ADVERTISER readers have united to help solve the mystery of an old fashioned bottle stopper found by a Clackmannan resident.

There was a tremendous response following last week’s article in the Advertiser about reader James Cox from Clackmannan, who was trying to shed light on a historic piece he found whilst out walking.

James stumbled across what appeared to be an old-fashioned bottle stopper which had two inscriptions printed on it, on one side being ‘T.Hogg & Co’ and the other side reading ‘Tillicoultry’.

Despite several internet searches, James was unable to unearth much information so contacted his local paper to see if anyone could help.

Soon an influx of readers contacted the Advertiser to shed some light on the origins of the object.

John S. Biggam, from Tillicoultry wrote in to say, “The picture of an old bottle top from T. HOGG & Co. is almost certainly from the mid-twentieth century.

“As a child in the 1950s and 60s I would drink nothing but Hogg’s KOLA. It was made in their factory in Devonside and I believe Mr Hogg’s son was a chemist just slightly older than me and worked developing the range for a while.

“They also sold Vimto, but in a smaller sized bottle for the same price. This was because they sold it under licence I believe. Other flavours included Cidrona (a non alcoholic cider flavour drink), American Cream Soda, Limeade, and Iron Brew but KOLA was the best as far as I was concerned and I had to have it.

“The top on the KOLA bottle was very similar to that shown but I think it had a rubber seal on the threads if memory serves.

“I was very sad when the factory closed and have never tasted any other soft drink that comes anywhere close to the quality. When the bottle was returned to the shop I got 3d. off the price of the next bottle but it had to be from Hogg otherwise the shopkeeper would not accept the bottle.” Another reader, Kier Downie from Dollar, wrote, “The father was Joseph Hogg and the son was Tom Hogg. They had a prosperous soft drink business at Devonside for many years.

“Joseph lived in Tillicoultry and Tom lived at 22 Devon Road, Dollar, in the fifties and sixties next door to my parents.” Many of those who got in contact gave a nostalgic account of the soft drinks.

Bill Cook wrote in to say, “I read with interest your article on the Thomas Hogg Lemonade top. My recollection of the Thomas Hogg Lemonade factory was situated in Drummie Road, Devonside.

“He supplied all the small shops in the district with lemonade and have fond memories of being able to return the bottle to the shop and getting money back - a source of income for a small boy!” Meanwhile, Jim Brady from Alloa, kindly brought in a couple of old photographs of the factory and the workers. He said, “My wife’s mother is the little girl in one of the photographs. The Hoggs were very well known for their soft drinks.”