The family tree of Saltcoats’ most famous footballer has been revealed in a book about the Lisbon Lions.

Author and genealogist Derek Niven penned ‘Pride of the Lions’ which tells the untold histories of the 16 Celtic medallists who lifted the European Cup in Lisbon in 1967.

Celtic’s Lisbon Lions were the first British club to achieve this remarkable feat.

Most of the players came from the Glasgow and Lanarkshire area, but one famously came from ‘Thirty Miles from Paradise’ – Bobby Lennox.

Derek told the Herald: “The idea for this series of books honouring the achievements of famous footballing legends, and the men and women who made them, came from my passion for footballing history and through my work as a genealogist.

“What became fascinating in the research for the books was just how interesting the stories of the players’ ancestors revealed themselves through tales of migration, poverty and two World Wars.”

In the book, Derek tells how Bobby Lennox was born in August 1943, right in the middle of World War Two, at 2 Quay Street, Saltcoats to father Robert Lennox and mother Agnes Erskine.

Bobby was a Celtic fan from boyhood and used to trek up from Saltcoats with his pals on the steam train, then taking the Auchenshuggle tram to Celtic Park.

He was signed by Jimmy McGrory for Celtic in 1961, but his career took off when Jock Stein became manager in 1965.

Bobby’s father Robert Lennox was born in 1899 at 6 Kirkgate Street, Saltcoats, to father Andrew Lennox, a foundry labourer, and mother Susan Harris.

Robert worked in the Ardrossan shipyards, and during World War Two, he would have been well aware of the disaster that befell the HMS Dasher aircraft carrier on 23 March 1943, in the Clyde Estuary, just off Ardrossan Harbour.

Bobby’s mother Agnes Erskine was born in 1906 at 6 Quay Street, Saltcoats, to father Patrick Erskine, a well-known hairdresser, and mother Isabella Dillon.

A statue of Bobby Lennox honouring his playing days was erected in 2018 on Countess Street in Saltcoats.

Derek is pictured with Bobby when the pair met at the Seamill Hydro while fundraising for the local statue.

The West of Scotland author has published a series of non-fiction books with his Pride Series based on heroic Scottish footballing heroes and delving into their family histories.

To read more about Bobby’s history, alongside the other Lisbon Lions, Pride of the Lions is available in Waterstones Glasgow stores and on Amazon.co.uk in paperback for £9.99 and eBook for just £0.99.