Germiston Tower

Germiston Tower

Yes Germiston did have its own tower. I am not talking about the highrise tower blocks at Coll Place. The tower I am talking about was in the field in Royston Road, next to Provanmill Gasworks, sort of diagonally across from Stroma Street. I don't know if this field was considered part of the Gemmy. To pin the location down a little bit, there was a railtrack, which came from the gasworks which ended in this field. Many a time I stood, with my Dad at the bus stop in Royston Road, waiting for the Number 27 or the Number 11; the tower was right behind this. Now me and dad used to discuss loads of stuff, but I never got round to asking him what the tower in the field behind the bus stop was for. Hopefully there are some older residents of Germiston reading this who can tell me.
The tower itself - I cant imagine its height. I am not talking anything gargantuan, like the once nearby Tennent's Stalk or Tennent's Stack - there were probaly three or four 'floors'. I use the term floors loosely, for if I remember correctly there were none, just three or four windows to suggest this. Try to picture one of those older brick built rescue practise towers you see in Fire Stations. It resembled one of those. Now for all I know it could very well have been one of those, however I don't seem to be able to find any info about a fire station in Germiston.
Entering the tower was easy - there was no door, just the gaping space where there may or may not have been a door. Many a day I went in there, thankfully I usually went alone. I say thankfully because kids tend to egg one another on. One day I decided to egg myself on. You see, on entering the tower, it was just a small square space, approximately 9ft by 9ft - it could have been bigger or smaller, time plays tricks on the memory. There was nothing to see except the usual beer can or two, and definitely no syringes - how times change. All you could do was look up. Again, as far as my memory serves there were no floors. I cant remember if there was a roof, I am sure there was though. Now as I said all you could do was look up - or, GO UP.
So I did. There was a rusty old fixed ladder on the wall to the left as you went in - and one day I egged myself on to climb it - on my own. Now I am no Urban Explorer, although the idea of Urban Exploration interests me, and I suppose for a 9 year old, this must have been my one of my first attempts at it One thing I do know about UE is that the most important two rules of Urban Exploration are:

Never go Urban Exploring on your own.

Always let someone know where are you are going, and when you are due back.

Now that I have told you that, you think I am going to build you up to some exciting story, of how I climbed all the way up this ladder, found a gap onto the roof, installed myself there and planted a Saltire. Then realised I hadn't told anyone where I was going, only to be eventually found cold, wet and miserable the next day by the Fire Brigade.

What actually happened: After pulling on the ladder a few times to test its integrity, I very gingerly put a foot on the first rung. Everything seemed OK thus far, so with both hands on a suitable rung I hoisted my other foot onto the next rung, first foot onto third rung. Everything seemed to be going well so far, although each step was still cautious, and by the time my second foot was on the fourth rung, I had wrapped my arms around the rungs rather than just hold on with my hands- just to be sure. Now I think I must have gone on a few more rungs, just to that height where it would have been safe for me to jump off, and that is when I heard it. There was a definite CRACKING noise then a definite CREAKING noise, and I thought the ladder was coming away from the wall. Now there is a phrase that many people use these days which goes "F*ck this for a game of soldiers". I don't recall ever hearing anyone use it in Glasgow back then, and it is fair to say that Glasgow children are exposed to some coarse language. Now even though I had never heard that phrase, I am sure at THAT MOMENT I INVENTED IT. Yes it was definitely a "F*ck this for a game of soldiers" moment. All in one instant, I looked behind me and saw that I was up TOO HIGH (I wasn't, but in moments of panic, this is always how it seems), and I thought: "If I hold on the ladder decides how I land", I simultaneously thought "If I jump I AM in control". So I jumped, landed safely, ran like thunder across Royston Road, through the back courts and over to the flats, bumped into my mates and never mentioned it to them. That was it!
Now IF my mates had been with me, I wonder how far up the ladder I would have gone, despite the creaking and egged on by their shouts.
So that is my little story of 'Germiston Tower'. Does anyone remember this structure? When was it pulled down and why? Better still does anyone have any pictures of it?