back row - Mr. Ritchie,R.Johnston,D.Nimmo,J.Geates,A.Bain,A.Hewitt,Mr.Hamilton.
centre - W.Hunter,R.Sloan,J.McKean,J.Hunter(capt.)J.McLeod,N.McSwan,A.Herbert
front - W.Eaglesham,W.Armstrong,P.Frew,J.Young.
Eleanor Reid
ARA 1956-59
Our school.....Albert Road, 1920s
How many of you took the number 12 along Shields Road?
Those of you who haven't been back to Britain for awhile will see many changes.
My observation has been that the lifestyle and pace of the inhabitants has quickened to the point of overtaking North America....but the people are just as friendly as ever. Many changes in Glasgow....for the better, mostly. Because of massive renovation projects and the addition of pedestrian malls, tourists can actually see the city's beautiful architecture whilst in one of the highest rated shopping areas in the world.
What I saw of Pollokshields, once referred to as "the lungs of Glasgow", because of its plethora of trees, hasn't changed much. A bit delapidated, perhaps. The exterior of the school certainly needs attention, and a start was obviously being made, with much of it surrounded by scaffolding. We were there on a Saturday, so were unable to go inside, but I found myself lingering around the perimeter, staring at this relatively small building, and thinking, as we all do when we become adult, how huge it seemed when I attended, and what a huge influence it had on my life.
Pollokshields Library
Whilst visiting Pollokshields Library, we were made aware of one Sheila Ogilvie, historian, who has published two booklets, Pollokshields Pastiche and Pollokshields Panorama. I was able to purchase the latter but the Pastiche is out of print. Anyone interested in the Panorama, at a cost of 5.50 sterling, please email me and I will provide you with Sheila Ogilvie's address.
From Mrs. Ogilvie, amongst many other items of interest, comes the following list of notable dates from the school's history:
Albert Road Public School
1882 in Albert Road, (later becoming 241 Albert Drive)
1902 became Albert Road Academy...motto: Aye Ready
1926 became Pollokshields Secondary School
1945 became Pollokshields Senior Secondary School
1962 became Pollokshields Primary School
Another treasure in the library is a group of papers entitled, "Govan Parish School Board - Pollokshields Public School - 1879-1925", and they contain extracts from the school log books within these dates. Fascinating stuff....for example, under the date 7-11-1879 is the following:
"General sickness among children but particularly hooping(sic) cough, scarlet fever chicken pox and diptheria, keep down the attendance very markedly".
There are thirteen pages of extracts, go to the navigation bar below, click on "log extracts" to view.
