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George Heriots School |
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Recollections |
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1. |
Ken Boak |
- 1972-1976 - Journey to School - Lunchtime - Lauriston Place - Other Shops |
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2. |
Alan Dodds |
- Tuck Shop |
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3. |
Alan Dodds |
- Kenya Café |
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4. |
Tony Moore |
- 1930 - 1939 - The Wee Shop - Old Herioters - Return Visits to Edinburgh |
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5. |
Allan Dodds |
- The King is Dead |
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6. |
Henry (Rae) Phillips |
- Keir - Ma Wallace's Shop - Schoolwork - Leaving School - Work |
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7. |
Ron Dingwall |
- The Vennel - Ma Wallace's Shop |
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8. |
Allan Dodds |
- Tom Curr sketch |
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9. |
Allan Dodds |
- Agnes Hamilton former teacher |
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10. |
Ian Young |
- Agnes Hamilton former teacher |
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11. |
Norman R Pope |
- Heriot Club of Western Canada - Annual Meeting - 2015 |
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Recollections 1. Ken Boak Redhill, Surrey, England |
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Thank you to Ken Boak for sending me his memories of attending Heriots. Ken wrote: |
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1972 to 1976 "I was born in Haddington and lived there for 11 years. I attended Heriots between 1972 and 1976, before moving out to the Isle of Man. Many of my pals stayed at Heriots until 1983, and I had a few trips back as a teenager." I used to run from Heriots to the St. Andrews Square bus station every afternoon, to catch the 14:50 bus back to Haddington. Journey to School "In the mornings, I used to meet a friend off the train from Kinghorn, Fife at Waverley Station. Then we used to dawdle as slow as possibly up to Heriots - in order to miss morning assembly! We became experts at skiving assembly. Our circuitous route used to take us along just about every street and close up to the High St, and George IV Bridge. Sometimes we used to divert via Victoria St. and the Grass Market - if we thought we were going to be too early! Fleshmarket Close was a favourite of mine - mainly because of the pet shop - mentioned elsewhere in your recollections. I am certain that it was still trading up until 1975 or so. It was worth hanging around for 5 minutes just to look at the animals. I tried looking for the site of the pet shop last Monday. I think it was possibly near 'Jinglin Geordie', where the close is wider." Lunchtime "I remember the lunchtime trip down the Vennel, past the east end of Keir Street, to the chip shop in the Grassmarket, where: - a 'poke' of chips was 5p. - a can of coke or a Mars Bar were just 4p. - 'Tudor' crisps were 2.5p. - Waggonwheels 2p. This was the diet the young Herioter survived on - as the school meals in the refectory were truly disgusting." Lauriston Place "Lauriston Place still had shop-fronts on the north side. There was the 'Kenya Café' on the corner of Lauriston Place and Heriot Place, then a grocer/general store/newsagents which sold the Mars Bars and Cola. All these were torn town in the early 1980s when Lauriston Place was re-gentrified. I'd love to see some 'before and after' photos of this much- changing area. The changes of the 1970s are nothing compared to the new "Quartermile" developments." Other Shops "Other haunts were: - Browns Wireless on George IV Bridge, where we would spend our pocket money on parts for radio kits - not surprising that I became an electronics engineer. - Marionville Models, originally in Marionville Drive, where I bought model aircraft kits. It was run by a couple of Italian/Scots brothers, and they had an ice cream factory in the building next door. I suspect it had been an Italian ice cream parlour a few years earlier. Marionville Models are still in business, 35 years on!" Ken Boak, Redhill, Surrey, England: August 28, 2009 |
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Recollections 2. Allan Dodds Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England |
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Thank you to Allan Dodds who wrote: |
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Tuck Shop "When I attended George Heriot's School, there was a tuck shop in The Vennel, run by Mary Wallace (Old Ma Wallace). The shop was packed out with pupils at break and lunchtimes when various items as diverse as: - a glass of lemonade - a penny chew - a sherbet dab or - a single Senior Service cigarette could be purchased. Needles to say, theft was rife, but Mary put up with it and no-one was ever reported to the Headmaster as she was shrewd enough to figure out that all pupils would have been banned as a consequence of any such complaint - bad for business. In spite of this, Mary was very trusting and often would entrust her day's takings in a bag to a pupil who would be well rewarded for depositing huge sums of cash in the Bank of Scotland along the road in Lauriston Place. Such days of innocence and tolerance!" Allan Dodds, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England: March 12, 2010 |
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Recollections 3. Allan Dodds Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England |
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Thank you to Allan Dodds who wrote: |
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Kenya Café "Ken Boak (in 1 above) talks about the Kenya Café in Lauriston Place. As the school meals at Heriots were so appallingly inedible at the time, a few of us used to frequent the Kenya Café at lunchtime. Regrettably, our bad behaviour caused us to be banned, and we reverted to a chip shop to the south of the school whose name escapes me." Allan Dodds, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England: May 30, 2010 |
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Recollections 4. Tony Moore Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada |
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Thank you to Tony Moore who wrote: |
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1930 - 1939 "I was a pupil at Heriot's from 1920 to 1939.. I left Edinburgh in 1957 and now live in Vancouver Island, Canada." The Wee Shop "I wonder if anyone remembers the wee shop in the Vennel. There was a very steep stair down into a dark little underground shop which sold lemonade and pies - very unsanitary, but tasty nevertheless." Old Herioters "I have only met two old Herioters in all the time I have lived in Canada - Toronto, Edmonton and Vancouver Island, although I know that there is a Chapter of the Heriot Club in Toronto." Return Visits to Edinburgh "We have made numerous trips back to Edinburgh. On one sojourn I visited the school, but unfortunately it was a holiday. I wandered around it and saw little change from my early years there. Tony Moore, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada |
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Recollections 5. Allan Dodds Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England |
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Thank you to Allan Dodds who wrote, after reading Lex Gordon's recollections of the day that King George VI died: |
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The King is Dead "I also remember vividly hearing of the death of George VI. At Heriot's, our Headmaster, William McLaren Dewar, came round all of the classes to announce: 'Boys, the King is dead!'. We had a holiday the following day and the flag at the Castle flew at half mast for a while." Allan Dodds, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England: April 30, 2012 |
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Recollections 6. Henry (Rae) Phillips Edinburgh |
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Thank you to Henry (Rae) Phillips, Edinburgh, who wrote about the time when he lived in Keir Street. Rae wrote: |
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Keir Street "I attended George Heriot's school from about 1960 for 4 years. I initially lived at 12 Keir Street, literally half a minute from the side entrance to the school on the Vennel." Ma Wallace's Shop "I remember Ma Wallace's shop very well. My father had an allotment in the Meadows. (Yes, there were allotments there!) and also one at Blackford. He was pretty good at producing veg and I would regularly take some of the surplus round to Ma Wallace. This was always rewarded with some sweets and, more importantly, recognition in the lunchtime crush in that great wee shop." Schoolwork "Academically, I was not really up to the mark. I failed the entrance exam. However, my father was a librarian at Edinburgh University and knew the Head at Heriots (William Mc Lure Dewar) on a professional basis and, lo and behold, I was enrolled! Willie Dewar would sweep into the classroom at the end of the academic year and would inform each boy individually (albeit in front of one's cohorts) of their future." Leaving School "I had repeated my third year and was in class 3R. I was told: 'Phillips, you're wasting your time here. You will be leaving this year!' I was in shock. I was only a wee guy. I had never been allowed to wear long trousers to school, and indeed did not own a pair." Work "Three weeks later, I started work as a tea boy at The Civil Engineers' office of the British Railways Board in Waterloo place, not yet sixteen years old, earning £4 a week. What a fantastic grounding Heriots had provided. It has stood me in good stead and I now have nothing but genuinely fond memories of the school" Henry (Rae) Phillips, Edinburgh: July 28, 2013 |
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Recollections 7. Ron Dingwall Bathgate, West Lothian, Scotland |
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Thank you to Ron Dingwall, Bathgate, West Lothian, who wrote: |
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The Vennel "I've just been reading the memories of the Vennel and it brought back my days as a pupil at Heriots school in the 1960s. The Vennel gate of the school was where you entered, if coming by bike or from Grassmarket." Ma Wallace's Shop "Outside the gate was the wonderful Ma Wallace’s shop which opened at 8.30 in the morning and always had a queue of Heriots boys at the door and , a counter full of sweets and other wonders. The same queues were there at lunchtime. One memorable occasion was when the then Headteacher William McL Dewar tried to make her shop 'out of bounds' - for what reason I can’t remember, but he didn’t bargain on her tenacity in defending her right to customers and this rule was withdrawn very quickly. A lot of 'Dinner Money' spent in her shop, rather than in the school." Ron Dingwall, Bathgate, West Lothian: December 29, 2011 |
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Recollections 8. Allan Dodds Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England |
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Thank you to Allan Dodds who wrote: |
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Tom Curr Sketch "When I was about twelve years of age my parents took me to a ceilidh where I met Tom Curr, Ian Robertson and Tom Fleming. Learning that I attended George Heriot's School, Tom Curr signed my autograph book with this lighting sketch of a rugby player wearing Heriot stripes. The sketch took him all of thirty seconds to produce."
© Reproduced with acknowledgement to Allan Dodds, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England: |
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Recollections 9. Allan Dodds Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England |
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Thank you to Allan Dodds who wrote: |
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Agnes Hamilton
Former Teacher at "This photo was taken a few weeks ago. It shows one of my former Primary School teachers from Heriots, Agnes Hamilton, sitting next to me."
© Reproduced with acknowledgement to Allan Dodds, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England: "Agnes is holding a copy of my autobiography in which I lavish praise on her teaching methods. I am wearing the scarf that I wove on her hand loom when I was eight years old. Agnes is now 103 and living in a care home in Haddington, East Lothian, Scotland." Allan Dodds, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England: October 29, 2014 |
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Recollections 10. Ian Young Hawick, Borders, Scotland |
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Thank you to Ian Young for following up Allan Dodds' Recollections 9 above. Ian wrote: |
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Agnes Hamilton
Former Teacher at "I was at Heriots from 1963 onwards and Miss Hamilton was my teacher when I was in class 5L(1966?). She was a great teacher, It's really nice to know she is still going strong. I recognise her smile, even thought it was a while back !" Ian Young, Hawick, Borders, Scotland: October 30, 2014 |
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Recollections 11. Norman R Pope Sidney, British Columbia, Canada |
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Thank you to Norman R Pope Secretary of the Heriot Club of Western Canada for telling me about a recent meeting of his club Norman wrote: |
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Heriot Club of Western Canada Annual Meeting - 2015 "Our third Annual Meeting of the Heriot Club of Western Canada was held on June Day, June 1, 2015. As usual in Victoria, it was a beautiful sunny day and we had attendance of 4 Herioters and 1 spouse, who enjoyed a buffet lunch at the Union Club. Despite the small group we did manage to create rousing renditions of both school songs. Some of our members are having medical issues which kept them from attending. We wish them speedy recovery. We elected our slate of Officers as: - President: Douglas Robertson, Class of 1963 - Vice President: Hugh Hunt, Class of 1945 - Secretary: Norman Pope, Class of 1958. Here is a photograph showing the attendance at June Day:
© Reproduced with acknowledgement to Norman R Pope, Sidney, British Columbia, Canada Standing left to right: - Norman Pope, Class of 1958 - Douglas Robertson, Class of 1963 - Hugh Hunt, Class of 1945 - Alastair Berry Class of 1947. We always welcome anyone from Western Canada, or anyone who is visiting Western Canada" Norman R Pope, Sidney, British Columbia, Canada: 14 July, 2015 |
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Heriot Club of Western Canada - Further Information If you'd like to know more about the Heriot Club of Western Canada, or about any of their events, please email me to let me know, then I'll pass on Norman R Pope's email address to you. Peter Stubbs, Edinburgh: 2 November 2015 |
