Hawkhill

The Blue Mountains at the bottom of the Hawkhill on the left hand side were called after an Italian man came to Dundee and lived in that tenement, he was so homesick that he painted the blue mountains on  the wall of his flat to remind him of his home near the Blue Mountains in Italy .

I was born in the Overgate in 1957, from there we moved to Shepherds Loan. My first school was Hawkhill. We moved again to Macalpine Road then to Kincardine Street, our next move was to St. Fillans Road. When I was 12 we moved to Wallsend Newcastle.

I lived in St David's Lane, West Port, we used to play in the "Blue Mountains" on the Blackie. I have recently heard they were called the infamous Blue Mountains, does anyone know why?

I note the photograph of the Princess Cinema, I am the laddie on the bike, the photo taken by someone from D.C. Thomson about May 1959. I lived at 88, Hawkhill from 1951-53 and went to Tay Street School. Them moved away to Paisley. Came back in 1958 and lived in Rosefield Street. My mum had a second hand shop and a cafe in Brook Street, bottom of Larch Street. I remember playing in the high landie. Only remember one person from Tay Street School, a lass called Ella McGuiken who loved in Park Row until about 1960. She was a bonnie dancer. Read more......

I note the photograph of the Princess Cinema, I am the laddie on the bike, the photo taken by someone from D.C. Thomson about May 1959. I lived at 88, Hawkhill from 1951-53 and went to Tay Street School. Them moved away to Paisley. Came back in 1958 and lived in Rosefield Street. My mum had a second hand shop and a cafe in Brook Street, bottom of Larch Street. I remember playing in the high landie. Only remember one person from Tay Street School, a lass called Ella McGuiken who loved in Park Row until about 1960. She was a bonnie dancer. Read more......

I was born in Clement Park in 1943. I lived in the square in Shepherd's  Loan, in my Granny Ogilvie's house. It had four rooms and a toilet. I went to Hawkhill School. My grandfather Hall lived under Cox's Stack in a big grey house. One of my friends was Jean Navickas she lived across the square. There was Mary Gatley and Helen Davies who lived above us. We emigrated to Australia in 1951. I told my friend Jean that I would be back in two years for a holiday but didn't get back for another 50 years and then my memories were all gone.

We lived in MacVicars Lane off the Perth Road for a while but in 1959 we moved to Millars Wynd. I went to the Demonstration School in Park Place and remember some classmates names like Kenny Campbell, Ronald Koppel, Alistair Soutar, Diane Buick, Cherry Leaper, Jaqueline McMaster and Stewart Patterson. Our headmaster was John Gunning and it truly was the best education a child could have. The teachers like Mr Watson, Mrs McFeet and Miss Gregg were simply the best. Read more......

I have a memory of being marched from Hawkhill school down to East Station, to be evacuated to Montrose 1939. At 8 years of age I also remember along the roadside of Dudhope Castle, there were monkeys and parrots in enclosures. I still carry the scar at the age of 76, having been nipped by one of the monkeys.