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Brand Place
"Although my mum and dad lived at the
top of the Dumbiedykes, my dad had been
brought up in Brand Place so when I went to primary school I
attended Abbeyhill.
For the first couple of years I stayed
with my gran in Brand Place, during the week and stayed with my
mum and dad at the weekend."
Family
"My
grandmother was Margaret Munro and my
father was John Munro. Living in Beggs
Buildings were my great auntie Nan Kemp,
and also Becky Squires, one of my father's relatives, who
lived in Begg's Buildings."
Walk through the Park
"From about
the age of 6 I just stayed with my mum and dad and walked through
the park to school. I remember
walking through Croft an Righ on cold winter's mornings.
The scene would be
really ghostly.
©
Teachers
"The
teachers I remember from my time at Abbeyhill were:
-
Mr Duncan who was
extremely strict but a very nice man. On warmer summer days he
would simply pack the class in and take us over to the park for a
walk or games of some sort.
-
Mr Barry,
who, I think, became Headmaster.
-
Miss or Mrs Hood
-
Mrs Cameron
(I think that was her name.) She was an Australian
lady.
They were all excellent teachers.
The class I was in sent 2 or 3 of it's pupils off to
fee-paying schools on scholarships.
The bulk of the rest of the class 'passed' the 'quali' and
ended up in senior secondary
schools.
Swimming Pool
"Abbeyhill
was very unusual as a primary school in
having its own swimming pool. The
janitor was a Mr. Marshall. I
think he was an ex-football
player.
He
let some of the local boys (myself included) use the pool during
the holidays and on the odd weekend and we, in turn, gave him a
hand with some chores round the school."
Football
"Lunch
breaks would be spent in what appeared to be 90-a-side
football matches on the tarmac pitch in front of Begg's Buildings.
These could get quite confusing as the pitch was often marked out
as a netball pitch."
Abbeyhill School until 1962
"I attended
Abbeyhill primary from either 1954 or 1955 until 1962.
I was at primary for about a year
longer than normal as I won a scholarship place at George Heriot's
School and had to stay on rather longer than my class mates.
I was rather badly injured in a road
accident, outside the fire station, at the top of Easter Road and
spent a very long time off school. Strangely
enough this helped me academically as I simply read and read for
about 9 months. When I returned to school I got first place in my
class rankings."
Around Abbeyhill
I also remember
remember
cinemas, shops and the Band of Hope at Abbeyhill.
John Munro, West Lothian,
Scotland: January 28, 2010 |
