With the imminent arrival of trams on Edinburgh’s streets, now’s the perfect time to rediscover our 1950s tram driver’s Life in a box in Whose Town?
Hugh Cairns started as a conductor and then became a driver on Edinburgh’s former electric tram car system. Hear him tell stories about what life was like working on the trams, see personal pictures of him and his colleagues and also special tickets produced to commemorate the last week of the previous tram system in November 1956.
You’ll also discover more about his life living in a prefab in Oxgangs and how he preferred to get out and about on his bicycle in his free time.
Get ready for the Jubilee Bank Holiday and take a look back in time to 1950s Edinburgh with our special Whose Town? 1950s exhibition on Capital Collections.
1953 Coronation Street Party
Here a street party is in full swing in Gorgie. All over Edinburgh residential streets were decorated with balloons and bunting on Coronation Day, Tuesday June 2nd 1953. After months of fundraising, the big day for the street’s celebrations had arrived. Tables were set up in the streets and children wore paper hats and played games such as pitching a lucky ball through the porthole of a model ship. Food consisted of cold ham and salad for the adults washed down with tea, while children enjoyed buns and cakes with lemonade. Singing and dancing went on for many hours.
The city centre was decorated with flowers and banners and buildings were floodlit. For 48 hours leading up to the day, there was a programme of events, including a ball in the Assembly Rooms and a Youth Vigil Service. Coronation Day was a holiday for almost all citizens, with bus and train services reduced and shops closed and no mail deliveries. As well as street parties, those lucky enough to own a television, organised parties in their homes to watch the ceremony. The day ended with spectacular firework displays and bonfires lit on the surrounding hills of the city.
Visit Whose Town? and hear Bill’s memories of growing up in Edinburgh and how he got the day off school to join the Coronation celebrations.
With 60 years on the throne, Queen Elizabeth is second only to Victoria, the British monarch with the longest reign in history. In a couple of weeks time, there’ll be no escaping the union jacks, the commemorative tv programmes, tea towels and countless other memorabilia. A new online exhibition on Capital Collections gives a flavour of what life was like in Scotland’s capital back in 1952 and the chance to appreciate the nation’s constant figurehead in an ever-changing world.
Don’t forget you can get a fantastic feel for 1950’s Edinburgh from Whose Town?. Experience post-war Edinburgh through the eyes of 5 real people who lived and worked in the city at the time. You could even delve a little deeper and compare 1950s Edinburgh to Queen Victoria’s times.
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