Recollections  -  Edinburgh Old Town

Dumbiedykes

People and Play

Page 2

   ©

Please click here for  recollections 1 to 32

33.

from

Jim O'Meara
Bonnyrigg, Midlothian, Scotland

Home

The Embers

Jimmy Hush

Folk Singers

Schools

Pleasance Trust Youth Club

Arthur Street

The Chippie

Infirmary Street Baths

34.

from

Jim O'Meara
Bonnyrigg, Midlothian, Scotland

Pleasance Trust Youth Club

35.

from

John Edwards
Bonnyrigg, Midlothian, Scotland

The People of Dumbiedykes

36.

from

Lyndsay Montgomery
Old Town, Edinburgh

Billy Anderson

37.

from

Lyndsay Montgomery
Old Town, Edinburgh

My Father

38.

from

Andy Duff
Australia

Maggie Martin's Mission

The Henny

Leaving Dumbiedykes

39.

from

Jean Bell

Maggie Martin's Mission

40.

from

Bob Henderson
Burdiehouse, Edinburgh

David Bertram

41.

from

Eric Gold
East End, London

David Bertram

42.

from

Eric Gold
East End, London

David Bertram

43.

from

Tom Harrison
Buckstone, Edinburgh

David Bertram

44.

from

Margaret Miller (nee Hanson)
Yarrow Valley, Selkirkshire

Dumbiedykes Road

45.

from

Frank Ferri
Newhaven, Edinburgh

The Plantation

46.

from

James Vandepeear
York, Yorkshire, England

Arthur Street

Cats

Deaconess Hospital

Peas and Vinegar

Dairy

Dr Goldberg

School

Evacuation

War Years

Holyrood Park

The Meadows

Smallpox

Liberton

Boroughmuir School

Leaving Edinburgh

47.

from

Bill Cockburn
Comely Bank, Edinburgh

Regent Cinema  -  Wedding

48.

from

Iona Harms
Stevenson College, Edinburgh

Dumbiedykes Project + Interviews

49.

from

Barbara Shepherd (nee Brown)

Arthur Street

St Anne's School

Childhood

50.

from

Christine Anderson (nee Keith)

Salisbury Street

Middle Arthur Place

51.

from

Bob Henderson
Burdiehouse, Edinburgh

Dorothy Shepherd

Thomas McFarlane

Recollections

33.

Jim O'Meara

Bonnyrigg, Midlothian, Scotland

Thank you to Jim O'Meara who wrote:

Home

"My mother was divorced when I was very young so in the 1940s and 1950s we had to stay wherever we could with relatives and friends.

We lived in Holyrood Road, The Dumbiedykes, Canongate, Cowgate, Pleasance, Leith etc.  We lived at 65 Lower Viewcraig Row from about 1963 to 1965."

The Embers

"I used to pal about with Pete Bottomley and Jimmy Cruikshanks of The Embers,  and remember flying about on my old Lambretta that I bought from my cousin Jackie Brown for £5.

©

I believe that Jimmy Cruickshank is still in the area.  A friend told me that he sometimes gets up to sing at one of the jazz bars in the West End.

I well remember going to the Guild at St Pat's and St Mary's Street Hall where the Embers used to play sometimes at the start of their career."

Jimmy Hush

"I remember Jimmy Hush.  (He was another member of 'The Embers'.)

I believe he still lives locally.  I met him again in Bonnyrigg where he had a stand in the market selling greeting cards.  He also had card shops in Bonnyrigg and Dalkeith"

Folk Singers

"My wife and I were keen on 'The Fureys and Davey Arthur' so when I read in the paper that they were appearing for one night at the Pleasance we decided to go.

We met my old scout master Ronnie Inglis (another local) who asked me if I was up to renew acquaintance with Davey. This was puzzling as I didn't think I had ever met him.

It turns out that Davey was in my patrol in St Pat's scouts and had gone off to Ireland to join the famous Furey Brothers as their lead singer.

Ronnie more or less gave him his start along with a great many folk stalwarts of the late 50's early 60's.  He ran folk concerts in St Mary's St Hall for a time and had people like Barbara Dickson, The McCalman's etc.

A lot of them performed in Walker's bar at the top of St Mary's St - people like the Corries, Robin Hall & Jimmy McGregor etc"

Schools

"I attended St Ann's school, then St Pat's and finally Holy Cross.

When I went to St Pats I remember a scandal when one of committee of the Working Men's Club across the road ran away with their money - and I think somebody's wife."

Pleasance Trust Youth Club

"I used to go to Pleasance Trust Youth Club.  It  was run by a man whose name I forget but he had something to do with a soap company, so we were encouraged to keep our faces clean

The BBC used to have a studio in the building.  I remember  a recording being made with Jimmy Shand.  I was in the building with one of my pals at the time, Decky Smith with whom I shared a birthday.  We were chased for making a noise.

There was a basketball team that used the gym.  They were quite successful at the time."

Arthur Street

"I remember Harry Pederson who stayed at the top of Arthur Street next door to my uncle Paddy Dignan who was a goalie.

He played in the Scotchie with the Millar brothers who went on to pro football with John Greig."

The Chippy

"Mention of the chippy at the foot of Adam Street brought back memories of the biggest fish I have ever had from a chippy."

Infirmary Street Baths

"We used to to the chippy after 'the baths' at Infirmary Street.

There were two attendants at the baths to keep us in check. One of them had a gammy leg.  He used to flash a black belt at us and threaten mayhem if we stepped out of line.

One night, we were jumping from the balcony when he wasn't looking when Sean Connery came in with his wife  (I think it was Dianne Cillento) for a bath at what we called The Plunge.

The attendant came up with a big key and you got a measured amount of hot water and a bar of carbolic soap (or Palmollive if you paid extra)."

Jim O'Meara, Bonnyrigg, Midlothian, Scotland:  February 2+4, 2008

Recollections

34.

Jim O'Meara

Bonnyrigg, Midlothian

Jim O'Meara wrote again about the Pleasance Trust Youth Club that he attended from around 1955 to 1957.

Jim wrote:

Pleasance Trust Youth Club

Games

"For lads in the area from homes where money was far from plentiful, the Pleasance Trust Youth Club was a Godsend.

A group of volunteer workers (including Bill Law, the Scottish diving champion at the time) would supervise a wide range of games and activities and try to instill the basics of good citizenship in what was really quite a tough area."

Summer Trips

"In the summer we were taken to Pease Bay near Cockburnspath in the Borders.  All the way down we would sing the latest Rock & Roll hits and when we got there the first job was to go up the hill to a farm and gather straw for our very basic mattresses.

For many of us it was our only chance to get anything like a holiday and a break from the tenements, so a great time was had by all. Games, swimming and treks during the day and campfires at night made sure that we all went to bed very happy and ready for sleep."

Jim O'Meara, Bonnyrigg, Midlothian, Scotland:  February 5, 2008

Recollections

35.

John Edwards

Sun City, Florida, USA

Thank you to John Edwards, Sun City, Florida, USA, for sending me the comments below, despite never having lived in the Dumbiedykes area of Edinburgh.

John wrote:

The People of Dumbiedykes

"This is just a word to let you know how much I enjoy reading about Dumbiedykes and the people who lived there.

To me they seem like a very special breed of people who take life as it comes and make the best of it..

They seem fiercely loyal to the place and each other and, I believe, having lived that experience have truly great character and true grit.

My hat's off to them."

John Edwards, Sun City, Florida, USA:  March 7, 2008

Recollections

36.

Lyndsay Montgomery

(formerly Linda Montgomery)

Old Town, Edinburgh

Thank you to Lyndsay Montgomery for leaving a message in the EdinPhoto guest book.

Lyndsay wrote:

Billy Anderson

"There are a lot of you folks from Arthur Street tuned in here.  Can anyone remember a boy called Billy Anderson coming to live in the area in about 1958 or 59?

He had come from Ghana where his Dad had been serving in the army.  He originally came to Niddrie Mill Primary School, to my class, since he was staying with an auntie who lived locally.

I met him one Friday night at the Palais.  He was in uniform, and it was like ships that pass in the night."

Lyndsay Montgomery, Old Town, Edinburgh:  Message left in EdinPhoto guest book:  July 18, 2008

Recollections

37.

Lyndsay Montgomery

(formerly Linda Montgomery)

Old Town, Edinburgh

Lyndsay Montgomery asks a question below:

Question

Lyndsay wrote:

My Father

"Here's a question for a southsider.

My father was born in 1898 in the Jewel, and the family lived afterwards in the Dumbiedykes, I don't know where.

He used to tell me stories about the place and keep me enthralled with his deeds of daring, I know he went to Milton House (Royal Mile Primary School) but I have never quite worked out what he did afterwards.

Would he have been in the same school until he left at 13?  Can anyone tell me? I know he was in the First World War, having joined up at 16.

The family was a large one, with 3 children including my Dad, then another 6 to a second wife since the first died.  Unhappily, the brothers and sisters are now all dead, I think, so I can't ask any of them.  

I know  his father had a carter's business, and he had been in the war in the Crimea."

Lyndsay Montgomery, Old Town, Edinburgh:  July 24, 2008

Recollections

38.

Andy Duff

Australia

Andy Duff wrote:

Maggie Martin's Mission

"I loved Catherine McKinsley's bit on Maggie Martin's Mission and the Grassmarket.  Boy, did it bring back memories as I, too, attended both.

At the mission, I always remember getting penny for collection plate and going to paper shop and getting 2 half pennies one for me one for Maggie, so to speak.

The Henny

"Like you, my wife also played in the henny.  She was Jean Dalgleish of 4 Heriot Mount.

Leaving Dumbiedykes

"We used to live in the stair down from Catherine in the early 1940s, then moved to St Leonard's Hill.

 we live in Australia have done so since January 1971."

Andy Duff, Australia:  July 29, 2008

Recollections

39.

Jean Bell nee Bottomley

Jean Bell, sister of Peter Bottomley, the lead guitarist in The Embers group, wrote:

Maggie Martin's Mission

"There were six children in our family (I am the eldest) and we were well known in the Dumbiedykes.

-  My Granny Kelt lived in Holyrood Square.

-  My aunts and uncles, McMillans and the Kelts, lived nearby

-  Auntie Aggie lived in the Square too

-  The Hunters and Auntie Nell Dickson lived in Holyrood Road.

So you see, we were weel kent in that area..

Jean Bell (nee Bottomley);  August 29, 2008

Recollections

40.

Bob Henderson

Burdiehouse, Edinburgh

Thank you to Bob Henderson who wrote:

David Bertram

"It was with great sadness that I read in tonight's News of the passing of David Bertram of Middle Arthur Place.

He has been mentioned many times in the recollections of Arthur Street and the Dumbiedykes."

Bob Henderson, Burdiehouse, Edinburgh:  September 2, 2008

Recollections

41.

Eric Gold

East London

Thank you to Eric Gold who also read the announcement of  David Bertram's death:

David Bertram

"I heard, last night, that Davie (Dade) Bertram died last Friday with cancer and will be cremated this Friday at Mortonhall crematorium.

Dade was from Middle Arthur Place and was a real character around the Dumbiedykes area especially with his pigeons. He was mentioned a few times on your website .Countless people knew him, especially in Rutherford’s and Stewarts pubs, so could you put a wee bit on your web site.

Dave was a social drinker, but the pigeons came first. He had a younger sister Anne and brother my mate Donald.  His parents now deceased were called Dave and Maisie. It came as a shock to me even although I have never seen or spoke to Dade in years.  He lived in the Inch, behind the Rob Roy pub, now demolished."

Eric Gold, East London:  September 4, 2008

Recollections

42.

Eric Gold

East London

Thank you to Eric Gold who wrote:

David Bertram

"My sister told me that (Dade) Davy Bertram had a wonderful turnout as his funeral as the whole of the Southside were there, as Dade was a very popular man.  I still can’t get over his passing as he was only 67 years old."

Eric Gold, East London:  September 6, 2008

Recollections

43.

Tom Harrison

Buckstone, Edinburgh

Thank you to Tom Harrison who wrote:

David Bertram

"I recently attended the funeral of the much loved and respected David Bertram.  He was brought up in Middle Arthur Place, then moved to the Inch along with his Mum and Dad.

It was  a fitting tribute to his family that there was so many friends from Arthur Street.  It showed the love and friendship that  flourished in the community. There will never be another place like it.

We all had a drink and a good old blether about the days gone by.  To you all, many thanks to the memories we shared.

God Bless."

Tom Harrison, Buckstone, Edinburgh:  September 7+ 10, 2008

Recollections

44.

Margaret Miller (nee Hanson)

Yarrow Valley, Selkirkshire

Thank you to Margaret Miller (nee Hanson) for leaving a message in the EdinPhoto guestbook.

Margaret wrote:

Dumbiedykes Road

"My name is Margaret, sis Sheila, and bro George.  We used to live at 34/6 Dumbiedykes Road, two doors from Jean Aithie.

 I knew:

-  Rhoda and Hannah Mcghee

-  Craig Mitchell

-  the Grahams

I went to school at Drummond Street, then South Bridge, then Jimmy Clarks.  Bring back the good old days!"

Margaret Miller (nee Hanson), Yarrow Valley, Selkirkshire:  October 20, 2008.

Recollections

45.

Frank Ferri

Newhaven, Edinburgh

Thank you to Frank Ferri who wrote:

The Plantation

"As a kid, although from Leith, I used to hang out at Dumbiedykes with the late Eddie Kelly, later in become infamous, but that's another story.  We both attended St Anthony's school.  He had two sisters.

We would play in the area known as The Plantation, a group of trees near the sports grounds at Holyrood Palace."

Frank Ferri, Newhaven, Edinburgh:  October 21, 2008.

Frank:

'The Plantations' that I've been told about at Dumbiedykes was beside 'The Big Green' off Dumbiedykes Road.  Here is a photograph of it.  Please click on this thumbnail to enlarge it.

©

Is this the same Plantation as you remember?

Peter Stubbs:  October 22, 2008

Frank replied:

"Yes.  That is the Plantation, close to Holyrood Palace, to the left of the picture were the sports grounds which I think included a bowling green.  Obviously, the foreground of the picture taken in 1960 has changed, possibly due to demolition of buildings."

Frank Ferri, Newhaven, Edinburgh:  October 23, 2008.

Recollections

46.

James Vandepeear

York, Yorkshire, England

A couple of years after sending me his recollections chimney sweeps at his home in East Preston Street, James Vandepeear sent me his recollections of Dumbiedykes in the 1940s.

James wrote

Arthur Street

"I remember Dumbiedykes and Arthur Street in the period 1939-1952.

I had a great aunt lived in Arthur Street.  I think she was a Miss Galbraith, known as ‘Auntie Eeze’ to us.  We visited her occasionally in her dark flat, which was the middle one of three on a landing, all at the top of a gloomy spiralling stair with handrails which were dangerously low for the child I then was.

Her small windows looked out on to the grey walls of the tenement which had an angle in it at that point."

Cats

"I recall that the whole tenement was infested by cats.   Later when my aunt died, I went to help with clearing out her property.   By then, the windows to the flat had been smashed and there were cats in every corner of the flat.  They had been there for about two weeks by then."

Deaconess Hospital

"I remember being taken to the Deaconess Hospital to be treated for some kind of blood poisoning, and having ‘hot fomentations’ applied to my arm over a period of weeks, and the resulting inflamed swelling being lanced.

I recall a mask impregnated with ether being placed on my face to put me out while the staff got on with it.  I still hate the smell of ether.

The Deaconess was a popular medical centre, so I suspect it must have been either free or very cheap."

Peas and Vinegar

"On a corner, across from the Deaconess, towards St Leonards, there was a small shop where, usually on a Sunday, one could buy a plate of peas and vinegar for a halfpenny.

As we were always hungry during the war, peas and vinegar were a treat.  I still remember the vinegar being so strong that I could not speak for a while - and the peas, allegedly boiled, were frequently like bullets."

Dairy

"In East Preston Street, Bill Walker’s dairy sold bread rolls which might have been made by angels  -  and sweets, sometimes."

Dr Goldberg

"I remember Dr Goldberg.  He lived at 27 East Preston Street.  He was always happy to have a quick word with the local children as he did his rounds.  With Homburg hat and Gladstone bag, he went everywhere on foot.  He must have walked miles each day.

Anyone who recalls the doctor will remember his two sisters, who drifted, arm in arm, up and down the streets, talking to each other, but not to anyone else. They were always dressed in 1920 style clothes, cloche hats, pointed shoes with straps, and grey coats and stockings."

School

"I had just started school in 1939, and had no idea of anything happening like a war.  I was just five, and one morning I was given a small case by my grandmother, who was my guardian, and sent to school."

Evacuation

"I had got to like our teacher, Miss Clarke, but that day she tied a label to my coat, and we all marched to Newington Station to get on train, to Armadale.

Evacuees had varied experiences.  Mine were not happy, and I was rescued after a few months by my sister, who came out to Armadale and took me back to Preston Street.   But Miss Clarke had gone to the forces.

I think most of the children were back home within a year, except for a few who had been sent to Canada or elsewhere abroad."

War Years

"My memories of the war years in Edinburgh are of nothing happening, but lots of static water tanks and blast shelters being placed around the city  -  and the blackout, but double British Summer Time saved us having to put the blackout curtains up for those months.

The Meadows had allotments, and I think there were some in Holyrood Park."

Holyrood Park

"We played in Holyrood Park mostly.  In summer, we went to Duddingston Loch or up Arthur's Seat.   In winter there was sledging down from Echo Rock, even late in the evening when it was dark.  

The park has been sanitised now, no sheep or rocks.  But I broke a tooth after sledging right into a rock in the dark."

The Meadows

"At the Meadows there was a swing park, with steel see-saws and parallel bars  and roundabouts, all set in concrete, to make us hardy, and ensure a regular supply of scraped knees and elbows and bruised heads."

Smallpox

"One year, there was a smallpox outbreak.  We all had a vaccination at school, and were told not to knock the scab off.   Many of us wore red ribbons round the vaccinated arm to ward off blows to the healing scab, but one lad, name of Nicol, I think, got his knocked so often that in the end he had a scab from shoulder to elbow."

Liberton

"Preston Street school was partly closed about then, and we had lessons at a hall in Gifford Park.

Liberton Dams was a good day out, playing in the Braid Burn and guddling for sticklebacks and minnows.  There was a dairy farm, not too far from the tram stop, and once I had some very fresh milk there, still warm."

Boroughmuir School

"I went on to Boroughmuir in 1944, left there in 1949.

In 1947, before the National Health Service or ambulances on call round the clock, I broke my arm in the gymnasium at Boroughmuir  -  ulna and radius, so I had two elbows for a while. 

My form teacher came to the gym, and fitted a sling made from a dish towel, which I wore, with my outdoor clothes on top, and was sent by tram to the Royal Infirmary, on my own, where I was plastered up and sent home, again on my own.

I was very late home and got into trouble for that, and had to go back to have the arm reset a few days later."

Leaving Edinburgh

"And then into the army, and I never came back to Edinburgh except to visit."

James Vandepeear, York, Yorkshire, London:  November 16, 2008

Recollections

47.

Bill Cockburn

Comely Bank, Edinburgh

Thank you to Bill Cockburn who wrote

Regent Cinema  -  Wedding

"I stayed in the Pleasance and then Prince Albert Buildings from 1948 to 1963. I met my wife, Irene, who worked part-time as an usherette in the Regent Cinema at the end of 1961.

I took a part time job as an usher just to be near her.

We married on 26 November 1963, just 4 days after President Kennedy was assassinated.  We had 3 children by the end of that decade.  Sadly, Irene passed away a few weeks ago on 22 October."

Bill Cockburn, Comely Bank, Edinburgh:  November 14, 2008

Recollections

48.

Iona Harms

Stevenson College, Edinburgh

Iona Stevenson sent in the request below.  If you'd like to contact Iona, please email me, then I'll pass on your message to her.

Thank you.    -  Peter Stubbs:  November 19, 2008

Dumbiedykes Project and Interviews

"I am a student at Stevenson College and am currently carrying out some research around the area of Dumbiedykes.

My task is to complete a community profile giving an overview of the history of the area and looking at the current facilities and services in relation to this. I also need to carry out some discussion looking at inequality and discrimination in the area.

I have come across your website which has a vast amount of information which has been very useful in my research.  I am also looking for people to interview about Dumbiedykes and note that on your website a number of people connected with the area have volunteered information. I was wondering if it would be possible to make contact with any of these people in order for me to interview them for my research."

Iona Harms, Stevenson College, Edinburgh:  November 18, 2008

Replies

Thank you to Ian Mycko and Eric Gold for replying to the request above.

Ian and Eric:  I've passed your message on to Iona Harms

-  Peter Stubbs:  November 19, 2008

Recollections

49.

Barbara Shepherd (nee Brown)

Thank you to Barbara Shepherd who wrote:

Arthur Street

"I was born in Elsie Ingles in 1937, spending the first year of my life in the Waverley Buildings in the Cowgate and the next 11 years at No 18 Arthur Street.  In 1949 my family moved to Prestonfield.

I attended St Anne's Primary School in the Cowgate, 1942-49, and St Thomas' Secondary School in Lauriston Gardens until 1952."

I remember all the shops in the area that other contributors have mentioned.  I also remember when Booths on the corner of Middle Arthur Place was previously 'Bells'. 

All the girls used to do handstands and play ball against their wall - the noise must have been horrendous, but I don't recall ever being told off or chased away."

St Anne's School

"A while back, Eric Gold asked about photographs of St Anne's School.  I've found two, not previously shown on your site.  They were on the 'Boston Catholic Journal' website, located on the Rare Photos of Margaret Sinclair page.