|
|
Recollections
East William Street
East Thomas Street and
neighbouring East William Street, both now demolished, were to the
west of Easter Road and to the north of London Road. |
|
Please scroll down this page, or click on one
of the links below. |
|
1. |
Margaret Hawker
Livingston, West Lothian |
-
Neighbours
-
Band of Hope
- Back Greens
- At Home
- Happy Time |
|
2. |
Irene Day
(nee
Sharrock)
Wigan, Lancashire, England |
- Neighbours
|
|
3. |
Frances Brown
(nee
Barnum)
New
Bern, North Carolina, USA |
-
3+4 East William Street
-
Friends
- School
-
Guising
-
Return to Edinburgh |
|
4. |
Christine Anderson
(nee
Keith)
|
-
2 East William Street
-
3 East William Street
-
4 East William Street
-
6 East William Street
- Backgreen Concerts
- Abbeyhill Baptist
Church
- The Streets
- School |
|
5. |
Kim
Traynor
Haymarket, Edinburgh
|
-
Baptisms
- Backgreen Concerts
|
|
6. |
Gary
Millar
Liverpool, Lancashire,
England
|
-
The Millar Family |
|
7. |
Jim
Menzies
Barrhead,
East Renfrewshire, Scotland
|
- The Miller Family |
|
Recollections
1.
Margaret Hawker
Livingston, West Lothian |
|
Margaret wrote:
Neighbours
"I lived at 4 East William Street with my
sister Rae.
- On the top flat were Doris Marion &
Jimmy the Macdonald.
- Opposite our door were Billy, Norman and Evelyn
Clark.
- On the ground floor lived the Norma.
Anne & Robert Smith.
Other people in the street were the Sands and the
Barnums. We had to share the outside loo with the Gibsons."
Band of Hope
"We all used to go the the Band of Hope on a Friday.
Sometimes we had slide shows and we had to recite the pledge which I can still
remember to this day."
Back Greens
"There was a back green and we used to walk along the
walls. I think, at one time there was front gardens but all the railings had
been taken away to help the war effort and only the stumps remained."
At Home
"We used to make toast using a fork held up against
the fire and my dad had a last where he used to sole & heel our shoes."
Happy Time
"I also remember Learmonths, the shop at the corner.
I remember living in East William Street as a very happy time. Although we had
nothing, everyone was in the same boat."
Margaret Hawker, Livingston, West Lothian, Scotland: March 13, 2008
|
|
Recollections
2.
Irene Day (nee
Sharrock)
Wigan, Lancashire, England |
|
Thank you to Irene Day who wrote
Neighbours
"Margaret Hawker (above) mentions some
neighbours who lived at 4 East William Street.
Two of the people she mentions Doris
Macdonald and Marian Macdonald are on this Leith Walk school reunion
photograph"
©
Irene Day, Wigan, Lancashire, England: March 15, 2008
|
|
Recollections
3.
Frances Brown (nee
Barnum)
New
Bern, North Carolina, USA |
|
Thank you to Frances Brown who wrote
3 and 4 East William
Street
"I'm
Frances Barnum (Brown), one of the Barnums mentioned above by Margaret
Hawker. I lived in 3 East William Street, right across from
Abbeyhill Baptist Church. Margaret Hawkers lived at No.4
Friends
I remember all of the names that Margaret
mentions, and also:
- Mary and Helen Keighren.
- Jean Clark.
- my dearest friend, Irene
Archibald (now deceased).
- Christine Keith, now Anderson, a
childhood friend.
- Dale and John Sands
- the
Smiths, Clarks, McDonalds, etc.
My sister is Marie. She lives in Drylaw.
School
These were good old days when we were kids.
Especially on late summer nights when we could all get out to play. Most
of us went to Leith Walk school, so we knew each other well.
I also went to Band of Hope on Friday night.
We had a great time.
Guising
I remember the guising, going out dressed up
on Guy Fawkes' NIght. The saying we used to say was:
'Please
help the guisers, and we'll sing you a Bonnie wee song.'
They would give us a penny, a fruit or a
sweetie.
Return to Edinburgh
We visited Edinburgh every year from 2000 to
2005 and are looking to come again very soon. It would be great to see
some of the folk mentioned on the site."
Frances Brown (nee Barnum), New Bern, North Carolina, USA: March 20,
2008 |
|
If you would like to contact Frances,
please email me, then I'll pass on your message to her.
Thank you.
Peter Stubbs: March 2008 |
|
Recollections
4.
Christine
Anderson (nee
Keith)
Duddingston, Edinburgh
|
|
Thank you to Christine Anderson
for sending me the message below. Christine seems
to have a very good memory of her neighbours in East William Street.
Christine wrote:
2 East William Street
"I stayed at 2
East William Street.
In
our stair there lived:
- John
and Mary
Ferrier
- Charlie, Mary,
Sonny
and Carol Munro
-
Terry and Elizabeth
Philston
-
Mrs Tait
-
Amy
Martin
- Peter and Irene
Menzies
- Alan and
Charlotte Kinnaird"
3
East William Street
"At stair
No 3, there lived:
-
Mrs Black
-
Jean, Francis and
Marie Barnum
- Sandra
Thomson(
- Norma and David.McQueens
-
Nan Grant
- George and Moira
Williamson"
4 East William Street
"At stair
No 4, there lived:
- Norma, Robert and
Ann Smith
-
Mrs Gordon
- Margaret and Rae
McCauley
- Evelyn and Norman
Clark
- Doris, Marion and
Jimmy McDonald"
6 East William Street
"At stair
No 6, there lived:
- Dale and John Sands
- The Alcorns"
Backgreen Concerts
"We played in the
street and held concerts in the backgreen.
Jacky Dennis who lived round the corner in Elgin Terrace would sing and
Maisie Stewart from East Thomas
Street would help us put it together !!
Our backgreen backed on to hers."
Abbeyhill Baptist Church
"At
Abbeyhill Baptist Church there
were the Brownies and
Girl Guides and we went to the Band Of Hope on certain Sundays.
We loved to go in to watch the Baptisms.
The Streets
"I remember:
- London Road Gardens. We gathered
conkers and slid down on tin trays!
- The fishwife with her creel, selling buckies
/ mussels outside Middleton's Pub in Easter Road
- The
Cooperative (Store) where you would take your ration book and get it
stamped
-
Eastway Picture House ("the
fleapit "!!)
- The Rag
Store. Later on,
it became the Hibs Club.
- Going to
to 'Woolies'
at the fit o' the walk,
just to smell 'Evening in Paris'
and 'California Poppy'."
Schools
"I also
have memories of East Thomas Street and Elgin
Terrace. I attended Leith Walk Primary
School, then then went
on to Norton Park Secondary School."
©
"This photograph of a Leith
Walk school reunion, held in 2007. It includes
Doris and Marion McDonald
from 4 East William Street and myself."
|
|
Christine Anderson (nee Keith),
Duddingston, Edinburgh:
September 8,
2008 |
|
Recollections
5.
Kim Traynor
Haymarket, Edinburgh |
|
Thank you to Kim Traynor who read Christine
Anderson's comments, and replied:
Baptisms
"I don't remember full-immersion baptisms
at the Baptists. If I’d known such free entertainment was on offer, I’d
have been round like a shot!
Backgreen Concerts
"I, too,
remember the backgreen concerts and, in particular, Jacky Dennis
performing. He was an
overnight sensation after appearing on 'The 6.5
Special', belting out a pop song while swirling
around in his kilt - local boy made good. He
sank without trace.
He is, as far as I know, still alive. The Aunt
who left me the Spinks and the Cochrane photographs received two visits a
week from him a few years ago when he happened to be her home-carer!
How odd is that?"
Kim Traynor, Haymarket, Edinburgh:
September 20, 2009 |
|
Recollections
6.
Gary Millar |
|
Thank you to Kim Traynor who read Christine
Anderson's comments, and replied:
|
|
The Millar Family
"My family lived in East William Street
from I think 1959 to 1963. I lived with:
- my dad,
Gordon Millar
-
my mum,
Madge
-
my grandad,
Archie (Archibald Riva McMillan) and
-
my brother Norman.
I was four when we left to go and live in
Burdiehouse. I think we lived at number 4 East William Street.
We shared an outside loo.
People may remember my mum as she gave birth
to Leslie who was born disabled (Thalidomide). He
had to stay in hospital when born in 1962.
Gary Millar: October 8, 2009 |
|
The Millar Family
If you remember the Millar
family and would like to contact Gary, please email me, then I will give
you his contact details. Thank you.
Peter Stubbs: October 9, 2009 |
|
Recollections
7.
Jim Menzies
Barrhead, East
Renfrewshire, Scotland |
|
Thank you to Jim Menzies who remembers the Miller
family above.
Jim wrote:
|
|
The Millar Family
"I was James Munro,
and lived in 6 East William Street with:
- my Mum and Dad
(Margaret and David)
- my brothers (David
and Christopher) and sister (Mary).
About 1966, we all moved to
West Pilton Gardens where my sister Helen was born. My brothers and
sister and I were all aged between about two and six when we moved.
In 1969/70, we moved to
Gorgie Road. I remember, about a couple of years later, Madge,
Gordon, Gary, Norman and Leslie Miller moved into the same stair as us.
My name is now James
Menzies. I took my husband#s name when we got married in 2007.
I hope Gary remembers me."
Jim Menzies, Barrhead, East
Renfrewshire, Scotland: November 13, 2011 |
|
