Evening Express Memories

04/11/2024

An old omnibus dating back to 1901 has been painstakingly restored by volunteers at Grampian Transport Museum and will soon transport passengers once more 🐴

Some Aberdonians might remember having horse rides in this coach at Hazlehead Park in the 1970s and ‘80s.

But its earlier history is a bit hazier, because it’s not known for sure if it came from the Palace Hotel in Peterhead or Aberdeen 🧐

Full story: https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/past-times/6614860/volunteers-restoration-peterhead-omnibus/

20/10/2024

George Street in days gone by was a busy shopping street, running north to south into the heart of Aberdeen 🧭

Up until the 1980s, the long uninterrupted thoroughfare stretched from Split the Wind to St Nicholas Street then Union Street beyond.

We’ve taken a look back at the changing face of George Street over the decades.

📸: 1964: A view along George Street in 1964 with each side lined with independent businesses - the shops on the right were replaced by Norco House.

Do you remember some of the old shops on George Street? We've taken a walk down memory lane through archive photos of the Aberdeen thoroughfare, its former shops and businesses, while reflecting on future plans to revive the neighbourhood.

18/10/2024

Any followers help out at the 1997 or 1991 Tall Ships races?

Hundreds of locals are needed to welcome the world to Aberdeen during the Tall Ships Races in July 2025.

17/10/2024

Some of the best images from our archives of Aberdeen Grammar Rugby Club.
Can you spot anyone you know?

Images from our archives of the Rubislaw club.

10/10/2024

A look back on the darts scene in Aberdeen over the years with lots of images from the 1970s and 1980s. Can you spot anyone you know?

From the Masada to Wagley's, a look at some images from the darts scene in Aberdeen from our archives.

07/10/2024

Parts of Aberdeen have changed beyond recognition as the city has sprawled in recent decades 🏠

It’s only really from above you can truly appreciate how the city has evolved. Our archive photos show Aberdeen from above during the 1960s 👇🏻

📸: A view looking west from the left, with Urquhart Road, Seaforth Road and Trinity Cemetery with the King Street bus garage in the centre ©️DC Thomson

It's only really in seeing Aberdeen from above that you can see how much parts of the city have changed since the 1960s. These photos capture the city before oil, when change was happening at a gentler pace.

03/10/2024

Spot anyone you know in these Champion Street photos from '79 to '84?

After the success of our 35-year Champion Street gallery in June, we've dug deeper into our archives for more images - and you can see the 1979-1984 haul of pictures now.

29/09/2024

Aberdeen University Students' Union was a spiritual home for generations of scholars in Aberdeen that used to be packed with thousands of revellers 🍻🪩

But dwindling numbers saw the once-popular venue close 20 years ago in 2004.

This is the story of Aberdeen University’s trailblazing union, the first in Scotland to bring male and female unions together under the same roof:

Aberdeen University Students' Union was a spiritual home for generations of scholars in Aberdeen that used to be packed with thousands of revellers. But dwindling numbers saw the once-popular venue close 20 years ago in 2004.

28/09/2024

Norah Berry, 82, who lives in Tillydrone is Aberdeen’s last link to the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Norah's grandfather Alex was one of the Aberdeen stonemasons who helped build the famous bridge while her father Sandy went to school in Granite Town, the Australian settlement that housed the workers and their families. This is her family’s fascinating tale 👇🏻

Norah's grandfather Alex was one of the Aberdeen stonemasons who helped build the famous bridge while her father Sandy went to school in Granite Town, the Australian settlement that housed the workers and their families.

22/09/2024

Almost all our archival press images of Elgin from the late 1960s to ‘80s were taken in black and white, the shades from these bygone eras have been lost to time 🕰️

Until now. We put our archival images through AI colourisation technology to re-capture the essence of the town.

While it’s picked up on the muted hues of the architecture, some of its colourisation of the cars is a little more dubious… what do you think?

We used Artificial Intelligence to recreate the colours and atmosphere of Elgin in years gone by. But did AI get it right?

20/09/2024

Just a stone’s throw from the fashionable Fife Arms Hotel, the Victorian Braemar Kirk has been put on the market for £160,000 ⛪️

It’s one of Scotland’s highest and most remote churches - its position in the Cairngorms makes it almost equidistant from Aberdeen, Inverness and Perth 📍

… But any new resident would be sharing the church with its first minister the Reverend Hugh Cobban, who is buried in the church behind the pulpit.

The beautiful, B-listed Victorian Braemar Kirk in the heart of the village could be an attractive development proposition - as long as buyers don't mind sharing the space with the first minister, whose tomb lies behind the pulpit.

17/09/2024

The amalgamation of the Gordon Highlanders with the Queen’s Own Highlanders on this day in 1994 was an emotional one across the north-east 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

The region united to save its beloved regiment, but despite a long and determined campaign, the Gordon Highlanders’ demise came on its 200th anniversary.

We’ve looked back at the Gordon Highlanders and the regiment’s distinguished, proud and strong tradition across the world.

For 200 years, generations of Gordon Highlanders upheld a distinguished and strong tradition, not only in the north-east, but across the world. But their 200th anniversary also marked the regiment's demise when it amalgamated with the Queen's Own Highlanders.

06/09/2024

This week, we're stepping back in time to colourise black and white archive images of 10 lost streets of Aberdeen.

Using artificial intelligence technology to colourise photographs of lost streets in Aberdeen, we've taken a look back at our archives in a different light.

31/08/2024

Using the power of artificial intelligence to colourise our precious archive photos for the first time, we've put life back into images of the Aberdonians who lived and lost during the war.

As the 85th anniversary of the outbreak of the Second World War approaches, it gives us a new perspective on some of Aberdeen’s darkest hours ♥️

Using the power of artificial intelligence to colourise our precious archive photos, we've put life back into images of the Aberdonians who lived and lost during the war.

28/08/2024

Looking as good as its heyday in 1960s Aberdeen, a newly-restored double-decker Daimler bus was the star of the show at the Bus Collection open day in Alford 🚌

Its unveiling was significant but poignant, because the bus was “the pride and joy” of the Bus Collection’s founder Gordon Mills MBE, who passed away in December before it was fully restored 🤍

Gordon had an illustrious career in the bus industry in Aberdeen and around the world, and pioneered accessible buses.

The 1951 Daimler double-decker in Aberdeen Corporation colours was a familiar sight on Granite City streets in days gone by. Now the bus has been restored back to its former glory in tribute to the founder of the Bus Collection at Alford, Gordon Mills.

27/08/2024

When Oasis played Aberdeen in 1997, it was their only Scottish gig 🎵

The scramble to phone for tickets was so great that BT had to launch a back-up system because half a million calls blocked the phone lines in Aberdeen ☎️

As Oasis today announced their hotly-anticipated reunion, we’ve taken a look back at all their gigs in Aberdeen, story in comments👇🏻

📸: Oasis fans went wild at the AECC in 1997 ©️DC Thomson

25/08/2024

The demolition of Aberdeen's Victorian New Market in the 1970s was described as "gross aesthetic vandalism" by those who tried to save it 🛠️

Even poet laureate John Betjeman joined the crusade to have the Archibald Simpson “masterpiece” spared, but the market owners sold it off for development.

📸: The demolition men move in at the New Market in 1971 ©️DC Thomson

The demolition of Aberdeen's Victorian New Market in the 1970s was described as "gross aesthetic vandalism" by those who tried to save it.

23/08/2024

📷 CHAMPION STREET: Did you take part in the fondly-remembered Aberdeen summer kids' football tournament from 1973-1978?

⚽We've gone deeper into our archives to pull out this haul of previously stored away pictures (90 images) from the first six years of the annual tournament.

See if you can spot yourself, your friends or family members!
👇

After the success of our 35-year Champion Street gallery in June, we've dug deeper into our archives for more images - and you can see the 1973-1978 haul (90 pictures) now.

22/08/2024

Mary Coutts ran the shop on Great Northern Road for decades...

06/08/2024

Smithfield School was one of Aberdeen’s post-war schools held up as an example of good building practice for a new era ✏️ After the war, Aberdeen was the most advanced city in post-war school building in Scotland.

Although Smithfield helped lead the way, it was dilapidated by 2010 and closed. We remember schooldays at Smithfield in archive photos. Story and gallery in comments👇🏻

📸: Assistant head teacher John Cooper with the Smithfield Primary School Choir in their production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat ©️DC Thomson

05/08/2024

In 1979, councillors were left blushing after accidentally approving a nudist beach on land that did not belong to Aberdeen City Council 🫢

Repeated attempts by naturists for an official beach were resisted earlier in the decade 🏖️

But councillors finally came round to the idea and Aberdeen came a hair's breadth from having its own nudist beach… but unfortunately for fans of getting their kit off, it was not meant to be: www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/past-times/6521704/aberdeen-nudist-beach-1970s/

In 1979, councillors were left blushing after accidentally approving a nudist beach on land that did not belong to Aberdeen City Council.

28/07/2024

Happy 90th anniversary to Aberdeen Airport today! ✈️

Aberdeen glided into the golden age of aviation when the airport opened at Dyce 90 years ago.

It was said the north-east of Scotland “entered upon a new era” when Aberdeen Airport, then Dyce Aerodrome, opened on July 28 1934 🛩️

At that time it was the largest airport in Scotland: www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/past-times/6536437/aberdeen-airport-90-years

📸: A view of the airport in 1934 with the railway yard, and the opening notice for the airport ©️DC Thomson

26/07/2024

A Victorian station master's house is about all that remains of the former Cairnie Junction Station, near Huntly, which opened in 1898 🚂

Robert Taylor was the first station master to call it home, and he lived there until 1902. Now railway enthusiasts can snap up the historic rural property for £195,000 🏡

This is the story of the lost Cairnie Junction Station: https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/past-times/6542510/carnie-junction-station-house

Stewart & Watson

23/07/2024

It may be the school holidays, but this week our archives have opened on memories of Mile End School in the 1980s when it was still in its Victorian building on Midstocket Road 📖

The distinguished, C-listed school was considered one of Aberdeen’s finest buildings in one of the city’s most desirable areas.

If you were a pupil there in the ‘80s you may recognise a few familiar faces in our gallery 👇🏻

https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/past-times/6536075/photos-mile-end-school/

📸: Teacher Lillie Clark and her P2 class on her last day before retiring in 1982 ©️DC Thomson

21/07/2024

At a time when the reopening of long-gone railway lines is a hot topic, the Echt and Skene Railway is not so much a lost line, but more of a lost opportunity 🚂

These days, a railway linking Aberdeen to Kingswells, Westhill and beyond could be a popular commuter route 🎟️

This is the story of the Echt railway that never was: www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/past-times/6530305/the-echt-and-skene-railway

📸: An original 1897 poster advertising a meeting for the Echt and Skene Railway ©️Kirstie Waterston