began in 1941 and lasted until 1944, lasting just under 900 days.

At least 800,000 people are estimated to have died during the siege.

Locals suffered extreme hunger and faced constant bombardment but they did not surrender.

The idea for the album was conceived early in the conflict by Lanarkshire art teacher Margaret Plant.

It was covered in Buchanan tartan silk, decorated with a thistle, and included illustrations and poetry by Robert Burns and the Coatbridge poet Janet Hamilton.

In December 1941, Agnes Maxwell, the secretary of the Women's Anglo-Soviet Committee, presented the book to the Soviet embassy in London.

Against long odds, it was transported along limited wartime supply routes and eventually reached Leningrad.

Despite the terrible conditions in the city, media reports from the time said the album was received with great enthusiasm.

It was read aloud at meetings attended by workers, teachers, scientists and housewives, offering a striking reminder people far away were thinking of them.

In response Women in Leningrad created their own album for Scotland, filled with letters, watercolours and prints.

The work was overseen by the artist Anna Petrovna Ostroumova-Lebedeva, with poetry contributed by Vera Inber.

The Russian album was secretly transported out of the city, flown to Moscow and then sent on to Britain.

In 1943 it arrived in Glasgow and became the centrepiece of a "Russia Week" exhibition in Airdrie - celebrating the courage and resilience of the people of Leningrad.

The original Leningrad Album is cared for by the Mitchell Library in Glasgow, while the original Scottish album remains in St Petersburg.

However facsimile copies of both albums will now be available for the public to view at Airdrie Library.

The copy of the Scottish album was donated by Helen Morrison, a local Burns enthusiast.

She said: "The album carried a simple but powerful message of friendship and admiration from the women of Airdrie and Coatbridge for the courage of Leningrad's women.

"I thought it was important for people in Airdrie, as well as visitors to the library, to be able to see this album.

"I really hope it will continue to inspire young people in here in North Lanarkshire and beyond, keeping alive a powerful example of friendship, culture and kindness across borders."

A copy of the album sent from Russia to Scotland was previously acquired by North Lanarkshire Council in 2017.