Recollections

Police Road Safety Unit

Visits to Primary School

I started by adding the recollections below to the appropriate school page on th EdinPhoto web site.  (Here is an index of the School Recollections pages.)

However, I've now also brought all the recollections together on this page. (below).

1.

Malcolm J B Finlayson
Arbroath, Angus, Scotland

-  Trinity Primary School

2.

Gordon Davie
Abbeyhill, Edinburgh

-  Abbeyhill Primary School

3.

Tony Jones
Edinburgh

-  Blackhall Primary School

4.

John Gray
Stenhouse, Edinburgh

-  Brunstane Primary School

5.

Eleanor Stenhouse

-  Drunbrae Primary School

6.

Malcolm J B Finlayson
Arbroath, Angus, Scotland

-  Recollections

Recollections

1.

Malcolm J B Finlayson

Arbroath, Angus, Scotland

Thank you to Malcolm J B Finlayson for recalling the Police Road Safety Unit's visits to Trinity Academy Primary School

The unit certainly seems to have left a lasting impression on Malcolm, and no doubt also on others at the school.

Malcolm wrote:

Trinity Academy

Primary School

Dance and Song

"Undoubtedly, one of the most popular events at Trinity Academy Primary was the biannual visit of the Police Road Safety Unit consisting of a sergeant, constable, a Jaguar or Riley police car  -  and a plastic football.

The playground was transformed into a road, and proceedings commenced with the burly sergeant creating hilarity by dancing about, whilst teaching us to sing:

Cars and Ball

"The event we eagerly awaited followed. The constable revved the car and sped down the makeshift road, where, at some point, the sergeant threw the ball in front of the car, which skidding to a halt, hitting the ball, which bounced into the air. The ominous message was explicit. If we did not exercise road safety we would be the ball.

Latterly, we marveled at the skid marks that lasted for weeks."

Do Others Remember?

"I wonder if any other primary school kids in the 1950s and 1960s  had similar experiences."  ***

Malcolm J B Finlayson, Arbroath, Angus, Scotland:  May 26, 2014

Reply

***  Yes.  Others do remember!  About an hour after I added Malcolm's memories above to this page, I  received a reply message from Gordon Davie giving his memories of similar Road Safety Visits to his school,  Abbeyhill Primary School.

Peter Stubbs, Edinburgh:  July 9, 2014

Recollections

2.

Gordon Davie

Abbeyhill, Edinburgh

Thank you to Gordon Davie who wrote:

Abbeyhill

Primary School

Presentations

"Does anybody remember when the Police would visit primary schools to give talks on road safety?  I went to Abbeyhill School in the second half of the 1960s and it happened three or four times.

We would all gather in the Main Hall, and one Policeman, a very jolly man calling himself Uncle John, or something like that, would explain why road safety was so important, and go into details of kerb drill, looking both ways before we crossed  -  all that kind of stuff, while his colleague showed slides of the aftermath of accidents - nothing too gory, obviously!

This would seem to be a special unit which went round the schools just before the summer holidays, when children would be more likely to encounter busy roads with no lollipop men to help them cross.

Song

"The presentation always ended with everybody singing a rousing song which was obviously intended to make it easier to remember the guidance in keeping safe that he had given to us.

The words would be projected onto the screen while Uncle John indicated the place with a wooden pointer. I can only remember the last four lines, which went like this:

'Cha-Cha-Cha!'

"At the end, we would all shout 'Cha-Cha-Cha!' - it can't have been spontaneous, because we all did it, so presumably it was something handed down by the older kids who had seen the presentation the year before.

Uncle John would look puzzled, and study the screen closely. "It doesn't say 'Cha-Cha-Cha!'," he would complain, and make us sing it again. Of course we shouted 'Cha-Cha-Cha!' again, and he would pretend to get annoyed, and make us sing the song a third time.

Obviously, this routine was designed to make it easier for us to remember. I doubt that this was unique to our school.  Did anybody else see the presentation and did they shout at the end too?

Gordon Davie, Abbeyhill, Edinburgh:  July 9, 2014 (2 emails)

Update

Gordon added:

Coincidence

"That's quite a coincidence that you should get two similar memories at the same time! I swear I hadn't read Malcolm Finlayson's one when I submitted mine!

It's interesting that his took place in the playground (with a practical demonstration!) while mine was in the school hall.  But the sergeant sounds like the same man, and it's definitely the same song!"

Gordon Davie, Abbeyhill, Edinburgh:  July 9, 2014

Recollections

3.

Tony Jones

Edinburgh

Thank you to Tony Jones who wrote:

Blackhall

Primary School

Early-1960s

"I  think this topic may run and run!

I remember the visits by the Police Road Safety Unit, probably at the end of the summer term in the early 1960s, to the original Blackhall Primary School at the end of Queen's Road in Blackhall. The school was demolished & replaced with retirement flats a good few years ago."

Presentation to the School

"I think there was a talk (of which I remember nothing!) and then, in the playground, the policemen would roll out white lines to mark out kerbs.

A cardboard cutout of a child was tucked under the far 'kerb' with a length of string attached, a police car was accelerated down the “road”, the string was pulled, the car locked its brakes and slid into the cardboard cutout.

The whole exercise was then repeated with a police motorbike which would skid much further with the back wheel locked. Inevitably the cardboard cutout always came off worst."

Tony Jones, Edinburgh:  July 10, 2014

Recollections

4.

John Gray

Thank you to John Gray who wrote:

Brunstane

Primary School

Belisha Beacons

"At my school, Brunstane Primary, the Police Road Safety Unit gave their demonstrations outside in the playground.  The Police had portable Belisha Beacons and a portable zebra crossing.  We all took turns to stop, look left, look right, then cross the zebra crossing, back and forward."

Hand Break Turn

"Brunstane had a huge playground at the front.  The highlight of the day was when a police car came speeding down the playground from around the back of the school and the driver then did a hand brake turn, like you see in the movies.  For  boys about six or seven years old, it was so exciting to see!"

John Gray, Stenhouse, Edinburgh:  July 11, 2014

Recollections

5.

Eleanor Stenhouse

Thank you to Eleanor Stenhouse who wrote:

Drumbrae

Primary School

Uncle Bill and Uncle Gordon

"As a pupil at Drumbrae Primary School in the 1960s, I remember 'Uncle Bill' and 'Uncle Gordon' coming to give us talks on road safety.

I also remember the song we used to sing at the end of their talk: “We must have safety on the Queen`s Highway”.

'Uncle Gordon' would put the words up on the screen when 'Uncle Bill''s back was turned."

Eleanor Stenhouse:  July 13, 2014

Recollections

6.

Malcolm J B Finlayson

Arbroath, Angus, Scotland

Thank you to Malcolm J B Finlayson for writing again.

Malcolm wrote:

Recollections

"I'm absolutely delighted at the response to the Police Road Safety Unit entry.

It is so good to know that across the city others enjoyed such events, which is a credit to the then Edinburgh City Police."

Malcolm J B Finlayson, Arbroath, Angus, Scotland:  July 16, 2014

Recollections