Edinburgh On This Day: History, Facts & Figures from Every Day of the Year

By Ian Colquhoun

This book revisits all the most magical and memorable moments from Edinburgh's fascinating history, mixing in a maelstrom of quirky anecdotes and legendary characters to produce an irresistibly dippable Edinburgh diary—with an entry for every day of the year. From the important decisions that have molded the city's very appearance, to the "white elephants" that promised much but faded into obscurity; from famous events and sporting triumphs to near-farcical court cases—here are the people, crimes, pollution, crises, murders, battles, strikes, pubs, tragedies, scandals, newspapers, bands, soccer players, politicians, and royals that have shaped this incredible city's history. Edinburgh is a city of culture, music, and innovation, a city of sport and new beginnings, a city of education and spirituality. Read Edinburgh On This Day, and you'll discover hundreds of things you never knew you needed to know about Scotland's historical, mysterious, and inspirational capital.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Independent Publishers Group
• Release date: Oct 15, 2014
• ISBN: 9781909626997

Ian Colquhoun

Ian Colquhoun is an author and actor originally from Livingston but who now resides in Edinburgh. This book is his fourth release to date, his first being his autobiography ‘ Burnt: Surviving against all odds- One man’s inspiring story of his survival after losing his legs’ which was released on Mirage publishing in 2007. Ian lost his legs following a vicious unprovoked assault and arson attack whilst he was living in the Irish republic in 2002, an attack that saw him receive no compensation whatsoever. Prior to losing his legs he worked as a lowly warehouse operative. He has appeared as himself on TV’s ‘Men in white’ in 2006 and on ‘Richard and Judy’ in August 2007, as well as starring in ‘Ocean of fear’, a film about the sinking of the USS Indianapolis during World War Two (2007). Ian has also appeared in SMG’s long running police drama ‘Taggart’. A keen historian, Ian’s particular areas of expertise are the Jacobite wars in Scotland and Ireland and the conflicts of the 19th and 20th centuries. He can be contacted through either of his websites, www.iancolquhoun.org.uk or www.myspace.com/ian0478

Book preview

2013

INTRODUCTION

Compiling this wee book has been a journey, not least because I have had a number of unrelated problems and setbacks on the way that almost meant I couldn’t complete it. The journey has been worth it, though.

Through reading this work, I hope you too will be taken on a journey, as I was: a journey through the past of Scotland’s beautiful capital city. Though I grew up in Livingston, part of my family hail from Edinburgh, and through this – and watching football in the city for most of my life – I have loved the place, now my adopted home, all my life.

You’ll read about all sorts of events and important decisions that have shaped the city we know and love today. You’ll hopefully get some insight into how the city has changed over the centuries, leaving you wanting to read more in-depth books on the subject.

You’ll see some problems or customs that we associate solely with modern times have actually been around for decades, if not centuries. You will read about Edinburgh’s generosity, its politics, its disasters, its epidemics, its executions and its many battles; both military and social.

From the important decisions that have shaped the city’s very appearance and layout, to some of the near farcical cases that have been through its courts. The sporting triumphs and disappointments and, in some cases, the sectarianism in days gone. Thankfully, it is not an issue in the modern era. There are famous events, and some less well-known ones…

Some good decisions that transformed the city. And some ‘white elephants’ that promised much, but faded into obscurity.

Edinburgh is a city of culture, a city of music, a city of innovation, a city of sport, a city of new beginnings, a city of education and a city of spirituality. It has been a pleasure to research and write about, and I hope the reader enjoys the book as much as I enjoyed writing it. These are some things, large and small, that happened in Edinburgh On This Day…

JANUARY

FRIDAY 1st JANUARY 1779

Edinburgh’s ordinary citizens held an unprecedented New Year feast – for the 35 French prisoners of war being held in the castle. The feast included locally grown vegetables and goods from the bakeries in the city, and was permitted by the castle’s commander. No such feast was given to prisoners of American or Irish descent, as they were viewed as traitors, not soldiers, and were instead given one pound of bread each with which to ‘celebrate’ the New Year.

MONDAY 1st JANUARY 1973

Having recently won the cup and having hammered luckless Ayr United 8-0, Hibs travelled to Tynecastle for the New Year Edinburgh Derby. The high-flying Easter Road men were too strong for the Jambos and were 5-0 up by half-time, eventually running out 7-0 winners, with goals from Alex Cropley and a brace apiece by Arthur Duncan, Jimmy O’Rourke and Alan Gordon.

SUNDAY 2nd JANUARY 1949

City firemen were called to a blaze in Duddingston after a suspicious plume of smoke was spotted. There was no blaze, however, as the smoke had been caused by a local resident burning non-standard fuel in his fireplace, much to the disdain of the officers who attended. The first fire in The Lothians of the New Year was not until January 3rd, at a piggery in nearby Broxburn.

THURSDAY 3rd JANUARY 1918

The introduction of maximum pricing for meat caused serious problems at Edinburgh’s cattle market. Only 23 bullocks were sold on this day, rather than the usual 800, and many butchers had simply been unable to acquire any stock. Purchasers drew lots to see who would be lucky enough to recieve a bull. One of the biggest meat firms in the city, who usually slaughtered 30 beasts a week, only got one.

TUESDAY 4th JANUARY 1921

Lord Provost Chesser pointed out that spending on the hospital had increased greatly in recent years, but was also quick to praise the dedication of staff and volunteers within the facility, which was still the best funded in Scotland.

SATURDAY 4th JANUARY 1936

Archbishop MacDonald of Edinburgh presented Charles George SSC, of Palmerston Place, with a document from His Holiness the Pope, appointing him a Knight Commander of the Order of St Gregory. One of the most prominent Roman Catholic laymen in Edinburgh, he was an original member of the Catholic Truth Society of Scotland, and for a number of years was treasurer of the Scottish branch of the Society for Propagation of the Faith and the Roman Catholic Society for Foreign Missions.

SATURDAY 5th JANUARY 1946

A 20-year-old man named James Henretty was treated for severe burns and cuts received in an early morning blaze at 11 Wardlaw Place. Only prompt action by the fire brigade prevented the fire spreading to other tenements. Mr Henretty’s kitchen and house contents were ruined by the smoke and flames.

TUESDAY 6th JANUARY 1925

The Housing Committee of Edinburgh Town Council, after meeting in the City Chambers, agreed to recommend the Town Council to accept the offer of the Corolito Construction Company to erect 52 houses at Lochend. These revolutionary newly designed houses, which will be erected in blocks of four, will be of three apartments, and will cost from £420 to £440 each. The Corolito Company was formed some time ago to erect houses on the Korrelbelon system, which has been successfully employed in Holland, easing their own housing crisis.

THURSDAY 7th JANUARY 1937

Two Edinburgh boys appeared in court accused of using stolen single shillings to pay for a meal in a Princes Street café. Investigations had revealed the boys had stolen the coins after breaking into a house on Calder Medway and opening the gas and electricity meters. The boys pleaded guilty and were each placed on probation for a year.

SUNDAY 8th JANUARY 1729

After hearing reports from concerned citizens, the Town Guard arrested two women in Edinburgh for the crime of wearing men’s clothing. The two unnamed ladies vehemently protested their innocence but were still led away.

FRIDAY 9th JANUARY 1970

Edinburgh Police Traffic Department today warned that a shortage of lollipop men and adverse weather conditions could lead to many children having accidents during the cold snap. Eighteen lollipop men were off sick and six vacancies were still to be filled.

FRIDAY 10th JANUARY 1919

The Plans and Works Committee of Edinburgh Town Council met today and agreed to approach the North British Railway Company with a view to coming to an arrangement where the clock on the North British Station Hotel may be lit up at night for the benefit – and health and safety – of the city’s citizens.

TUESDAY 11th JANUARY 1983

Edinburgh’s 29 public toilets were to be given a facelift, and an additional seven public conveniences to be built, as part of a scheme costing over one million pounds. The cost was to be partially covered by an increase in usage fees from two pence to five pence.

FRIDAY 12th JANUARY 1912

Charles Weir, aged 18 and from Abbeyhill, was discovered wandering Arthur’s Seat with an old fashioned rifle, shooting rabbits. Mr Weir had a gunshot wound to his left breast which he claimed to have received when his rifle went off as he was scrambling up rocks. A shepherd who initially assisted Mr Weir noted that the man’s single-shot rifle was still loaded, indicating that he had reloaded his gun AFTER wounding himself. A report was sent to the police.

SATURDAY 13th JANUARY 1968

Bernard Miller, chairman of the John Lewis Partnership, announced plans for a new £3m five-storey department store at St James Square, which would create around 780 new jobs. The building was expected to open in time for Christmas 1971.

SUNDAY 14th JANUARY 1872

After keeping watch over his old master’s grave for over 14 years, the Terrier dog Greyfriars Bobby finally passed away. He has since become famous, being commemorated in book, film and statue.

WEDNESDAY 15th JANUARY 1941

A sentence of 60 days’ imprisonment was passed by Sheriff Jamieson at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on John McInty re Hill. He admitted having obtained board and lodgings to the value of £21 in an Edinburgh hotel without paying, or intending to pay. It was stated that the accused had stayed at the hotel over 12 months earlier and had left without paying his bill. He was arrested in the Army, and when he had previously stood before the court he had stated he would pay the bill as he had fallen heir to an inheritance. Sentence was then deferred but the bill had not been paid. The accused said his inheritance had not yet been received. Sheriff Jamieson did not approve of the court being made a place for the recovery of debt. The accused had swindled a hotelkeeper and seven months had elapsed since he had failed to adhere to his original promise to pay.

SUNDAY 16th JANUARY 1707

The mentally disturbed Earl of Drumlanrig was locked up in Queensferry House in the Canongate while his father negotiated the Treaty of Union in Edinburgh. Hunger took the Earl, and he soon escaped his room in search of food. All he could find was a kitchen boy, so he cooked him on a spit and ate him. He had eaten most of his victim before the horrified staff uncovered his crime.

SATURDAY 17th JANUARY 1795

Duddingston Curling Society became formally organised, one of the first in the country, after playing ‘unofficially’ for a number of years on Duddingston Loch when it was frozen during winter.

MONDAY 18th JANUARY 1937

A report that the Government had placed an order for nearly five million gas masks with the North British Rubber Company in Edinburgh, was investigated by a representative of The Scotsman newspaper. At the offices of the company it was stated that while the firm had received orders from the Government for the manufacture of gas masks, none of these amounted to anything like the figure mentioned. As it turned out, the Nazis never resorted to dropping gas anyway.

FRIDAY 19th JANUARY 2007

A century of care finally drew to a close as the old Eastern General Hospital at Seafield finally closed its doors for the last time. In its heyday, the Eastern General Hospital was a central pillar of the Leith community, and its closure after 100 years marked the end of an era. Though most services provided by the hospital had been moved to other units gradually over the years, it had remained a non-emergency hospital, one of the last services to leave the building being the SMART prosthetic limbs clinic. The facility was to be relocated to the Astley Ainslie Hospital on the city’s Southside.

FRIDAY 20th JANUARY 1950

Following the recent meeting of Leith Dock Commission (LDC), at which proposals were discussed for a scheduled flying-boat service to operate between Leith and Falmouth, further discussions took place on this day with the Ministry of Civil Aviation. The Ministry were approached with a view to obtaining sanction for the use of Leith waters as an airport. At the last LDC meeting it was stated a letter had been received from Christian Salvesen on behalf of Aquila Airways who had been approached by a Falmouth company to charter flying-boats for a scheduled service between Leith and Falmouth, and enquiring into the possibility of Leith being licensed as a civil airport. Whether the project would be viable remained to be seen.

TUESDAY 21st JANUARY 1930

In a resounding display of anti-war sentiment, Edinburgh Trades and Labour Council, at their meeting, passed a resolution assuring the Prime Minister of their cordial support in the efforts he had made towards international peace. They also asked him to urge upon the Naval Disarmament Conference, sitting in London, that such a programme would – at least – accomplish the abolition of all capital ships and submarines and the drastic limitation of cruisers and other vessels of war. The resolution had been forwarded to the council by the No More War Movement. After the discussion, the secretary was instructed to write to headquarters in London and make a request for speakers who would not be so familiar to an Edinburgh audience, and would therefore be likely to draw a larger crowd.

MONDAY 22nd JANUARY 1934

An outbreak of ‘joyriding’ was the talk of the town. Five motor cars were stolen on Sunday night from various districts, and afterwards found abandoned in the streets. Among the stolen cars was one which was driven by the daughter of Lord Provost Thomson, and which, at the time of the theft, was standing in Moray Place. This car was afterwards retrieved in India Street. The other points from which cars were taken were in Rothesay Terrace, York Place, Hope Street, and Chalmers Crescent. All the offences occurred between 7pm and 10pm and the cars were recovered by the police within a short period of their being stolen. Two men who were arrested on the previous Saturday night were in custody, charged with intent to steal cars from Brunswick Street, while on this day, a sentence of two months’ imprisonment was passed in Edinburgh Sheriff Court on William Steedman, a motor mechanic, who admitted having stolen a motor car.

WEDNESDAY 23rd JANUARY 1946

An experienced railway worker was killed in a tragic accident. Engaged on lookout duty in connection with the clearing of points near Waverley Station, Joseph James Brown (47), an LNER worker in Edinburgh, was struck by an engine and killed instantly. Tracks had to be closed while the tragic mess was cleared.

SATURDAY 24th JANUARY 1948

Hibs manager Willie McCartney collapsed and died in Coatbridge during Hibs’ Scottish Cup match against Albion Rovers at Cliftonhill. Despite his tragic death, Hibs became only the second team outside the Old