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Band at the 'Fit o' the Walk'
Beneath the Queen Victoria
Statue
©
Reproduced with acknowledgement to Jim
Macfarlane.
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Leith Silver Band |
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Thank you to Jim Macfarlane who wrote: |
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Fit o' The Walk
"You can guess where this
photo was taken. Queen Victoria oversees the Leith Silver (Brass)
Band at the Foot of Leith Walk (1951-52).
The banner mentions
'The Mudlark'. This was a film about Queen Victoria, which is
maybe why they posed there." |
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Cinemas and
Theatres
"The Gaiety Theatre was in
the Kirkgate, Leith. The Capitol (Cappy) was a cinema and theatre in
Manderston Street." |
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The Band
"The words on the drum are
'Persevere - Leith Silver Band'.
- My Dad is at
the front of the band with the tuba resting on the cobbles .Cobbled
streets were commonplace then.
- Alex Welsh was in
this band. He went off to lead his own jazz band."
Jim Macfarlane, Edinburgh: December 17, 2009
and September 18, 2010. |
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Jim added: |
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Details in the Photo
"There's a lot in this
photo:
- Weekly Seamen
Supplier is a bit baffling.
- Next to this, It
looks like, 'Try Our Rolls'
- 'Ladylac' rings no
bells in the paint shop.
- There is still a
chemist there.
- Woolworth's, just
out of the picture, only went recently.
- The Gaiety arrow
points at a supporting wire for the trams.
- An occupier peers
between the curtains below a window blind. The guy at the end is
wearing his uniform under a raincoat. Spot the white cap."
Jim Macfarlane, Edinburgh: December 17, 2009
and September 18, 2010. |
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The Photographer
Jim Macfarlane believes that the photographer may
well have been somebody that he knew of as 'Whitey' from
Silverknowes, Edinburgh. Neither Jim nor I know how to contact
him. If you know,
please email me so that I can discuss copyright with him.
Thank you.
Peter stubbs, Edinburgh: September 21, 2010 |
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Reply
1.
Jim Macfarlane
Edinburgh |
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Thank you to Jim Macfarlane who wrote again telling me: |
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Whitey
"The photographer 'Whitey'
mentioned above, was A Whyte.
In the 1950s, he was
secretary of the Leith Silver Band and lived at 14 Pennywell Road,
Edinburgh."
Jim Macfarlane, Edinburgh: September 22, 2010. |
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Reply
2.
Alistair McIntyre
Chichester, West Sussex, England |
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Thank you to Alistair McIntyre who wrote again telling me: |
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1950s
"This picture of Leith
Silver Band must have been taken in the early- to mid-1950s.
I joined the band around
1957/58 as a young teenager. I only recognise the euphonium player
on the right. He is Alec Kemp."
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Alex Whyte
"I remember Alec Whyte, who
is mentioned as perhaps being the photographer. He was the Secretary
of the band and did a great deal to raise money for the band. He
used to go round local businesses trying to get money."
Alistair added:
"I think Alec died in the
1960s. I remember visiting with a few other members of the
band at his council flat. I think he must have been ill, hence
the visit. At that time he stayed at the Crewe Toll end of
Telford Road. He had played bass with the band and had been the
Secretary - nice old man."
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James Bertram
"James Bertram of Bertrams
engineering company, next to the tram depot in Leith Walk, was a
generous benefactor. I have a picture of him presenting a
number of instruments to the band. The money to purchase these
instruments came from Mr. Bertram.
In later years I often
played in orchestras and brass ensembles with James Bertram who was
a decent trombone player."
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Band Conductors
"I played in Leith Silver
Band, conducted firstly by Alec Elder then by Rab Snowden, until the
band folded, some time in the late-1960s. I was minutes secretary
and still have my handwritten minutes of band committee meetings.
They should perhaps be in a local museum."
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Alistair
McIntyre, ex-pat Leither, now living in Chichester, West Sussex,
England: May 16+17, 2011 |
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