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Broughton Place Outing |
Which Group was this? - and when?
© Reproduced with acknowledgement to Nigel Baxter, Boston, Lincolnshire, England
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Outing Broughton Place |
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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 |
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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 |
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Recollections 1. Allan Dodds Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England |
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Thank you to Allan Dodds who replied: |
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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!" |
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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." |
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The Group "I've no idea what group this was. The Church catered for many interests, as I recall." |
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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." |
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Allan Dodds, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England: October 29, 2011 |
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Recollections 2. Allan Dodds Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England |
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Thank you to Allan Dodds who added: |
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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 |
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*** Here is a link to the article that Allan Dodds mentions above: Peter Stubbs: October 30, 2011 |
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Recollections 3. Allan Dodds Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England |
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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 |
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Recollections 4. Allan Dodds Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England |
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Church Outing Thank you to Allan Dodds for writing again about the group outing from the church. Allan wrote: |
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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.
- Assistant Minister,
either a Canadian or American
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TheScout
Leader - The Cub Leader - Sunday School Teachers
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My Uncle
Assistant Church Organist - 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 |
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Recollections 5. Allan Dodds Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England |
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Allan Dodds wrote again: |
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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." |
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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." |
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Allan Dodds, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England: November 7, 2011 |
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Recollections 6. Les Braby Kent, England |
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Thank you to Les Braby who wrote: |
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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." |
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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." |
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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." |
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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." |
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Les Braby, Kent, England: January 13, 2012 |
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Recollections 7. Allan Dodds Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England |
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Thank you to Allan Dodds who wrote: |
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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." |
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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." |
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Allan Dodds, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England: January 18, 2012 |
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Recollections 8.
Doug Richardson |
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Thank you to Doug Richardson who wrote: |
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Who Else was on this Outing? "I recognise the man third from the right in the front row of this group photo. He was involved in running the Broughton Church Cubs, but I cannot remember his name." |
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Broughton Church Cubs "I recall an outing by Broughton Church Cubs troop to Canty Bay, some time around 1952-55 in which one of the cubs broke both legs in a beach accident. His name was Douglas Ramsay. Perhaps this was the accident that Allan Dodds is recalling. I can remember the group's Akela (whose name I have forgotten) carrying Ramsay from the beach to the cottage in which the group was staying. A year or so later, the Ramsay family emigrated to Australia." |
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Canty Bay "Canty Bay was given to the Scouts by the late 'Pa' Evans, and is still being used by the church youth groups. This Canty Bay web site will provide the details." |
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Doug Richardson, Roydon, Essex, England: January 4, 2015 |
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Recollections 9. Allan Dodds Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England |
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Thank you to Allan Dodds who replied: |
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Cub Accident "Yes, Dougie Richardson is correct in identifying the accident victim." People in the Photo Dougie also identifies but is unable to name the person third from the right in the group photo. Like him, I am equally unable to name that person but I do know that the person third from the left was his twin brother. They were both members of Broughton Place Church choir and each had a good bass voice. They used to sport very different hairstyles so that people could tell them apart!" Allan Dodds, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England: February 15, 2015 |
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Recollections 10. Joan Poole Edinburgh |
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Broughton Place Church - Scout Troop "What memories the photo of the Broughton Place Church group brought back! My Reid/Hoy family were members at Broughton Place Church for many years from the 1940s to the 1970s. I remember Dr Gunn well, and that is certainly him kneeling 5th from the left. I remember the name Willie Dodds but can’t connect the name to a face. I think Mr Cassie (Church Elder) is first right in the back row and Sheila Rankine is 8th from the right in the back row. So many other faces are familiar but I don’t remember the names." Joan Poole, Edinburgh: 16 July 2015 |
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Recollections 11. Bill Craig |
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Broughton Place Church - Scout Troop "This is an outing of the Broughton Place Church. The silver- haired man in the front middle, with a coat at his feet is the Rev. George S Gunn. He was the minister for 22 years and was born in Caithness. He lived in 1945 at 8 Inverleith Row, Edinburgh. Bill Craig: 21 July 2019 |
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Recollections 12. Fiona Gyde (née Tait) |
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Broughton Place Church - Scout Troop "Like Mr Dodds, I also attended this church with my parents, Alan and Linda Tait, until I was in my teenage years. Ladies in the Group The lady fourth from the left is Molly Barron, a good friend of my mother. Also, I thought the lady eighth from the right was Sheila Mackenzie (although it was said that she was thought to be Sheila Rankine). Sheila Mackenzie was also a friend of my mother'. She played the piano very well, was a school teacher and along with Molly, I think she was also a Sunday school teacher. My mother was part of the Young People's Association, along with Mary Massino (not in the photo) and spoke very highly of Dr Gunn's good influence on her life. Fiona Gyde: 1 December 2019 |