History of the Colliar Family

The most common origin is that the name derives from the old English word 'Col' (coal) meaning charcoal burner. The spelling of the name varies down through the centuries and include Colyer, Collier and many others.

The name is first found in Lancashire where they held a family seat, Colliars are also mentioned in the Doomsday book.

There is a record of a Richard Colliar being burnt at the stake for heresy in the 16th Century at Cantebury, on the orders of Queen Mary who was a Catholic and Richard was part of the Protesant Reformation.

It is a possibilty that his family fled North for safety as Scotland was still a seperate country at that that time and was mainly Protestant. This could be how the Colliar family came to Scotland.

I have managed to trace the Colliar name in Scotland as far back as the 1640s, although we are now spread out all over the world including Canada, Austrailia, New Zealand, Europe and the United States.

My Father fought in the Korean war which started in 1950 and came to a stalemate in 1953.

it is not a subject he would readily talk about but we did find out that he was seconded to the US Army as a driver and had the honour of driving Marlyn Monroe when she entertained the troops.

During World War II, my Uncle Bill was taken as a POW by the Japanese.