Curious Edinburgh - Curious Edinburgh

Princes Street Gardens

Second World War Comments Off

Jun 032023

Princes Street, Edinburgh, EH2 2HG

Princes Street Gardens. Photographed from the entrance on The Mound.

In the post-war era, Princes Street Gardens has been the home to multiple memorials (see, for example, stop 4: Wojtek the Soldier Bear Memorial; as well as The Holocaust Memorial and Norwegian Memorial Stone), taking advantage of the open location in the middle of the city. However, during the war, the gardens provided a focal point for the Edinburgh ‘Holidays at Home’ movement. This government scheme enlisted local authorities to draw up a program of amusements and entertainment for the summer months, encouraging civilians to relax at home rather than travel for their holidays. The gardens hosted numerous dances, showcasing Highland and Scottish country dancing, with some 200,000 people attending the dances in 1943 alone.

In July 1940, a series of air-raid shelters were built in the gardens, with the intention for them to be used as “shelters from the weather” after the war. The central location of the gardens was also the ideal area to access Princes Street and the Mound, where military parades and marches throughout the war took place.

A Middle East soldier revisits Britain: life in wartime Edinburgh, 1943. © IWMD 15666.

New Edinburgh Air-Raid Shelters. The Scotsman, 6 July 1940, p. 8.

Sources: Craig Armstrong, Edinburgh at War, (2018), p. 75, pp. 138-141, Chris Sladen ‘Holidays at Home in the Second World War’ Journal of Contemporary History 37: 1 (2002), The Scotsman, 6 July 1940, p. 8, The Scotsman, 4 July 1942, p. 6.

Additional links:

Wojtek the Soldier Bear Memorial

Second World War Comments Off

Jun 032023

4 Princes Street, South Charlotte Street, Edinburgh, EH2 2HG

Focusing on the relationship between Wojtek the mascot bear and Polish troops under the command of General Anders, this 2015 statue alludes to the significant Polish military presence in Scotland during the war. There were two distinct waves of Polish arrivals in Scotland. Following the Fall of France in June 1940, some 20,000 Polish servicemen, under the leadership of General Wladyslaw Sikorski, came to be based in Scotland. In 1941 the 1st Independent Polish Parachute Brigade was formed, followed by the 1st Polish Armoured Division. Wojtek alludes to the second wave, the arrival of the 2nd Polish Corps, as part of the post-war Polish Resettlement Corps. Additionally, in March 1941, the University of Edinburgh established the Polish School of Medicine. Intended to meet the needs of students and doctors in the Polish armed forces, clinical medicine was taught and civilians were also treated. The novels and short stories of Edinburgh writer Fred Urquhart vividly capture the transformative effect of the wartime arrival of Polish, and Free French, servicemen and Norwegian sailors upon the city. This monument reflects recent trends in memorial sculpture which focus on animals and raises questions over who commemorates, in what ways, and for what reasons. Why do some wartime stories evoke a more empathetic response in the twenty first century than others?

Memorial Tablet, Polish School of Medicine, University of Edinburgh, 1949. © University of Edinburgh.

Also see: Statue of General Stanisław Maczek, Commander, Polish 1st Armoured Division, City Chambers, Royal Mile (inaugurated 2018).

An image of Polish soldiers from 1940 can be seen here:
https://www.scran.ac.uk/database/record.php?usi=000-000-092-717-C&scache=4lj0d1bqci&searchdb=scran

An image of the staff of the Polish School of Medicine, University of Edinburgh, can be seen here:
https://www.scran.ac.uk/database/record.php?usi=000-000-092-719-C&scache=3lmm31bqcd&searchdb=scran

Sources: Jeremy A Crang, ‘The Second World War’ in E M Spiers, J A Crang & M J Strickland, A Military History of Scotland (2012), p. 564, Wendy Ugolini, ‘“When are you going back?”: Memory, ethnicity and the British home front. In: Noakes, L. and Pattinson, J. (eds.) British Cultural Memory and the Second World War (2013).

Additional links:

High Court of the Justiciary

Second World War Comments Off

Jun 032023

12 St Giles’ Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1PT

Site of the High Court of the Justiciary. Photographed from Lawnmarket.

Throughout the war, the Justiciary Building housed the tribunal that decided whether people should be exempt from military service on the grounds of a conscientious objection to war. People appearing before the tribunal included Christian pacifists, socialists, anarchists, humanitarians and Scottish nationalists. Notable Scottish conscientious objectors included the writers Robin Jenkins and Edwin Morgan, as well as a later Bishop of Edinburgh and Lord Advocate of Scotland. There were over 60,000 people who sought exemption across Britain between 1939 and 1945. The majority of them were given a conditional exemption so long as they carried out some form of alternative service, such as ambulance or forestry work. An image of the shops and buildings demolished in 1937 for the building of Sherrif’s Court can be seen here: https://www.scran.ac.uk/database/image.php?usi=000-000-126-088-R&cusi=000-000-126-088-C&scache=38i6l3np5x&searchdb=scran

Source: Tobias Kelly, Battles of Conscience: British Pacifists and the Second World War, (2022) p. 141.

Additional links:

Caledonian Distillery

Second World War Comments Off

Jun 032023

Duff Street, Edinburgh, EH11 2HU

Site of the former Caledonian Distillery on Duff Street, Dalry. Photographed from Springwell Place.

On 27 September 1940 a 500lb bomb dropped on the Caledonian Distillery (“the Cally”), the largest distillery in Scotland, on the corner of Duff Street and Springwell Place. Gallons of whisky spread down the street causing an enormous fire which spread to tenements in the surrounding streets. Hundreds of residents were made homeless. Overall, however, Edinburgh was fortunate not to experience large-scale air raids during the war and avoided the worst of the Blitz. Tip to see this location: travel out to Dalry to see the site of the former distillery – it is now a residential complex. Looking south-east up Springwell Place shows which tenements were affected by the fire as there is a clear demarcation between the old buildings and the new.

Looking south-east up Springwell Place shows which tenements were affected by the fire.

An image of the Caledonian Distillery taken in 1966 can be seen here:
https://www.scran.ac.uk/database/record.php?usi=000-000-514-759-C&scache=4lhu71bqcj&searchdb=scran

Sources: Craig Armstrong, Edinburgh at War, (2018), p. 82, Andrew Jeffrey, This Present Emergency: Edinburgh, the River Forth and South-East Scotland and the Second World War, (1992), p. 72, Jeremy A Crang, ‘The Second World War’ in E M Spiers, J A Crang & M J Strickland, A Military History of Scotland (2012), p. 567.

Additional links:

https://movingimage.nls.uk/film/1353

Prestonpans Burns Memorial Garden and Coronation Garden

East Lothian Coastline Comments Off

Jan 272023

92-84 High St, Prestonpans, EH32 9JF

File:Prestonpans - Burns Memorial - geograph.org.uk - 700239.jpg - Wikimedia Commons — Source: James Denham

In the centre of Prestonpans are two gardens – the Burns Memorial Garden on the shore and the Corronation Garden in front of Prestonpans Parish Church. These unique resting spaces provide a fascinating insight in local history, as well as a beautiful backdrop to a weary traveller.

The Burns Memorial Garden contains a memorial to the Scottish national poet erected at the bicentenary of his death, as well as a Burns Memorial Shelter. The latter includes a mural created by the artist Kate Hunter and illustrating Burns’ poem Tam O’Shanter. Perstonpans is known for its murals – 35 of them are part of the Mural Trail designed by the Prestoungrange Arts Festival Society.

Alongside the murals, Prestonpans also has numerous memorial gardens and monuments to its fascinating history. Hence, in the Burns Memorial Garden, we also find a monument to local industries, created in 1968 by Leslie Frank Chorley. Traditionally, the town’s two most well-known industries were the production of salt using salt panning (i.e. evaporating salt water in large pans, which also gave rise to the town’s name) and coal mining. Coal was discovered in Prestonpans by the Newbattle Abbey monks in 1210, which was likely the first instance of coal mining in Britain.

File:Prestonpans, East Lothian - Thomas Alexander C.B. - geograph.org.uk - 704716.jpg — Source: James Denham

On the opposite side of the High Street is the coronation garden with the monument to military surgeon Thomas Alexander. Alexander served in all major campaigns of the 19^th century, rising all the way to the position of Director General of the Medical Department of the British Army. During the Crimean War, he befriended the acclaimed nurse Florence Nightingale, and much like her, he went on to reform some of the critical practices and standards of care in hospital environments. Behind the Alexander monument is the ruin of the 14th-century Preston Tower, which has seen multiple sieges and was a prominent base for military engagement. Ruined in 1663 after an accidental fire, it missed the legendary Battle of Prestonpans, where Highlanders supporting the return of Prince Charles defeated the Government forces during the early stages of the Jacobite rebellion.

Prestonpans http://bikelove-scotland.blogspot.com/2011/08/prestonpans-port-seton-cockenzie-battle.html?m=1
Robert Burns Memorial Shelter https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/robert-burns-memorial-shelter
Prestoungrange Arts Festival (Murals Trail) http://www.prestoungrange.org/arts-festival/html/murals/muralstrail.html

Talat Yaqoob

Women in STEM Art Trail Comments Off

Jun 222021

WHALE Arts, EH14 2SA

Large-scale painting of Talat Yaqoob on the side of the Whale Arts building — Talat Yaqoob
*artwork by Kerry Wilson*

Talat Yaqoob is an award-winning Scottish campaigner, writer, and activist working as an independent consultant in education, workplace equality, women’s rights, race equality and inclusion in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths. With more than twelve years of experience in the third sector, she has extensive knowledge of campaigning, public affairs, political strategy and communications. Talat is the co-founder and chair of Women 5050, a national campaign striving for the equal and fair representation of all women in politics. Talat has also been involved in a wide range of campaigns, including the first national project on mental health and wellbeing for students in 2009, which is still running, and Pass the Mic, the first, and currently only, online list of women of colour commentators for the media, bringing under-represented experts into the spotlight to share their knowledge.

Lorna Prendergast

Women in STEM Art Trail Comments Off

Jun 222021

The Space/Broomhouse Hub, EH11 3RH

Portrait of Lorna Prendergast in her graduate cap and gown with a background of musical notations — Lorna Prendergast by Kerry Wilson; image by Chris Scott Photography

At 90 years old, Lorna Prendergast graduated from Melbourne University in 2019 with a Master’s Degree in ageing. She dedicated her degree to the memory of her late husband Jim, who she was married to for 64 years. Jim had lived with dementia and when Lorna visited him in his nursing home, she realised that he and the other residents responded well to music they had enjoyed earlier in their lives. This sparked her interest in studying ageing, which she did remotely, learning new technology along the way. She has inspired Australians, many of whom live far from universities, to also continue education. Now Lorna is continuing her investigation into the correlation between music and dementia symptom relief via a music therapy trial which started in July 2020. At 90, she’s proving, “no matter your age, whether young or old, you can make a difference in the world.”

Dr. Helen Senn

Women in STEM Art Trail Comments Off

Jun 222021

Edinburgh Zoo, EH12 6TS

Portrait of Dr. Helen Senn surrounded by a beaver, wildcat, and wasp displayed near the wildcat enclosure at Edinburgh Zoo — Dr. Helen Senn by Shona Hardie; image by Chris Scott Photography

Dr. Helen Senn is the Head of Conservation and Science at Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS), the charity that leads Edinburgh Zoo and Highland Wildlife Park, and manages the WildGenes conservation genetics lab. Overseeing all 23 wild conversation projects and working as a conservation genetics specialist, Helen supports reintroduction projects for critically endangered species around the world. Many of the species Helen and the team at RZSS support are on the brink of extinction. Their work helps to protect species in the wild and establish captive breeding populations to support species recovery. Using her scientific and planning expertise, Helen is at the forefront of saving critically endangered species both in Scotland and globally.

Natalie Duffield

Women in STEM Art Trail Comments Off

Jun 222021

North Edinburgh Arts, EH4 4TZ

Portrait of Natalie Duffield with a background referencing binary code, wifi, and circut boards on the wall of North Edinburgh Arts — Natalie Duffield by Shona Hardie; image by Ian Georgeson Photography

When she was just 13, Natalie Duffield decided that she didn’t want to go to university but instead wanted to work. She began her career in IT in temporary, junior roles but convinced her bosses to give her a start in sales, a traditionally male-dominated field. It took time, but Natalie developed a successful career in IT sales and then went on to become the CEO of InTechnology SmartCitie, which provides free WiFi in central Edinburgh. Now Natalie is championing digital innovation whilst inspiring young women to follow non-traditional careers. Natalie wants to see more courses that are attractive to women, a work culture that assumes women can learn technology, and for all women to know that they can train for any role.

Dr. Aline Finger

Women in STEM Art Trail Comments Off

Jun 222021

The Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh, EH3 5NZ

Portrait of Dr. Aline Finger mounted on the grounds of the Royal Botanic Gardens, surrounded by trees — Dr. Aline Finger by Kerry Wilson; image by Chris Scott Photography

(No longer on display) Dr. Aline Finger is a conservation geneticist and molecular ecologist at the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh. Her work focuses on the genetics and conservation of threatened plant species and supporting viable plant populations in the wild. Aline uses genetic and ecological methods to help maximize the success of conservation translocations, where species are moved into new environments to help their survival. By knowing the genetic make-up of these plants, Aline can reduce the chance for plant species to inbreed or detrimentally compete with each other. As a champion for rare plants in Scotland, Aline’s research identifies the risks for plant biodiversity in the face of environmental threats and helps inform policy to protect wild plants for future generations to enjoy.

Older Entries Newer Entries