Edinburgh Transport

Foot of Leith Walk

Tram

Foot of Leith Walk  -  Tram

Here is a No 17 tram at the Foot of Leith Walk.  It is about to travel up Leith Walk towards its destination at Newington Station.

The Rover car, to the right of the tram dates the photograph to the 1950s, shortly before the trams were replaced by buses.

The traffic sign to the left of the tram is a "school" warning sign, with "torch of learning" symbol.

Foot of Leith Walk

Thank you to Donald Grant who wrote:

   ©

Rover Car

"The photo above caught my eye. As you rightly say it dates from the 1950s because of the Rover car. What caught my attention was the registration mark of the car which looks like it has the letters LS followed by four digits.  If it is LS that means it was registered in Selkirkshire.

Quite coincidentally I had an Uncle who lived in Selkirk and drove one of these cars, who knows it might be his car!"

Donald Grant:  Penicuik, Midlothian, Scotland: April 22, 2008

Question

Leith Police

"I recall that in the early 1970s, by which time my Uncle was over 80 years old, my uncle told me that as a young man he was in the Leith Police. That was when they were a separate force from Edinburgh. I'm not sure if the police forces amalgamated at the same time as Leith and Edinburgh did or not, but either way he must have been a very young man at the time.

I don't know if any of your visitors have any access to the records of the Leith Police but if they do I'd love to find out just when he was in the force.  His name was James Blake and in later life he became General Manager of a tweed mill in Selkirk."

Donald Grant:  Penicuik, Midlothian, Scotland: April 22, 2008

Answer

Thank you to Edward McMillan who wrote:

Leith Police

"Leith Burgh Police Force was established in 1806, one year after the establishment of Edinburgh City Police (1805), and existed until 1920 when the Edinburgh Extension Act came into effect.

Thereafter Leith Burgh Police ceased to exist and the officers were absorbed into the Edinburgh police force which then became 'The City of Edinburgh Police', although it was still more commonly referred to as 'Edinburgh City Police' right up to 1975 when the Lothian & Borders Police came into existence.

Some Edinburgh police records do exist but they are pretty fragmented. All those records are now lodged with the City Archivist at the City Chambers.

The City Archivist will deal with written enquiries only.  He can be contacted at: City Archivist, Edinburgh City Chambers, High Street, Edinburgh EH1 1YJ.  The archivist would require the name of the person and as much information about his period of service as possible."

Edward McMillan, Edinburgh:  May 1, 2008

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