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Wardie School
in the
1950s
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Please click on one of the links below, or scroll down this
page:
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Recollections of the 1950s
from the
'Wardie School Anniversary Booklet
1931-1981' |
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Recollections of the 1950s:
©
Books
At the start of the 1950s, books, writing paper and other
resources were scarce so the infants wrote their schoolwork on slates.
The older children used pens that dipped into inkwells.
Swimming
Pupils sat Swimming and Life Saving tests and the Moray House
Intelligence Test. The 'Qualifying Class' sat their 'Long Sums Test'.
Holidays
The children were given three days' holiday in 1953 for Queen
Elizabeth's Coronation. The school was also closed on occasions for 'Poling
Day', snow storm, torrential rain and 'smog'.
[Anniversary Booklet -
Wardie School 1931-1981] |
Wardie
School Class - 1959
©
Reproduced with acknowledgement to Yvonne
Cain (nee Dorr)
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Wardie
School Class Photograph |
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Photograph
Thank you to Yvonne Cain (nee
Dorr), now living in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, for sending this
photograph of a school class from Wardie, taken in 1959. Yvonne
is third from the right on the front row:
Yvonne Dorr
©
Yvonne wrote: |
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Schools
"I remember:
-
some the names of some of the
people at Wardie school -Dorothy, Isabella, Brenda Fraser, Sheila Fraser,
Colin McGregor, David, Gill, and David Juner whose dad had a garage at
Goldenacre.
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Reply from
Colin McGregor |
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"Greetings from Canada:
Colin
McGregor
I’m the Colin McGregor mentioned in the Wardie school photograph
which I still have a copy of in a box somewhere in the basement. I
lived at 2 Fraser Grove.
Wardie
School Photo
David Gill lived on Fraser Avenue. I just
don’t recollect which face is David Gill.
David Cowan lived in the Boswells and Alan March lived close to Crew
Toll.
©
A lot of the faces are still familiar, so
I’ll have a go at identifying them. There still are a bunch of
question marks so maybe someone can correct my mistakes and fill in
the blanks.
Back Row (left to right): Alan Marsh,
George Hall, Thomas Sommerville, ?, ? Martin, David Cowan, ?, Peter
McAfee, Robert Linton
2nd Row (left
to right): ?, James Johnson, Sheila Fraser, Patricia ?,
Jennifer ?, ? ?, Isobel Turnbull, ? Warick, Colin McGregor
Front Row (left to right): Alicia ?, ?,
Dorothy ?, ?, Catherine ?, ? Brenda Fraser, Yvonne Dorr, ?, Linda
Black
Our teacher was
Mrs Hume.
Not bad for a 47 year recollection!" |
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Colin McGregor, Canada:
November 19, 2006 |
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Reply from
Callum Duff |
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Colin
McGregor
"Phil Wilson refers to a Colin McGregor who lived at the corner of
Boswell Crescent & Boswell Drive. That Colin is actually my uncle."
My Family
"My mother also attended Wardie School from 1945 to 1952 and then
David Kilpatrick’s until 1956.
My fathers parents operated a Hardware & Dry-Salter’s from a shop in
Granton Road, which is now Noah’s Ark pet shop.
My parents married in 1962 at Wardie Church and moved to the town of
Saltburn-by-sea in what was Yorkshire, now Cleveland.
I moved to Edinburgh in 1999. I used to live in Netherby Rd
and now live in Royston.
It's funny how things turn out!" |
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Callum Duff, Royston,
Edinburgh: August 17, 2007 |
[Yvonne continued]
"I remember:
- getting milk at school, free, and in
the winter putting it next to the heaters to defrost.
- the church on the left hand side of
Granton school doing dancing. There was also the church on the other
side, near the shops in Boswall Parkway." |
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Family and Homes
"I used to live in a Prefab at West Pilton
Broadway, then at 28 Boswall Terrace. She went to Wardie school in
the 1950s, then to Ainsley Park school for about a year, then moved
to Glasgow.
I
returned to Edinburgh at the age of 15, living in Montgomery Street, where
my mum and dad who ran the Post Office there Then, in 1969, I
emigrated from Edinburgh to Sydney, Australia." |
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Grandparents
"My granny was born at Croft-an-Righ, as her
father was Head Gardener at Holyrood Palace.
©
She later lived at
17
Royston Mains Crescent, next to the bowling
green. My grandad had a great garden. He was a Boson in the navy and
used to drink at the Anchor." |
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Uncle
"My great uncle, Robert Malcolm was a horse
dealer he had a place at Juniper green called Whitelaw, near the golf
course. You could see the railway crossing from his front gate. His
father was also a dealer in horses." |
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Yvonne Cain (nee Dorr), Sydney, New South Wales, Australia: July 7
to 24, 2006. |
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Recollections by Phil Wilson
Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Scotland |
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Thank you to Phil Wilson, for the following recollections.
Phil wrote:
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Santa
©
"Here is my brother Billy Wilson,
aged 7, with a rather crafty-looking Santa in his
tartan outfit at Christmas 1954.
My
brother wearing Wardie Primary School uniform, but without the
tie (as usual). Either
Santa went to the school (unlikely), or perhaps it was taken on a special
school trip, or in one of the stores.
Is that 7/6d he's holding up? If my
brother actually got it (which I suppose he ought to have), that would
have been a nice little prezzie in those days.
Billy Wilson was known as Bill Wilson after he
left school. He died in 1994"
Phil Wilson, January
16, 2007
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Wedding
"Yvonne Cain
mentions Colin McGregor.
I remember
a Colin McGregor who lived on the corner of Boswall Crescent and Boswall
Terrace. When he got married, we younger children
followed the car (or carriage) for the 'poor-oot'.
(See 'NOTE' below.) I remember actually
getting something for once."
Phil Wilson, August
1, 2006
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Phil later wrote:
"It turns out that the Colin McGregor
that Yvonne remembers lived in Fraser Crescent, I believe. He
was not the same Colin McGregor whose wedding I remember."
Phil Wilson, August
8, 2006
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Scottish Weddings
'Poor-oots'
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NOTE: A 'poor-oot' was a tradition at Scottish weddings, when the Best
Man or groom threw handfulls of coins from the wedding car as it was
leaving the church and shout "Poor-oot!". The children
standing around would scramble to pick them up.
- Peter Stubbs: August 2006
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Question |
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Dorothy Addison (nee Jenkins) who used to live in Joppa, Edinburgh,
remembers a 'poor-oot' at a wedding in 1942 when she was aged only five.
Dorothy wrote:
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"Yesterday when I was walking in the mall, I
had not noticed that my wallet was open and all the change fell on the
ground. All of a sudden three people were bending down to help me
gather up the coins, and I said laughing "Poor-oot". They said
"What is that?"
I proceeded to tell them that when someone got
married in Scotland and the bride and groom got in the car to leave the
church, the groom would throw a hand full of coins out the window and all
the children would be waiting to scramble to pick them up. They were
amazed at this.
I started to wonder where this came from.
Maybe someone may know the answer."
Dorothy Addison (nee Jenkins), Tsawwassen, British
Columbia, Canada. August 1, 2007
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If you can answer Dorothy's question,
please e-mail me and I'll pass on your answer to her.
Thank you. - Peter Stubbs: August 5,
2007 |
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Answer |
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Thank you to George T Smith who replied, after searching the Internet.
George tells me that one of the references he found dates back to Mary
Queen of Scots' wedding, so the tradition has a long history.
Here are two more references that George found:
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1.
"As at most traditional Scottish weddings, a 'poor oot' - coins being
thrown to crowds in the street - was in order. [They scattered] gold and
silver."
2.
The bridegroom and his attendants carried small change to throw to the
children, in return for their making a noise to scare off the devil. Still
observed, this custom is called the ‘hize’ in Arbroath, the ‘scrammle’ in
Forfar and the ‘poor oot’ in parts of Fife. It also symbolised new
beginnings."
George T Smith, Nanaimo, Vancouver Island,
British Columbia, Canada: August 5, 2007.
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