Recollections
Merchiston
Merchiston lies about a mile
SW of Tollcross, Edinburgh |
Please click on one of the links above, or
scroll down this page.
|
1. |
Jimmy Letham
Elizabeth Vale, South Australia |
North Merchiston School |
2. |
John Clark
Canada |
Early
Years
Dundee Street
North
Merchiston Primary School
North
Merchiston Boys' Club
Employment
Home |
3. |
Stevie Watson
Buckstone, Edinburgh |
Early
Years
Dundee Street
North
Merchiston Primary School
North
Merchiston Boys' Club
Employment
Home |
4. |
Bob Wyllie
Brussels, Belgium |
The
Terraces
The
Square
Meggetland Playground
Railway Cutting
JK
Rowling |
5. |
Bob Wyllie
Brussels, Belgium |
The
Terraces and Railway
Recent View
|
6. |
Richard White
Leicester,
Leicestershire, England |
Hutchison's Garage
|
7. |
George T Smith
Nanaimo, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada |
Garage - Angle Park Terrace |
8. |
Ian Simpson
Richmond, Surrey, England |
North Merchiston Boys' Club |
9. |
Bob Sinclair
Queensland, Australia |
North Merchiston Boys' Club |
10. |
Helen Glacken
Bristol, Avon, England |
Home and School
Friends |
11. |
Elizabeth
Raeburn-Fellows |
Memories |
12. |
James McDougall
Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia |
Café and Chip Shop |
13 |
Janis Cameron
Western Canada |
North Merchiston Club |
14 |
Janis Cameron
Western Canada |
North Merchiston
Club
Shops
Emigration |
15 |
Michael Robert Lindsay
Royston, Edinburgh |
Horne Street
-
27 Children |
16 |
Charlie Wookey
Bristol, England |
Home
Bryson Road
Who Else Lived There
|
17 |
John Roy |
Hutchison's Garage
Today |
17
Reply 1 |
Vincent Gonelli |
Hutchison's Garage
|
18 |
Ivy Kerr
(née
Bain)
Kinross, Perthshire, Scotland |
Shops
Schooldays
Work
|
19 |
Thomas Keir-Hardie
Jersey, Channel Islands |
North Merchiston
Club
|
Recollections
1.
Jimmy Letham
Elizabeth Vale, South
Australia |
Thank you to Jimmy Letham
for allowing me to reproduce these photographs of school classes at North
Merchiston School. Please click on the thumbnail images below to
enlarge them and to read about them.
1938-39
©
Around 1940
©
|
Acknowledgement: Jimmy Letham, Elizabeth Vale, South Australia: January 16, 2007
|
Recollections
2.
John Clark
Canada |
Thank you to John Clark who wrote
|
Early Years
"My place of birth was 28 Candlemaker
Row, directly above Greyfriars Pub, and looking on to the cemetery
at the back."
©
|
Dundee Street
"When
my Dad went off to war, we moved to 146 Dundee
Street in the basement area. There was gas
lighting and no bathroom, but I could
climb out of my window into the big backgreen for the daily fitba,
or all the other games. It was fun
to go into the air raid shelters, and years later to play in them.
Around 1948.
we moved one stair over to No 148. This was on the third floor, and looked
over to Dalry railway station, and further
over to Donaldsons Hospital.
©
©
We
had electric lights too. However the mice and the cockroaches were
just as bad. It was something you learned to live with."
|
North
Merchiston Primary School
"During this time,
I was at North Merchiston Primary School. I loved my school, and I
fell in love with one of my early teachers, Miss Jameson.
She was beautiful.
I have often wondered if she is
still alive. I would love to know."
|
North Merchiston Boys' Club
"I
spent nearly all of my youth with my same buddies at North
Merchiston Boys Club - later to be girls
also. Our hero and our mentor was
Stanley Boss Nairn, everyone called him 'Boss'."
Games
"The club
taught us a lot about life, and how to enjoy it. We exercised
vigorously every day, and table tennis, floor hockey, basketball,
etc was a nightly event.
We entered drama festivals, had a
Christmas pPantomime every year, and we
just plainly enjoyed our life."
Excursions
"We would go
for weekends to Dalguise House, up near Ballater, such lovely
country.
We would be taught everything about
drama, even the correct make up to use and how to apply it.
Weekends hiking over the highest
parts of the Pentlands with our Bivi tents, a whistle and compass
and flashlight. It was always raining, but that didn't bother us."
Football
"On a Sunday
morning, all of us guys would gather at 'the
Pend', next to number 148, and take the
tram to Colinton terminus, then walk up
the hill and over to the army football pitches and play football all
day, sometimes even in the moonlight if it was such a night."
|
Employment
Edwardson & Son
"When I left
school, I worked for Edwardson & Son as an apprentice electrician.
Our shop was at
the end of Albion Road which suited me fine, as I was a
Hibee man, (unlike all my pals)."
Hibees are supporters of Hibernian
Football Club (Hibs). Hibs' ground is at Easter Road. Most of
the people living in North Merchiston would have supported Heart of
Midlothian (Hearts) who played locally. Hearts' ground is as
Tynecastle, Gorgie. -
Peter Stubbs
Royal Engineers' Club
"In 1956 My
Dad took on the job as Clubmaster of the Royal Engineers Club at 78
Great King
Street.
I learned a lot about looking after a bar from these days."
©
Patrick Thomsons
"Soon
afterwards, I worked for the House of
Fraser, based in Patrick Thomsons on the Bridges.
I met my wife-to-be
there. Her name was Betty Curran.
She came from Loanhead and worked as a seamstress
at Patrick Thomsons. Her whole family is here in Canada
now.
I did my National Service in Cyprus from
1958 till 1960, but I came home on a leave
in early 1960 and was married." |
Home
"When I came
out the forces, we bought a house in St Stephens street for £650.
When we planned to emigrate to Canada in 1963, we sold the house at
a loss. A real estate agent told us these houses were due for
demolition. I found out a few years ago that our flat would
sell for about £180,000!" |
John Clark, Canada: February 5,
2008
|
Recollections
3.
Stevie Watson
Buckstone, Edinburgh |
North Merchiston Primary School
Thank you to Stevie Watson for allowing me to
reproduce these two photos of North Merchiston Primary School, taken from
the bay window of his 2nd floor flat at 18 Tay Street.
©
©
|
Acknowledgement: Stevie Watson:
April 18, 2008. |
Recollections
4.
Bob
Wyllie
Brussels, Belgium |
Thank you to Bob Wyllie who wrote:
|
The
Terraces
"I was brought up in
in the 1940s in the Terraces; that's the late
C19 housing development that is laid out like a
fishbone with the spine in line with the west end of Bonaly
Road
(now re-named Harrison Gardens)
in Merchiston.
The
lateral 'bones' are respectively:
-
Hazelbank
Terrace
-
Hollybank Terrace
-
Almondbank Terrace
-
Briarbank
Terrace
- Alderbank Terrace" |
The Square
"Halfway down the
central spine (officially called Shaftsbury Park although few were aware
of that, we just called it the lane) it opened out into a large square
appropriately called 'The Square'.
That's where we built huge bonfires on Guy
Fawkes Day and Victoria Day.
When we were collecting old wooden junk for the bonfire we also mounted
raids on on bonfire heaps elsewhere, such as
down Robertson Avenue in Dalry,
to steal their fuel. The Dalry boys naturally made counter-raids." |
Meggetland Playground
"Our favourite
playground was in Meggetland. In those
days the NE corner of Meggetland had not been
developed into playing fields like the rest of the area.
It was a few acres of brambles, gorse, and
elderberry bushes.
To reach it from the Terraces you had to climb
over the railings at the back of Alderbank Terrace,
onto the edge of the old Suburban railway cutting.
Then, depending on your age and agility, you
either scrambled down the steep sides of the cutting, crossed the railway
lines, and scrambled back up the other side, or ran with perfect balance
across the large water-main pipe that spanned the 40-foot-deep
cutting. If our mothers could have seen us!" |
Railway
Cutting
"That playground is
long gone. A rail link was built from the Suburban railway cutting up to
old Caledonian Railway yards to the north of
Meggetland and used up the land.
A few years ago I walked along the footpath
which has replaced the Caledonian line, west of
Merchiston station.
From the bridge that crosses the Suburban
cutting, I saw down there,
crossing the lines, the biggest dog fox I've
ever seen in my life. There must still be
enough cover and refuge for them there. That
seems to me a good thing." |
JK
Rowling
"I learned recently
that JK Rowling was living in Hazelbank Terrace
when she wrote her first Harry Potter book. That should put the old place
on the map!" |
Acknowledgement: Brussels,
Belgium: August 24, 2008 |
Recollections
5.
Bob
Wyllie
Brussels, Belgium |
Thank you to Bob for writing again from Brussels to
tell me:
|
The
Terraces and Railway
"Google Earth images show the
still-existing pipes over the railway between the Terraces and Meggetland
that I wrote about. The one on the left is the Tinny Lizzie, the one on
the right is the slightly narrower Skinny Lizzie, definitely not for
beginners.
I see the remnants of the old waste land is
still there, and I am sure the kids still play on it, or at least I hope
so."
Acknowledgement: Brussels,
Belgium: August 24, 2008 |
Recent
View
The Google Earth image that Bob refers to above
showed a close up
view of the two pipes crossing the railway.
Here is a wider view, looking to the NE across the
Terraces. The two pipes leading across the railway tracks to the waste railway land at
Meggetland can be seen at the bottom of this view.
©
The top two-thirds of this view includes several other
features mentioned by Bob in 4 above:
- the terraces, Alderbank Terrace, etc.
- the central spine, Harrison Gardens
- the square
Please click on the thumbnail image above to enlarge
it and see more detail. |
Recollections
6.
Richard White
Leicester,
Leicestershire, England |
Question
|
Richard White, now living in Leicester, wrote:
|
What happened to
Hutchison's Garage?
"Can you help
me? I'm trying to find out more about
Hutchison’s Garage that used to be on Angle Park Terrace.
The
garage was very popular with 1930s sports car
enthusiasts. They called the owner ‘Henry Hutch’.
I don’t know if it carried on after the war.
Maybe the building is still there, even though
the business has now gone.
Richard White, Leicester,
Leicestershire, England: January 13, 2009 |
Richard emailed me again, telling me more about his
interest in Hutchison's Garage:
|
Aston Martin
"Fifteen years ago I
bought a 1934 Aston Martin and set about tracing its history. It was
first owned my William McKill in Broughton. He traded with Hutchison's and
probably sold it to them in 1936. The next owner I traced, Gordon
Gillies, also traded with Hutchison's. I think it was the ‘place to go’
for aspiring motor sport drivers.
I thought that my research had ground to a
halt years ago then, out of the blue, came a photograph of my car that had
been taken around 1938. It was parked next to another Aston Martin at a
house in Hawick owned by the Innes family.
Hutchison's Garage
I now have some quite
interesting information and photos, and I feel
that a pre-war photo or even personal
recollections of Hutchison's would be a nice element in the history of my
car.
I've made enquiries
about possible advertising by Hutchison's in the
local newspaper, but have not
got any results. I’d hoped to find
an advert that may have been for my Aston. Maybe I was looking in the
wrong places or else they may not have advertised because they depended
upon word of mouth in their client group at the time.
It would certainly be very interesting to make
contact with anyone who remembers the company and lived in Edinburgh at
the time.
I've visited
Scotland several times in the Aston with my daughter. The first trip was
in 1998 when Sarah was just 11 years old. We met David McKill, the first
owner’s son, on one occasion."
Richard
White, Leicester, Leicestershire, England: January 14, 2009 |
Reply
to Richard
If you can help to answer Richard's question above,
please email me, then I'll pass on your message to him.
Thank you. -
Peter Stubbs: January 13, 2009 |
Answer to Recollections
6. |
Answer |
Thank you to Les Veitch, Corstorphine, Edinburgh who
wrote to answer Richard White's question:
"What happened to Hutchison's Garage?"
Les wrote:
|
Hutchison's Garage
"I
think I can provide some further information on Hutchison's
Garage and Showrooms in Angle Park. I lived two doors away at No 15
from 1942 to 1988 and well remember the sleek Sunbeam Talbots and Aston
Martins which they sold.
Their showroom was at 8-13 Angle
Park with their garage for servicing and repairs at the other end of Angle
Park. It was quite large, stretching from
Angle Park and down over a ramp to a rear entrance in Ardmillan Place
(this narrow road splitting Angle Park in two and running from Henderson
Terrace up to Angle Park.
Howard-Johnson Cars
During the late-1960s
and early-1970s the head salesman was a Mr
Howard-Johnson with whom I became friendly through his ex-RAF career.
Eventually,
he and his son opened their own car salesroom called Howard-Johnson Cars
in Ferry Road, Leith. It is still in
operation today
Fisher's Garage
In the late-1970s, Hutchison's
was taken over by Fisher's, another car
distributor, who specialised in Alfa Romeos. They
traded there for some years before moving to premises in Peffermill Road.
Olympian Pine
After Fisher's
moved, the premises remained empty for some time.
They were looked at by prospective buyers for a mini-
market but, I believe, permission was not forthcoming, and eventually it
became a pine furniture showroom and is currently still there,
called Olympian Pine. The frontage remains
much the same as it was back in those Hutchison days.
The Blue Lagoon
The front part of the garage at
the far end of Angle Park became a pub called the 'Blue
Lagoon' and remained so for many years before
becoming the 'Caley Sample Room'.
It remains so today
The lower part of the garage
which backed onto Ardmillan Bowling Club (founded 1884 and celebrating its
125th anniversary this year) was eventually developed with flats and town
houses, built in keeping with the buildings already
in the area."
Les Veitch, Corstorphine, Edinburgh:
July 25, 2009 |
Recollections
7.
George T Smith
Nanaimo, Vancouver Island, British Columbia,
Canada |
George T Smith wrote:
|
Garage
Angle Park Terrace
"I have some memories of a largish garage in
Angle Park Terrace which,
when I was at Boroughmuir between 1943
and 1948, seemed to sell Sunbeam
Talbot cars. I remember being
impressed with the lines of the first post-war
Sunbeams that I saw there on my way to and from school.
I believe that the garage was taken over in
the late 1950s or early 1960s
by a very sporty garage owner who formerly operated from the small
lock-up garages in the mews near Dewar Place.
My car was an ex-Dundrod
500 competitor, a Kieft.
He managed to keep it roadworthy. I think he was English and
competed in the Bo'ness hill climb on several occasions
I think his car was an early Mini with
two engines- an early form of four wheel drive. I also recollect a
souped-up Fiat 500 near his garage. It is all a
long time ago so these memories are pretty dim."
George T Smith, Nanaimo, Vancouver Island, British Columbia,
Canada: February 5, 2009
|
Recollections
8.
Ian Simpson
Richmond, Surrey,
England |
After reading John Clark's comments
(in 2 above), Ian Simpson wrote:
|
North Merchiston Boys' Club
"After leaving the
Cubs, I joined North Merchiston Boys' Club as it offered more facilities.
At North Merchiston Boys'
Club, I was top
collector of funds for several years, and was gifted a table tennis bat n
the first occasion.
Mr Isdale was manager when
I left and Andy Cunningham from Bryson Road was one of the instructors."
Ian Simpson, Richmond, Surrey, England:
March 10+11, 2009 |
Recollections
9.
Bob Sinclair
Queensland, Australia |
After reading John Clark's comments
(in 2 above), Bob Sinclair wrote:
|
North Merchiston Boys' Club
"Thanks to John Clark
(2 above) for reminding
me about North Merchiston Boys' Club. It
was just across the road from my uncle's abode.
I used to travel from Pilton up to the club
and had to change buses at the West End. One November it was such a bad
mist that the bus stopped at the bottom of Comely Bank,
just at Flora Stevenson's, school,
and the driver said that he was going no further. I walked the rest of the
way through Dalry and Gorgie and up past the cemetery by the railway
bridge and, of course, got there late. And at the end
of the evening, I had to walk all the way back to Pilton!
The club had good facilities where you could
do gymnastics on the ground floor or go and play table tennis or play
basketball in the basement. Half way down the stair you had a library and
could sometimes get a cup of tea (though I'm not
sure if that was official).
I can remember going with the club to the
Waverly Market and to a camp up near Perth where we were camped out under
the stars.
The club also organised some long distance
runs of a few miles. You were set off in pairs about 100 yards apart. The
lad I was running with and I set of in about the 7th pair and just ran at
a reasonable pace. At the end we found
out that the first pair off had beaten us by about 300 yards.
We should have tried harder!
The club also put on entertainment for the
parents, but I only got involved
once. That was
enough for me."
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
January 18, 2010 |
Recollections
10.
Helen Glacken
Bristol, Avon,
England |
Here is a message that Helen Glacken left in the
EdinPhoto guestbook.
Helen wrote: |
Home and School
"I lived at 20 Watson
Crescent and went to North Merchiston School for a matter of months
before it closed. Then
I went to Bruntsfield and Darroch.
Schools.
What I
have seen so far on the web site has brought
back happy memories.
Friends
Does anybody remember:
-
Maureen Keppie from
Watson Crescent
-
Katie Thomson from
Watson Crescent
- Carol McKay
from Bryson Road
- Lorna
Christie from Tay Street.
Helen Glacken, Bristol, Aon, England:
Message posted in EdinPhoto guestbook: February 24, 2010 |
Reply to Helen
If you'd like to send a reply to Helen, please email
me then I'll pass on your message to her.
Thank you. -
Peter Stubbs: February 26, 2010 |
Recollections
11.
Elizabeth
Raeburn-Fellows |
Thank you to Elizabeth Raeburn-Fellows who wrote: |
Memories of North Merchiston
"Our family, the
Raeburns, lived at 2 Ogilvie
Terrace, just off Shandon, from 1903
(when the tenements were built) until
1958. I lived there as a small child.
I remember:
-
the Italian Ice Cream Parlour
/ Fish & Chip Shop by the Shandon bus
stop at North Merchiston
Station
-
the putting green and park facing
Ogilvie Terrace
-
the
canal at the top of Ogilvie Terrace
-
North Merchiston
Cemetery
-
Craiglockhart School
Elizabeth Raeburn-Fellows: June
15, 2010 |
Recollections
12.
James McDougall
Gold Coast, Queensland,
Australia |
Thank you to James McDougall who replied to
Elizabeth's Recollections 11
above.
James wrote |
Café and Chip Shop
"The Café and chip
shop that Elizabeth remembers was run by the Di Rollo family. They
also had a place at Tollcross.
Benny, who ran the chip
shop, was interned during WWII.
James McDougall: September 8, 2010 |
Recollections
13.
Janis Cameron
Western Canada |
Thank you to Janice Cameron for sending her memories
of the club at Merchiston.
Janis wrote: |
North Merchiston Club
"I used to live in
Ritchie Place, around the corner
from the
North Merchiston Boys' Club
mentioned by John Clark (2 above).
I used to go to the club,
which was known then as the
Boys' and Girls' Club. I
had lots of fun there, and also at their dances
in the 1960s."
Janis Cameron (maiden name), Western
Canada: July
8, 2011 |
Recollections
14.
Janis Cameron
Western Canada |
Janis
Cameron added: |
North Merchiston Club
"I also remember going
to a gymnastics show with North Merchiston Club. I think the show
was in Peebles."
Shops
"There are two little
stores that I remember from the time when I lived 7 Ritchie Place.
They are:
- Mason's on
Watson Crescent and
- Laidlaws, Bryson
Road, where we got hot buns on a Sunday."
Emigration
"My mother used to work at Martin's Bakery on
the corner of Dundee Street and Yeaman Place and my father worked at Bruce
Peebles.
After my mother passed away in 1965, I
emigrated to Canada with my father and sister."
Janis Cameron (maiden name), Western
Canada: July
16, 2011 |
Recollections
15
Michael Robert Lindsay
Muirhouse, Edinburgh |
Thank you to Michael Robert
LIndsay who wrote: |
Horne Street
1926-27
"I've just received this photo of My Great
Aunt Margaret Henderson Lindsay (Peggy) & Great Uncle Drummond Lindsay
as children, with all the kids in their street.
©
Both are marked with 'X's on this photo.
The photo is likely to have been taken around 1926-27. I think
it would have been taken in Horne Terrace, off Viewforth,
Edinburgh."
Who else is in this Photo
"It would be great if anybody else in this
photo could be recognised. Please let me know if you recognise
anybody else in this photo."
Michael Robert LIndsay, Muirhouse, Edinburgh: January
5, 2013 |
Reply to Michael Robert Lindsay
If you'd like to contact
Michael,
please email me to let me know then I'll pass on his email address to
you. Thank you.
Peter Stubbs, Edinburgh: January 7, 2013 |
Recollections
16
Charlie Wookey
Bristol, Avon, England |
Thank you to
Charlie Wookey for posting a message in the
EdinPhoto guestbook.
Charlie wrote: |
Home
"I was born in Edinburgh on 12
January 1942. We lived above
the baker's shop on the corner of Fowler
Terrace and Bryson Road. My mum's
name was Anne Edgar Brown"
Bryson Road
"I went to
North Merchiston school on Bryson Road, until we left in 1949 to come
to Bristol.
"I remember a
dairy on Bryson Road, and carts that were
pulled along by horses. I was only seven
years old when I left, but I have fond
memories of my time there."
Who Else
Lived There?
"I'd
like to hear from anyone who lived
on those roads between 1942 and 1949."
Charlie Wookey,
Bristol, Avon, England: message posted in EdinPhoto guestbook
on 2 Sep 2013 |
Reply to Charlie Wookey
If you'd like to
reply to the message that Charlie Wookey wrote,
please:
- post
your in the EdinPhoto guestbook below the message that he left there on 2
September 2013, and/or
- click on the email link below the message
that he left in the guestbook, and send an email to him.
Thank you.
Peter Stubbs, Edinburgh: January 7, 2013 |
Recollections
17
John Roy |
John Roy,
who lived at No. 4 Angle
Park Terrace from 1944 until 1970ish, wrote: |
Hutchison's Garage
Showroom
"Hutchison's
Garage showroom was located at street level with a car lift to access
a basement area. This basemen had been used as an air raid shelter and
had a doorway leading into the back greens of the surrounding
tenements.
They handled cars of the Rootes group
viz:- Sunbeam, Hillman, Humber, Singer. I
purchased my first car from Hutchisons in 1965,
a 1957 Sunbeam Rapier 111A.
I think Hutcheson's
they may also have sold Rolls Royce.
As a child, I received old catalogues
from the man who valeted the cars."
Filling Station
"The company
also operated a filling station at the opposite end of the Terrace
which gave access by a raised roadway to their service area.
It in turn was part of their vehicle building facility
which made bodies for the Rootes group truck chassis.
Today
"Today:
- Hutcheson's
showroom is a furniture store
-
Hutcheson's
filling station is a pub
-
I think that the servicing/vehicle
building area has had flats built on it.
- Angle Park also had a small fire
station which is now occupied by a firm of undertakers.
-
The railway line has housing built
on it.
-
TheAthletic
Arms (aka 'the Diggers')
pub is still there.
- Most
of the small shops are no longer retail businesses.
- The old
St. Cuthberts Co-op on Dundee street is now
a bathroom fitting centre.
- The
'Italian' ice-cream shop opposite is
long gone.
John Roy: March 5, 2014 |
Recollections
17
Vincent Gonelli |
Thank you to Vincent Gonelli
who replied: |
Hutchison's Garage
Petrol
Forecourt.
"There is now a lounge bar, where
Hutchison's under cover petrol forecourt used to be. It
allowed one to drive straight through and to their workshop facility
on the lower level and to the rear of the forecourt."
Filling Station
"Between
the end of terraced houses & the duel named Athletic Arms /
Gravediggers Pub (renowned for its very cold cellars and great
beers) there used to be was Hutchison's 2-level car sales showroom.
From these showrooms, they used to sell Rootes Group cars, mostly
the sports versions such as the Sunbeam, Hillman Californian,etc.
My Memories
"I was born 1940 and grew up near here.
I used to visit the area regularly. Hutchison's, with its light
Belize painted pillar facade and red to burgundy shop facia with with
embossed 3D gold alpha-numerical lettering was a favorite stopping place
for me to ogle the cars longingly."
G D Young
"There was a professional photographer who
lived somewhere around No.32, Angle Park Terrace Around 1960, he
opened the best photography outlet for many years in Morrison Street,
not far from Angle Park by the name of GD Young
It might
be worthwhile trying to find out if he had any archive photos of
Hutchison's."
Vincent Gonelli: 11 March 2015 |
Recollections
18
Ivy Kerr (née
Bain) |
Thank you
to Ivy Kerr who wrote |
Shops
"I stayed in 1
Ritchie Place, Edinburgh from 1950 to 1963.
I remember:
-
Masons,
the wee grocer's shop. The woman that owned it had a son called
Alister, We used to get our morning rolls there and Evening Dispatch.
-
Laidlaws in Bryson Road.
Schooldays
"I went to North
Merchiston Primary School, then Tynecastle Secondary.
We used to go to
The Tivoli and The
Scotia picture houses on a Saturday Morning.
Harrison Park was a
favourite place to play.
Work
"When
I left school I started to work in T&H Smith, Gorgie Road.
I don't know if it's still there
but it was a great place to work. I walked up and down Robertson's
Avenue every day to get there."
"Happy Days!"
Ivy Kerr (née Bain), Kinross, Perthshire, Scotland: September 20, 2014 |
Recollections
19.
Thomas Keir-Hardie
Jersey, Channel
Islands |
Thank you
to Thomas Keir-Hardie and his wife, Margaret, for sending their memories
below.
Tom, now living in Jersey, tells me that he was a
Youth Leader there from 1973 until his retirement in 1990. He is now
84 years old. Tom
wrote: |
North Merchiston Club
Boys' Club
"I was the Leader at North
Merchiston Club from May 1956 until January 1963. The club then
it consisted of:
- Minors
(aged 8 to11)
- Juniors
(aged 11 to 14)
- B Section (aged14
to16)
- A Section (aged
16 to 21)
- Men's Section (21
years up).
Girls' Club
"The Girls' Club consisted of:
- Juniors (aged 11 to 14)
- Seniors 14 to 21)
Activities
"In1963, the year I
left:
- the club had 10 football teams,
playing in legs.
- we
had 9 entries in the Edinburgh
Youth Drama Festival.
- the
Annual Pantomime ran
for one week at Christmas.
-
the Spring Show (a
Musical) ran for 4 nights.
- we ran a
Dance Club. 500
attended every Saturday night."
More Activities
"The
club also had:
- table tennis teams
-
basketball teams
-
country dancing
-
gymnastics teams
- netball
teams
-
snooker
- and many other
activities."
Perthshire
"Eighty boys went to
camp every year at Bruar in Perthshire, and there were
many weekends for activities and training courses at
Dalguise House, also in Perthshire."
Leaders
"The club was run by
one full-time Leader
and had one part- time
leader for the girls' club.
The club's greatest asset was
its 40 superb Voluntary
Leaders - the best team I ever saw in my 40 years in
youth work."
Margaret my wife and children David and Alyson
lived in the flat above the Club Office
I have
so many memories,
with over 1000 young people attending every week.
The club was open 7 days a week,
46 weeks a year and, of course,
had the finest club building in Scotland if not the
UK."
Thomas Keir-Hardie, Jersey, Chanel
Islands: December 4 + 7. 2014 |
|