Photo
1.
Band at the 'Fit o' the Walk'
Beneath the Queen Victoria
Statue
©
Reproduced with acknowledgement to Jim
Macfarlane.
Photo
2.
Band
on Leith Town Hall Stage in 1950s
Please see Recollections 3
below for further details
©
Scotsman Publications Ltd.
Click here for web site details. Reproduced with acknowledgement to
Alex Elder.
Leith Silver Band
at the 'Fit o' the
Walk' |
Thank you to Jim Macfarlane who wrote: |
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." |
Cinemas and
Theatres
"The Gaiety Theatre was in
the Kirkgate, Leith. The Capitol (Cappy) was a cinema and theatre in
Manderston Street." |
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. |
Jim added: |
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. |
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 |
Reply
1.
Jim Macfarlane
Edinburgh |
Thank you to Jim Macfarlane who wrote again telling me: |
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. |
Reply
2.
Alistair McIntyre
Chichester, West Sussex, England |
Thank you to Alistair McIntyre who wrote again telling me: |
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."
|
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.
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."
|
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."
|
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."
|
Alistair
McIntyre, ex-pat Leither, now living in Chichester, West Sussex,
England: May 16+17, 2011 |
Reply
3.
Alex Elder
Chichester, West Sussex, England |
Thank you to Alex Elder who saw Photo 1 above, then sent me Photo
2 of the Leith Silver Band. This photo was taken on the stage
at Leith Town Hall, in the 1950s.
Alex wrote: |
Leith Silver Band
on Leith Town Hall Stage
Photo
1.
©
The Band
"I read with great interest
the comments from Jim MacFarlane and Alistair McIntyre about this
photo. I, too, recall 'Whitey' and Alec Kemp."
Father and Grandfather
"My Father Alex Elder and
my Grandfather John Elder both played in and conducted Leith Silver
Band in the 1940s and 1950s.
Both appear in the photo
above:
- My Grandfather is the gentleman
in the dark jacket on the extreme left holding the baton.
- My Father is the first cornet
player seated on the left of the front-row.
I inherited a conductors
baton from my Father which was presented to my Grandfather on his
retiral from the band in 1951."
|
Photo
2.
©
On Stage
"Here is a photo of the
Leith Silver Band that appeared in the 'Evening News'. I
believe that the photo would have been taken on the stage of
Leith Town Hall, in the 1950s.
Unfortunately, this is a
scan taken from a newspaper photo so the quality is not so good."
|
Alex Elder:
December 30, 2014 (2 emails) |
Reply
4.
Gerry McFarlane
Swindon, Wiltshire,
England |
Thank you to Gerry who read Alistair McIntyre's
Reply 2 above and wrote: |
The Conductor
"I was also a young
member of the Leith Silver Band as a starter player (Gerald
McFarlane tenor saxhorn) from 1966 to 1968
(?) and remember the conductor
Rab Snowden. He was a painter.
I
went to his house once and his
work was on display, pop-art in style. I think he was keen to
find a venue for his work. Rab used to 'stick his tongue out, lick
his lips and chew on the appendage' when conducting -
concentration maybe but an image I've never forgotten."
Brass Band Concerts
"I also played in a few
brass band contests with Leith Silver. If I recollect
correctly one was in London. I remember arriving at the hall
(Albert Hall?) in the back of a small covered lorry.
We were,
dressed up to play with instruments in hand, 'straight on, straight
off'.
Another venue was in
Falkirk. It must have been the SBB division contests 1968.
I played soprano cornet then and was given a decent write-up by the
judges.
I think we were in the 3rd
Division (for both of those contests), and remember going back to
Edinburgh in this ramshackle single decker bus, swinging past
Grangemouth in the darkness with the 'mature band members' drunk as
skunks, Rab standing facing us with a bottle in his hand, next to
the driver (who was also drinking). Now, that was a scary
moment!"
School Pals
"I brought along a few of
my Ainslie Park School brass band players with me who were 'keen to
have a blow' with the band:
- Graham Junor,
trombone
-
Stuart Hockaday, baritone
-
Eion Flint, cornet
-
Michael Veitch, euphonium.
Young blood in the band,
but we all went our own ways after 1968. I was sad to
read it the band ended soon after that."
Message for Alistair McIntyre
"Alistair: If you
have any photos of the band when we were there, I'd love to see them
- and many thanks, again, for your recollections of
Leith Silver.
I never thought I'd about
the band. In fact, I was beginning to think I dreamt all of
this!"
Gerry
McFarlane, Swindon, Wiltshire, England:
December 28, 2013 |
Reply
5.
Alex Kemp
Livingston, West Lothian, Scotland |
Thank you to Alex Kemp who wrote: |
My Father and Grandfather
"My Father, Alex Kemp,
played the euphonium and is back right in photo 1 and seated front
right in photo 2."
Photo
1.
©
Photo
2.
©
"My Grandfather, Willie Law, is at the
back extreme right in photo 2. He was a fine cornet player in his day and I
think he was presented with the 50 years service medal.
I have vague memories of Alex Elder as
conductor when I was taken to rehearsals in Leith Town Hall as a small boy.
My Grandfather was not amused when I
learned to play the bagpipes in 3rd Leith BBs instead the cornet with Leith
Silver Band!
I bought a house in Restalrig Avenue
from Rab Snowdon who was then a curator of art for the Stenhouse Trust."
Alex Kemp, Livingston, West Lothian, Scotland |
|