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Recollections
Granton Primary School
1940s and
1950s |
A Granton School Class -
Photographed around 1950
© Reproduced
with acknowledgement to Sandra Newlands, Orkney Islands, Scotland
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Question |
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Thank you to Sandra Newlands, Orkney Islands, Scotland, for sending me
this old photograph of a class at Granton School, which appears to have
been taken in the same place as this 1962 school photo:
© Sandra
has a question about the photograph at the top of the page. She
writes:
Teacher?
"Here is a photograph of a
class from Granton School, probably taken around 1950. The teacher
in this photo is now aged 86. Do you recognise the teacher?" |
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Answer |
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Thank you to Tommy Wishart for replying,
telling me:
"I'm almost certain that the teacher's
name was Miss Reid."
Tommy is correct. The name has since
been confirmed.
- Peter Stubbs |
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Recollections
1.
John Ross |
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Thank you to Joh Ross who wrote about the photo taken around 1950
John wrote:
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'I was a Pupil'
©
"The photo sent by Sandra
Newlands of class at Granton School is interesting. I was a
pupil at this time and feel almost sure I am in the picture - 7th
from the left on the back row."
John Ross: 20 February, 2007 |
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Recollections
2.
Archie Foley
Portobello, Edinburgh
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Thank you to Archie Foley, Portobello, Edinburgh who wrote:
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1940-1947
"We moved from Hawthornvale
to Granton Place in 1940, and I was at Granton School from that year
until Easter 1947. There were two intakes at that time. |
Teachers
"The Headmaster was Mr
Jamieson who was very dignified and gentlemanly and to us seemed
quite elderly.
There was another male
teacher called Mr Cameron but he was altogether different, younger,
and not someone we wanted to get on the wrong side of. However, I
think that was mostly because he had a loud voice and an
intimidating manner.
Other teachers I remember
teaching me were Miss Chalmers, Miss Robb and Miss Gilfillan and
Miss Wishart who had a large hearing aid.
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Lessons
"The Infant Mistress was a
very nice lady named Miss Brown from whom we learned to read using a
mixture of pictures of the shapes of letters and phonetics. Later
on we learned to spell by rote and had to learn words at home for
testing in school. We also had multiplication tables drummed into us
and frequent sessions of mental arithmetic." |
Sports
"About a year or so before
I went to secondary school, Mr Calder, arrived and he restarted the
school football team, only for boys of course. In Primary 7 some of
us were chosen to go for swimming lessons, boys one afternoon and
girls another.
This meant going to
Broughton School where Miss Docherty took us in the little swimming
pool. After lunch we were given a couple of tram tokens each
and then dismissed to walk down to Granton Square and board the
number 8 or 9 for Rodney Street.
After that, it was a walk
up Broughton Road to the school and we made our own way there and
home again. There was no adults with us. This wouldn't be allowed
now but as far as I know nobody ever came to any harm or betrayed
the trust put in us." |
Friday Afternoons
"Another way to get out of
the classroom was to do well in tests that Mr Jamieson set at
intervals. I can't recall the frequency but on some Friday
afternoons he would come into the class and read out the names of
those who had done well and tell the teacher to let them go home
half an hour early.
This would have been in my
Primary 6 and 7 because during the war we had Friday afternoon
concerts with community singing and talks in the hall, and at the
end we all put a penny in the collection for war relief." |
King and Queen
at Granton
"Other people have
mentioned the stone steps at the windows of
the ground floor classrooms,
the air raid shelters and the vegetable plots.
But does anyone else
remember the school being taken en masse to Boswall Parkway to wave
at the King and Queen going past?" |
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Archie Foley, Portobello, Edinburgh. |
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Recollections
3.
Ruth Nordhoy
(nee
Hamilton)
Whidbey Island,
Seattle, Washington, USA |
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Thank you to Ruth Nordhoy, Seattle, Washington, USA who included
this brief comment about Granton Primary School in her
recollections of
Trinity Academy (1948-53) |
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Friends
"I've
just spent a considerable time reading your web site. I
couldn't tear myself away!!
I was pleased to read the comments
from:
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Joyce Messer
(2+7
above).
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Winifred Huff (nee Mackie)
(3
above).
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Jim
Mowat
(4 above).
I've remained best
friends with:
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Winifred Huff, now living in California
and
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Maureen Coyle,
now living in Vancouver, Canada.
A couple of years ago,
we all attended a celebration of our 70th birthdays at Winnie's home."
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Granton Primary School
"It's a long time since I first met
Winifred Huff (nee Mackie)
and
Maureen Coyle
at Granton Primary School where
we marched into
class from the playground with Miss Robb playing the piano.
The title of the song escapes my memory, but, of course, we had our
own words for it!
I would be very happy to hear from any
classmates from either Granton or Trinity Academy."
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Ruth Nordhoy, Whidbey Island, Seattle, Washington, USA:
August 10, 2008 |
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Ruth Nordhoy
If you'd like to contact Ruth,
please email me, then I'll pass on your message to her.
Thank you.
- Peter Stubbs: August 11, 2008 |
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Recollections
4.
Archie Foley
Portobello, Edinburgh |
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Thank you to Archie Foley who added: |
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Miss Robb
"I attended
Granton Primary School until Easter 1947. I remember Miss Robb who
taught my class until she left to go to Parson's Green primary school
around 1945/46.
If my memory is
correct she played the piano using her right hand only."
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Archie Foley, Portobello, Edinburgh |
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