Group Outing - Broughton Place. Do you know which group this was and when the photo might have been taken?

Outing

Broughton Place

Which Outing?

Here is a large group of well-dressed men and women of all ages. To me, it looks likely to be a church group. They are in the Broughton district to the west of Gayfield Square.

Thank you to Nigel Baxter for allowing me to reproduce:

a) the photo above, taken at Broughton Place, Edinburgh

b) other photos of church outings, taken in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s.

These photos come from medium format negatives that Nigel acquired as a 'job lot' in an auction following a house clearance.

Nigel is trying to discover who the photographer might have been and which groups are in the photos..

Acknowledgement: Nigel Baxter, Boston, Lincolnshire, England

Reply to Nigel?

If you think you can provide any answers for Nigel, please email me, then I'll pass on your message to him.

Thank you.

Peter Stubbs, Edinburgh: October 28, 2011

Recollections

Allan Dodds

Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England

Thank you to Allan Dodds who replied:

People in the Photo

"I recognise a few faces in this picture:

Two are possibly of my aunt and uncle, Jean and Willie Dodds, but since they've both been dead for many decades, I'm not altogether sure if I'm right.

I do recognise other faces too, but I can't name any of them, I'm afraid. One of them was a member of Broughton Place Church Scout troop, and I do recognise him because I was also a member of that Scout troop before leaving for George Heriot's Scout Troop, a more civilized gathering of souls!"

Date of the Photo

"The picture was taken just along the road from Broughton Place Church which I attended as a child. I would date it at around 1955-1958, but I can't be any more precise than that."

The Group

"I've no idea what group this was. The Church catered for many interests, as I recall."

The Church

"It's interesting to observe that Broughton Place Church is now owned by Lyon & Turnbulls, Auctioneers. God replaced by mammon!

The Reverend Dr George S Gunn (who christened me in 1943) would be turning in his grave if he were alive today!

His grave may be found in Warriston Cemetery, thankfully not vandalized. His former manse lies adjacent to the Royal Botanic Garden on the right-hand side as you enter the Botanics."

Allan Dodds, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England: October 29, 2011

Recollections

Allan Dodds

Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England

Thank you to Allan Dodds who added:

Another Face

"I think that I recognise another face in the Broughton Place group photo. It is of Dorothy Wallace, a missionary who would often return to the Church to tell us of all the good work that she was doing in India."

"I'm pretty sure that she is the woman in the checked jacket, third from the left at the back - but I'm not 100% sure and I look forward to other readers providing more accurate recollections."

Dorothy Wallace

"Would you believe that when I Googled her name I found an article that she had written after retiring from her missionary work." ***

Allan Dodds, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England: October 30, 2011

*** Here is a link to the article that Allan Dodds mentions above:

Dorothy Wallace - Darjeeling

Peter Stubbs: October 30, 2011

Recollections

Allan Dodds

Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England

Broughton Place Church - Scout Troop

Thank you to Allan Dodds for writing again, enclosing this photo of Broughton Place Church Scout Troop that he was commissioned to take in around 1961. (Please click on the thumbnail image below to enlarge it and read about it..

The Scout Leader appears in this photo as well as in this photo of the Group Outing from the church:

Acknowledgement: Allan Dodds, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England: November 3, 2011

Recollections

Allan Dodds

Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England

Church Outing

Thank you to Allan Dodds for writing again about the group outing from the church.

Allan wrote:

Who was on this Outing?

"This event might have been for Sunday School Teachers, Elders of the Kirk, etc.

The photo includes:

- Rev. Dr George S Gunn.
(I think he is the one kneeling on his coat in the front row.)

- Assistant Minister, either a Canadian or American
(I think he is the one on the extreme left of this picture.)

- TheScout Leader
(I think he is the one kneeling on the front row 2nd from left.)

- The Cub Leader

- Sunday School Teachers

- My Uncle Assistant Church Organist
(He is immediately to the right of Rev Gunn.)

- My Aunt, Secretary of the Women's Temperance Association

So, all of the people in the photo must have been on a junket to thank them for their services to the Church as they are all Church Officers of one sort or the other."

Allan Dodds, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England: November 3, 2011

Recollections

Allan Dodds

Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England

Allan Dodds wrote again:

Who Else was on this Outing?

"Looking at the number of people in the group again, and now beginning to recollect certain faces after half a century, I believe that Church choir members are also represented in the picture.

I wouldn't be surprised if Dr Gunn hadn't paid for the outing, together with its photographic record, out of his own pocket as he was a bachelor and had a living out of his Manse in Inverleith Row."

Attending Church

"Although, as a child, I hated having to attend Church every Sunday morning (not to mention Sunday School and Bible Class afterwards), today I look back and mourn the passing of what then were everyday virtues such as respect for others and common decency enshrined in the Christian message that we took home every week and which helped inform us in our dealings with others between those Sundays

There were no suicide bombers in those days, heaven forfend! Peace and love were the two messages that I took away, and hope that I have cherished throughout my life.

Thanks go to the Reverend Dr George S Gunn and all the people in that photograph that Nigel Baxter submitted."

Allan Dodds, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England: November 7, 2011

Recollections

Les Braby

Kent, England

Thank you to Les Braby who wrote:

Broughton Church Group

"The group is certainly from Broughton Place Church. The photo was taken outside the church halls, which are on the right of the group.

The church itself is directly behind the group facing West along Broughton Place. I am a member of this church."

The Minister

"The photo was probably taken in the late-1950s. The gentleman fifth from the left in the front row with a hand on each knee is the minister at that time, The Rev Dr George Gunn."

Youth Fellowship

"I was only a teenager then. about 16/18 years old, and was a member of the Young Peoples Association (Youth Fellowship). in fact, I was married there in June 1964."

Scout Group Leader

"I recognise some of the faces but not all, although I can only name one other in the group. That is the gentleman second from the left who is named Bill Aitken. He was the Church’s Scout Group Leader."

Les Braby, Kent, England: January 13, 2012

Recollections

Allan Dodds

Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England

Thank you to Allan Dodds who wrote:

Scout Leader

"Les Braby is right. Bill Aitken was the Scout Group Leader. He was the person who commissioned me to take the photograph of the Scout Troop

I had known him for many years as a Scout myself- that's why he gave me first refusal on the photographic commission."

The Trip

"I recall that we all went on a camping trip to Canty Bay, wherever that may be!

It was good fun until I developed toothache and another Scout broke both his legs jumping off a rock onto what looked like sand but which turned out to be rocks covered by a thin layer of sand."

Allan Dodds, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England: January 18, 2012