Loanhead Gala Day |
The History |
Note - January 2011 -
Numerous visitors to the web site have enquired about ex court members details from years gone by.
We are delighted to say that a comprehensive list of every Court, including Crowning Ladies has been added to the site today.
Please browse the new section and let us know what you think of it.
Click here to visit the Loanhead Gala Day Historical Archive section |
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| In the latter part of the Nineteenth Century the main annual celebratory events in Loanhead were the demonstrations or “Play Days” arranged by the local Friendly Societies. These events generally involved a procession accompanied by at least one band undertaking a fairly lengthy route, usually by way of Straiton and Pentland and sometimes even venturing as far as Bilston and Roslin. Some of these events incorporated a sports meeting during the afternoon. A number of such events were held in the town each year until, in 1893, at the instigation of the town authorities, they were amalgamated into one event (although there is evidence to suggest some societies still held their own events after this date). |
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| The events involving the local Friendly Societies were of course essentially for the enjoyment of the adult population. Things began to change with the celebrations to mark Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee on Tuesday 22 June 1897 when a children's treat was arranged. This involved a procession with over 1,000 children from local schools taking part, the distribution of refreshments and commemorative mugs to the children and a programme of sports for their entertainment. |
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| When the Coronation of King Edward VII came to be celebrated on Thursday 26 June 1902, ideas first employed in 1897 were again employed with a procession, the distribution of gifts and refreshments to the children and an afternoon programme of sports. The programme on this occasion also included the unveiling of the Fountain at the foot of The Loan, a gift to the Burgh from Provost Kerr, a fancy dress cycle parade in the early evening, a bonfire and fireworks at 10 pm and a dance which apparently did not conclude until 3 am the following morning. |
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| The children's events of 1902 proved so popular that, following a public meeting, a petition was lodged with the Council calling upon them to arrange a Children's Day the same as last year. This was agreed and a Committee under the chairmanship of Provost Kerr was formed with a public collection being taken up around the town to defray expenses. The first Children's Day subsequently took place on Wednesday 22 July 1903 with the programme comprising a procession, the distribution of refreshments and the gift of a new penny to each child, sports and a fancy dress parade in the evening. |
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| In 1904 the Crowning of a School Queen was added to the event with Catherine Brown, the dux of Loanhead School and daughter of Major C. K. Brown being crowned by Mrs Kerr. Catherine's Court comprised a further twelve children. The format of the Crowning Ceremony, then staged on a platform erected on the railway bridge in Clerk Street, quickly developed to include features such as the reading of the Royal Proclamation by the Herald and the Challenge delivered by the Champion. |
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| The School Queen was the dux girl of one of the three local schools (then Loanhead, St. Margaret's and Pentland) with the schools providing the Queen and other principals on a rota basis. The first Queen from St. Margaret's was Bridget Maguire in 1906 with Margaret Cairns becoming the first Pentland School Queen in 1907. The first Mistress of the Robes was appointed in 1906 with the roles of Gentlemen in Waiting and Standard Bearers being added in 1908, that of Mace Bearer in 1909 and then Britannia in 1913. |
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| In the years before World War One the event was generally held on a Wednesday in late July to coincide with the annual trades holiday and the shopkeeper's weekly half day. In abeyance during the war years, Children's Day was revived in 1919 when the festivities incorporated Loanhead's Peace Celebrations. From 1919 the event was normally staged on a Saturday. |
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| In 1920 the celebrations extended beyond Children's Day itself for the first time with a fancy dress parade taking place on the Friday evening immediately preceding Children's Day itself. In 1921 the new Memorial Park was used to stage the afternoon sports for the first time and in 1924, following the acquisition of new, rather longer, robes for the Queen, two Train Bearers were added to the Court. |
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| In 1937 Children's Day coincided with the Coronation of King George V and a more extensive programme of events over several days was undertaken. 1937 also saw the Crowning Ceremony move away from the town centre apparently due to the disruption caused to traffic by the use of the railway bridge. The Memorial Park was the new venue for the Ceremony and the Crowning would not return to the town centre until 1983. |
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| The Committee retained the more extensive programme, involving events on the Thursday and Friday evenings immediately preceding and the Sunday immediately following, in 1938 and innovations in 1939 were the Miss Loanhead Beauty Contest (which was to continue until 1948) and the Loanhead Gala Day Song. Despite the outbreak of the Second World War, Children's Day was staged in 1940 when Ina Malcolm became the first winner of the Matthew Brown Cup for the Sports Champion. The event then ceased for the remainder of the War. |
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| In 1946 Children's Day was revived to coincide with Victory Celebrations throughout the country. The playground of the primary annexe of Loanhead School was a new venue for the Crowning Ceremony and remained in use until 1953. The release of pigeons carrying goodwill messages was added to the Crowning Ceremony in 1948 and the role of Crown Bearer was introduced in 1949. |
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| A more extensive programme of events was now being undertaken, this developing into a full Gala Week by the 1950's. Events now included the Serenading of the Queen Elect by a local band outside her home on the eve of Children's Day and the annual Church Service. In 1950 the fancy dress parade was re-launched as Loanhead Carnival and the new event proved to be an immediate success. |
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| In 1951 the Queen and her Court paid their first visit to Loanhead Hospital, then a children's hospital for those suffering from tuberculosis. In 1952, at the suggestion of Loanhead School Headmaster Robertson Sutherland, the age of the Court members dropped when the court began to be selected from what is now known as the primary seven classes. That year also saw the introduction of the John McKinlay Championship Cup in order that there was a separate trophy for both the boys and the girls Sports Champions. |
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| In 1953 many former Queens and Heralds attended the special celebrations to mark the Fiftieth anniversary of the founding of Children's Day. The following year the venue for the Crowning Ceremony changed to the new King George V Park, the official opening of the park taking place on Children's Day. |
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| The story of Loanhead Children's Day almost came to an end in 1968 when, due to a lack of public interest and support, the Committee disbanded. Thankfully, this spurred many people into action, a new and much larger Committee was formed, the necessary funds were raised and the end result was a very successful Children's Day. 1968 also witnessed the first appearance of the Queen and Court principals at events outwith Gala Week itself. |
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| In 1970, for the first time in the history of the event, very inclement weather conditions forced the Crowning Ceremony indoors, the Town Hall being pressed into service. 1979 saw the first Queen from the new Paradykes School and from 1981 there was a gradual introduction of additional attractions during the afternoon of Children's Day as interest in the sports began to diminish. |
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| In 1983 a major change was the relocation of the Crowning Ceremony to Fountain Green in the town centre, only a short distance away from the original site on the railway bridge. This proved to be a very popular move and one which helped rekindle interest in the event. Another innovation in 1983 was the introduction of a competition for the best decorated house with a trophy being presented by the Bank of Scotland. Amongst the highlights of the modern Loanhead Children's Day are the highly imaginative tableaux and decorations which adorn the frontages of the homes of Court members, many of which have involved weeks and sometimes even months of preparation. |
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| In the mid 1980's the Carnival Parade reached a peak with 1985 witnessing not only the largest such event in Loanhead but what is believed to be the largest procession ever staged in any Midlothian town with no less than 50 vehicle entries and 15 bands. In 1987 the presentation of specially struck medals to each Court member was introduced. 1987 was also the first year when the Newtongrange Gala King and Queen were guests at the Loanhead celebrations with our Queen and Herald attending the Newtongrange Gala. This friendly annual exchange has continued ever since. |
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| In 1988 the arrangements for selection of Court principals were changed in order that each of the three primary schools would provide one boy and one girl principal as opposed to the previous practice of one school providing all of the principals in any one year. Another innovation in 1988 was the role of Supporter to allow all Primary 7 children the opportunity to take part. 1988 was also the first year when the Queen and Herald were invited by the Council to switch on Loanhead's Christmas lights. |
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| 1990 saw the introduction of the role of Bearer of the Burgh Standard, a position filled by the Herald from the preceding year. In 1991 the first official video of the event was produced and, like the Gala programmes which date back to 1905, these have become items collected by many in the town. In 1993 the Supporters were renamed Queen's Escort and subsequently, in 1996 and following further discussions with the Headteachers of the local schools, this separate role was abandoned and all Primary 7 children were invited to assume roles in the Court. This has resulted in the size of the Court increasing to almost 80 children in recent years with a consequent increase in the size of the stage used for the Crowning! |
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| 1996 also saw the introduction of a Family Fun Run during Gala Week and another new event was the Children's Talent Competition introduced in 1997. 1997 was also notable for two less positive reasons. Firstly, the Championship Sports were dropped from the programme of events following decreasing interest over a number of years and secondly, for only the second time in the history of the event, severe inclement weather forced the Crowning indoors, the Parish Church being the venue on this occasion. |
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| In 1998 2 girls and 2 boys representing Loanhead's twin town of Harnes in France were added to the Court and in 1999 the Court was further extended to include two young Page Boys. As can be seen, although tradition plays a major part in the event, the Committee has always been prepared to make changes and additions to both the Crowning Ceremony and the accompanying programme of events to achieve improvements or to adapt to changing circumstances. |
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| Over the years, the Gala Committee has assembled an impressive collection of regalia used in connection with the Crowning and associated events. Certain of these items are the result of generous gifts such as the sceptre gifted by MacTaggart Scott & Co. Ltd in 1983, the cushion used to bear the crown made and donated by Loanhead SWRI in 1984, the Burgh Standard donated by Alex Jones and Alan McLaren in 1990 and the robes used by the Mistress of the Robes, Britannia and the Ex Queen the cost of which was met by a donation from the Chatterbox group at Loanhead Parish Church in 1999. |
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| Items such as the Queen's throne (1928 - fully refurbished 1999), the Children's Day banner (1990), the Champion's sword, the Saltires carried by the Standard Bearers, the Mace carried by the Mace Bearer and the Queen's robes have been purchased by the Committee from funds raised. In accordance with our traditions, a new crown and a new scroll containing the Royal Proclamation are produced each year, these items being retained by the Queen and Herald respectively. |
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| The event's Centenary was celebrated in 2003 and the special programme of events that year was a spectacular success. A full report on the Centenary can be found on the Centenary Retrospective page. The huge interest generated by the Centenary celebrations has helped the event go from strength to strength in subsequent years with Loanhead Children's day retaining its place amongst the premier local festivals in Scotland. |
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| Aside from the sheer enjoyment given to many who either participate in the annual celebrations or simply come along to watch, the event has always been and continues to be extremely valuable to the local community. Children's Day is the only occasion in the year when every individual and all organisations within the community can come together and play some part in a joint enterprise for the benefit of all. Children's Day does more than anything else to create a positive community spirit and to help Loanhead retain a separate identity. The town would simply not be the same without it. |
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| These brief notes on "The History of Loanhead Children's Day" are drawn from a much more detailed and extensive work on the history of the event by Alan McLaren. |
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| © Copyright Alan McLaren 2002-2006 |
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