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Recollections
1.
Thomas Lee
Edinburgh |
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Thank you to
Thomas Lee for sending me several photos of cycle
racing in Edinburgh from the 1950s to the 1970s, together with comments on
the photos.
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Davidson's Mains
This is one of the photos of the Davidson's
Mains cycle track that Thomas sent to me. Please
click on this thumbnail to enlarge it.
© |
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Recollections
2.
Bob Henderson
Burdiehouse, Edinburgh |
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Thank you to
Bob Henderson who wrote:
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Burdiehouse
"We
had a track here in Burdiehouse in what was known as the dip. This was at
the bottom of the valley the Burdiehouse burn ran through.
Unfortunately for the
speedway fanatics amongst us, they built
Burdiehouse primary school on it." |
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Newington
"I
also used to ride for the Hallhead Pirates. We
had a track behind the garages in a lane off Hallhead
Road in Newington."
Bob subsequently identified this track as
being at Liberton, rather than Newington. Please see
Liberton
cycle track for further comments from Bob and
others on the location of this track. |
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Meadowbank
"Our speedway in the
late 'forties and early 'fifties
was not
very organised, and of course it was inspired by
the Monarchs who were based in Meadowbank at that time.
Saturdays were never the same when they were de-homed
to make way for the
Commonwealth Games." |
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Bob Henderson, Burdiehouse, Edinburgh:
January 23, 2008 |
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Recollections
3.
Yvonne Cain
Sydney, New South Wales,
Australia |
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Thank you to
Bob Henderson who wrote:
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Davidson's Mains
"Those photos of the
cycling bring back lots of memories, going round
that track.
©
The boy in one of the
photos could be a boy I used to
know - Abs Dixon. The
photo was taken about 40 years ago" |
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Yvonne Cain, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia:
January 23, 2008 |
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Recollections
4.
Phil Wilson
Aberdeen, Scotland |
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4A
Thank you to
Phil Wilson who wrote:
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Jocky Allan
"The photos are
tremendously nostalgic for me. They bring back the days of the famous
Jocky Allan of Leith, who was our last resort with bike problems. I wonder
if he's still alive. He'd be a fair old age by now, if so."
Phil Wilson, Aberdeen, Scotland:
January 23, 2008 |
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4B
Thank you to
Phil Wilson who wrote again , later in 2008:
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Death of Jocky Allan
"Regrettably
Jocky Allan, the great cycles man of Leith, died earlier this year.
There was an obituary for him in the 'Edinburgh Evening
News' on July 22, 2008."
Phil Wilson, Aberdeen, Scotland:
August 30, 2008 |
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Obituary
Here are
extracts from the obituary that appeared in the
'Edinburgh Evening News':
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Jocky Allan
Leith businessman, Jocky
Allan, who sold bicycles for more than 60 years has died ... after a
long illness.
The 89-year-old was
well-known in Leith in Leith ... for his successful bicycle shop,
Jocky Alan Cycles, and will be fondly remembered by generations of
Edinburgh people who either bought their bike from, or had it
repaired by, the charismatic figure.
Tributes have been led
by fellow Leither, Sir Tom Farmer, who recalled visiting Jocky
regularly in his first shop on Jane Street, and in his second on
Leith Walk. "For me,
Jocky was an unforgettable character and I mean that sincerely,"
he said.
He described a man who
was
"perpetually smeared with oil" on his hands and face; a
man who was "never too busy" to speak to customers, old and
young, who dropped by with their cycles.
He said:
"I
was a customer in my teens living close by and had nothing but
admiration and a certain fascination for the man, as did my
brothers."
"His shop, always
cramped for space was a Mecca for countless boys and girls.
Jocky, for all these years was a loved and respected part of the
Leith scene - a rock of the community." |
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4C.
Phil Wilson added:
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Covered in Oil
"Jocky was, as stated in
the write-up, always covered from head to foot in oil, so much so that I
still don't know what he really looked like!"
Phil Wilson, Aberdeen, Scotland:
September 2, 2008 |
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4D.
Patrick Hutton wrote:
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Larger Than Life
"I
was sad to see Jocky's obituary on edinphoto. I knew him quite well
in the mid-late 1980s.
He
took me to the 'Tour of the Border'
bike race a couple of times in his white van.
He was, very much, a larger
than life character - a
wee feller full of (tall??) stories."
Patrick Hutton, New Town, Edinburgh:
September 2, 2008 |
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4E.
Tony Ivanov wrote:
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Jocky Allan's Shop
"As a youngster I was an
avid cyclist and well remember Jocky from as far back as 1958. I attended
St. Anthony's Secondary School and used to visit his shop in Jane Street
quite often on lunch breaks.
He never let you down
with repairs or advice and always seemed to have the spares you were
after. How he found things in his shop was amazing as it was crammed full
of bike parts and accessories."
Tony Ivanov, Bo'ness, West Lothian:
September 2, 2008 |
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4F.
Phil Wilson added:
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'Specialist Knowledge'
and 'Wizardry
"I was sure
that others would chip in.
Jocky
was a memorable character to small boys, with his
overtones of 'specialist knowledge' and 'wizardry' about bikes.
My father,
who cycled to work, had known him a long time,
and we went to his shop many a time in the late-1950s
and 1960s."
Phil Wilson, Aberdeen, Scotland:
September 3, 2008 |
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Recollections
5.
Patrick Hutton
New Town, Edinburgh |
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Thank you to
Phil Wilson who wrote:
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Davidson's Mains
"Nice pictures.
I'm just curious about the date.
©
©
The railway line closed (for freight) from
Davidson's Mains to Craigleith (the junction) on 1st June 1960, but I
can't see any rails in the 1950s photos. Also,
the wee van over to the left looks rather 60s-ish?"
I remember the track in
it's abandoned days. I started full-time work in September 1984 at
Ferranti's, just off to the left on the other side of Ferry Road."
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Reply
After reading the comments above, Thomas Lee
replied
"I'll bow to Patrick's
superior knowledge."
So, I've now changed the dates on these two photos
from '1950s' to '1960s'
Peter Stubbs: January 28, 2007 |
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Patrick Hutton, New Town, Edinburgh:
January 23, 2008 |
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Recollections
6.
Tommy Wishart
Edinburgh |
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Thank you to
Tommy Wishart who wrote: |
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Meadowbank
"I used to go along to
some of the race meets in the mid-1960s. The Manager in those days was a
chap called Ian Branston and one rider I remember was named Ray Waldie. I
met him again about ten years ago and still see him from time to time.
We also used to go to
watch the Edinburgh Monarchs at the Old Meadowbank when Ian Hoskins was
the Manager. |
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Tommy Wishart, Edinburgh: January 25,
2008 |
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Recollections
7.
Bob Henderson
Burdiehouse, Edinburgh
and
Forbes Wilson
near
Guildford, Surrey, England |
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Thank you to
Bob Henderson and Forbes Wilson for confirming the locations of a
couple of the cycle tracks. Their comments can be found on these
pages:
Burdiehouse cycle track
Liberton
cycle track |
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Bob Henderson, Burdiehouse, Edinburgh:
January 29, 2008 AND
Forbes Wilson, near Guildford, Surrey, England: January 30, 2008 |
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Recollections
8.
Eric Gold
East London
Formerly
Dumbiedykes, Edinburgh
and known to many as Eric
McKenzie |
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Thank you to
Eric Gold who wrote:
Burdiehouse Cycle Track
"Although
I lived in East Arthur Place, we would go every Sunday
to my aunt and uncle's
prefab in Southouse Crescent for Sunday lunch - also
Christmas day too.
My cousin had a
bike and we would go down the dip and onto
the track and cycle. That photo brought memories
back to me."
Eric Gold, East London: January 30, 2008
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Recollections
9.
Andy Hall |
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Granton
Griffins
Earlier
this week, I met Andrew Hall who used to work on the trawlers from Granton
and who has now created the
Granton
Trawlers web site.
Andrew told
me that in the 1960s, he used to cycle for the Granton Griffins on the
track at Davidson's Mains.
©
Andy Hall, Newcastle, England,
discussion at Granton History Group, February 19, 2008 |
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Recollections
10.
Gordon Pilmer
Sydney, New South Wales,
Australia |
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Thank you to Gordon Pilmer who
wrote:
Inch Park
"Loved the cycling images.
We had a track in the Inch Park in the
mid-sixties."
Gordon Pilmer, Sydney, New South Wales,
Australia:
Message in Guest Book, February 25, 2008. |
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Recollections
11.
Barry Fawcett
Canada |
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Thank you to
Barry Fawcett who
wrote:
Pilrig Park
"Does anyone remember the Pilrig
Park cycle track, the
one with the wall at the third and fourth bend? I
think it was the old Duncans chocolate factory."
Mountcastle
How about the track at Mountcastle
which was built by me and a few friends? Northfield
Saints race out of it. It was later taken
under the wing of Willie Flett and became part
of the Eastern organisation."
Barry Fawcett, Canada: July 27,
2008 |
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