Recollections

1.

Les Borthwick

near Hawick, Borders, Scotland

Thank you to Les Borthwick who wrote:

Camping at Lilliesleaf

"I hope you or one of your contributors can help me, I am looking for information on the 46th Leith Coy Boys Brigade."

"The Boys Brigade from Leith used to come out to the village of Lilliesleaf, in the Scottish Borders, and set up their summer camp at Riddle Estate near the village in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, with ex-members arriving with them to help with the camp."

Pipe Band

"They had a really good pipe band at the time, and the boys used to march down to the village church on Sundays, behind the pipe band."

Concert

"The Boys Brigade also used to put on a concert in the village hall, a day or two before they left. The compère at the concerts was a chap named Gus Rankine, I’m sure he owned a taxi company by the same name Rankine's Taxis."

Photos

"Photos or information on the 46th Leith Coy Boys Brigade and also Gus Rankine would be very much appreciated."

Les Borthwick:  2 August 2016

Reply to Les

If you have any photos that you think might be of interest to Les, or if you'd like to tell him anything about Gus Rankine, please let me know, then I'll pass on to you the email address for Les.

Thank you.

Peter Stubbs, Edinburgh:  2 August 2016

Recollections

2.

Les Borthwick

near Hawick, Borders, Scotland

Thank you to Les Borthwick for writing again with m ore information about the Boys' Brigade camps at Lilliesleaf.

Incidentally, Les tells me that he was born in Lilliesleaf in a cottage called Loan View, in 1945.

Ken wrote:

Gus Rankine

"The compère at their leaving concerts at the Currie Memorial Hall in Lilliesleaf was Gus Rankine.  I’m pretty sure he owned Rankine's Taxis in Edinburgh.  I heard that before owning the taxi company, he had worked on whaling ships..  Whether that's true or not, I don't know.

Gus Rankine was probably an ex-member of the Boys Brigade. Many ex-members gave up their own summer holidays to come out and help at the annual camp on Riddell Estate, with their families, arriving at the camp for a visit on the second week."

Capt. Johnston

and

Capt. Tom Curr

"I left school in 1961 so it would have been in the 1950s that I attended the camps.  Obviously a lot of the ex members will have passed away, but some of the boys at that time, will still be around.

It may help to jog people's memories to know that the Boys Brigade leader at that time was either Capt Johnstone or Capt Tom Curr, both very pleasant gentlemen, the boys from the village, including myself were always made welcome at the camp."

Les Borthwick, near Hawick, Borders, Scotland:  3 August 2016

Tom Curr

I've already added information about Tom Curr to several pages of the EdinPhoto web site.  If you search for Tom Curr in the search field on the EdinPhoto home page, you should be able to find these pages.

Peter Stubbs, Edinburgh: 3 August 2016

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