In the 1960s, Scotland experienced dramatic, far-reaching changes, often not understood at the time. Shipyard closures, high unemployment, and troubled traditional industries contributed to a feeling the country was sinking, and there was little that could be done to prevent it. A new political spirit suddenly emerged from this gloom – the whirlwind of Scottish nationalism. It seemed that there was little anyone could do to stop Scottish independence at a stroke. The Renaissance was remarkable.
Nationalists gained control of the independence field after the Covenant Association, which aimed to win a parliament for Scotland, collapsed by the end of the 1950s. During a 1962 by-election in West Lothian, William Wolfe (link to Times Obituary), who later served as SNP chairman, came second, considered a significant victory at the time. SNP activists, particularly in West Lothian, where they established a stronghold, worked hard to restore the party’s fortunes. In the sixties, the SNP was so small and weak that one of its leaders joked that the party would have been wiped out if all the senior members had been in a small plane when it crashed.
In the sixties, Scotland had alternative places of dissent and imagination: the Art Schools produced an extensive range of talent that has dazzled since. During the early 1960s, CND and the new left emerged north of the border in response to the UK Government’s decision to place Polaris in Scotland. The introduction of younger, idealistic activists to the SNP when Labour under Hugh Gaitskell abandoned unilateral nuclear disarmament gave the SNP a vital boost.
Here are some stunning historical photos that will take you back to the 1960s in the Scotland.
#1 Skiers in the Cairngorms, 1962
#2 Buses, cars and pedestrians making their way along Princes Street in Edinburgh, Scotland during the Edinburgh Festival in 1960.
#3 SligaChan Hotel, Sligachan, Isle of Skye, Scotland, 1960.
A small settlement on Skye, Scotland. It is close to the Cuillin mountains and provides a good viewpoint for seeing the Black Cuillin mountains. Tradition has it that the Lord of the Isles attacked Skye in 1395, but William MacLeod met the MacDonalds at Sligachan and drove them back to Loch Eynort (Ainort).
#4 Princes Street in Edinburgh, 1960
#5 Village of Uig, and Jetty for ferry to outer Hebrides, Isle of Skye, Scotland, 1960s
#6 Union Street, Aberdeen, Scotland, 1960s.
#7 Vernacular snapshot photograph of bagpipers in Scotland, 1960.
#8 A view of the Scott Monument and Princes Street in Edinburgh, Scotland, 1960
#9 A high angle view of Edinburgh, Scotland, 1960.
#10 Brother and Sister Make the Roadway a Playground Outside Their Home in Hospital Street, Gorbals, 1950
#11 Rows of houses in Glasgow, Scotland, 29th March 1969.
#12 QE2 Launch Day, Clydebank in Scotland, 1967
The royal motorcade carrying Queen Elizabeth II and various dignitaries and guests through the entrance gates to John Brown and Company shipbuilders for the launch and naming ceremony of the ocean liner Queen Elizabeth 2 at Clydebank in Scotland on 20th September 1967. The hull of the QE2 ship can be seen towering above the buildings in the background.
#13 Buildings and Landmarks Oban, Argyll, Scotland, 1960s
#14 Tay Road Bridge, 1966.
Motorists in a Jaguar Mark VII paying their toll on the new Tay Road Bridge, which carries the A92 road across the Firth of Tay from Newport-on-Tay to Dundee. Just downstream of the Tay Rail Bridge. Opened in 1966, at approximately 2,250 metres long, it is one of the longest road bridges in Europe and was built to replace the ferry service
#15 Craigshill, Livingston, West Lothian, Scotland, 1965.
#16 The south bank Laurieston and Gorbals area of the South Portland Street Suspension Bridge spanning the River Clyde in Glasgow, Scotland, 1965.
#17 Three men play a game of lawn bowls on a bowling green in West End Park with the New Buildings of the University of Glasgow rising behind on Gilmorehill in Glasgow, Scotland, 1965.
#18 Cars and pedestrians make their way around Charlotte Square, a Georgian garden square in the New Town area of Edinburgh, Scotland, 1965.
#19 Pedestrians walk up a city street in the Grassmarket area of the Old Town in Edinburgh, Scotland, 1965.
#20 Looking north from South Queensferry of the Forth Bridge, a cantilever railway bridge crossing the Firth of Forth, near Edinburgh in Scotland, 1965.
#21 Scottish pop duo ‘The McKinleys’, consisting of the sisters Sheila and Jeanette McKinley, 1965.
#22 Marine fainting in George Square, Glasgow, when the Royal Marines provided a guard of honour for Remembrance Day service the Cenotaph, 1964
#23 The Forth Road bridge from South Queensferry to North Queensferry, shortly after construction, August 1964.
#24 The Bancrofts, who a year ago left the ‘rat race’ of London and Whitstable to make a new start as crofters in the Fair Isle, 1964
#25 General view of Fair Isle, Scotland, 22nd June 1964.
#26 Fair Isle, Scotland, 22nd June 1964.
#27 Fair Isle, Scotland, 1964.
#28 Fair Isle, Scotland, 1964.
#29 Ness Bridge over the River Ness in Inverness, Inverness-shire, 17th June 1964.
#30 River Ness in Inverness, Inverness-shire, 17th June 1964.
#31 River Ness in Inverness, Inverness-shire, 17th June 1964.
#32 The Forth Road bridge from South Queensferry to North Queensferry, during construction, 1964
#33 Forth Road Bridge, 1963
#34 The Scottish built Rootes Group Hillman Imp compact, rear-engined saloon car seen near the Forth Bridge cantilever railway bridge across the Firth of Forth on 3 May 1963 near Edinburgh, Scotland.
#35 Actor Albert Finney in Glasgow, 3rd March 1963.
#36 Tubby Hayes, Richmond Jazz Festival, London, 1963.
#37 A couple make their way up a flight of steps in Greenock on the Clyde, Scotland, 1963
#38 Shipbuilders leaving a shipyard at Greenock on the Clyde, Scotland, 1963.
#39 Shipbuilders leaving a shipyard at Greenock on the Clyde, Scotland, 1963.
#40 A boy in a street in the shipbuilding town of Greenock on the Clyde, Scotland, 1963.
#41 A view over a shipyard in Greenock on the Clyde, Scotland, 1963.
#42 A woman hanging out her washing on a line in Greenock on the Clyde, Scotland, 1963.
#43 A view of a shipyard at Greenock on the Clyde, Scotland, 1963.
#44 A worker at a shipyard in Greenock on the Clyde, Scotland, 1963.
#45 Drummers of the Greenock Accordian Band marching in the rain, Greenock, Scotland, 1963.
#46 A vessel under construction at a shipyard in Greenock on the Clyde, Scotland, 1963.
#47 A group of workers leave a shipyard at clocking off time in Greenock, Renfrewshire, Scotland, 1963.
#48 A woman hangs out her laundry on a washing line between tenements in Greenock, Renfrewshire, Scotland, 1963.
#49 General scenes of Lochinver, a village on the coast in the Assynt district of Sutherland, Highland, Scotland, 3rd August 1962.
#50 Lochinver, a village on the coast in the Assynt district of Sutherland, Highland, Scotland, 3rd August 1962.
#51 General scenes of Lochinver, 1962
#52 The Cairngorms, a mountain range in the eastern Highlands of Scotland, 3rd January 1962.
#53 St Andrews University, 1962
This picture shows the quadrangle of the United College. After the Reformation, which caused a great decline in the revenues of the University, the two Colleges of St Salvator's founded in 1450 and St Leonards, founded in 1512, were joined in 1747 and named the United College.
#54 The Tower, 1962. St Salvator’s College as seen from North Street, St Andrews.
#55 young 11 years old Gorbals boy Willie Thomason, 1962
#56 Down Comes the Old One as the New One Looms Up, 1962.
#57 British Highland Games athlete Bill Anderson watched by officials as he competes in the caber toss event of the Braemar Gathering in Braemar, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, 9th September 1961.
#58 Chaotic road conditions cause big traffic hold ups in the centre of Glasgow, 1961
#59 Braemar Gathering, 1961
#60 The Caledonian Railway’s Gleneagles station, 1961
The Caledonian Railway's Gleneagles station was the alighting point for the luxurious Railway Hotel. It was a location which attracted tourists from around the world and the platforms were decorated accordingly, and wetre provided with luggage lifts. Here, ex-LNER V2 No.60958 is seen with the 3.30 Aberdeen to Edinburgh train with a Crieff railbus waiting on the left, on 31st August 1961.
#61 Isle of Soay, Inner Hebreides, Scotland, 18th September 1960.
#62 Queen Elizabeth II And Prince Philip Visit Westray, 1960
#63 No 60019 ‘Bittern’ departs from Glasgow Queen St with an express for the Granite city in 1965 having been transferred to Aberdee, 1963
During the early 1960s some Gresley A4s were transferred to Scotland for working expresses between Glasgow and Aberdeen. Here No 60019 'Bittern' departs from Glasgow Queen St with an express for the Granite city in 1965 having been transferred to Aberdeen Ferryhill in October 1963.
#64 One of the Caprotti valve gear Standard 5 4-6-0s working turn about with the Gresley A4s on the Glasgow-Aberdeen services during the 1960s.
#65 Laing Sports Ground, Rowley Lane, Elstree, 1960
#66 Fire at Glamis Castle, 1960
#67 View looking north from South Queensferry of the Forth Bridge, a cantilever railway bridge crossing the Firth of Forth, near Edinburgh in Scotland, 1960.
#68 Young female dancers competing in a Highland Dancing contest on a wooden stage at a sports stadium in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1960.
#69 Skiers in the Cairngorms, a mountain range in the eastern Highlands of Scotland, 3rd January 1962.
#70 Skiers in the Cairngorms, a mountain range in the eastern Highlands of Scotland, 1962.
#71 Skiers in the Cairngorms, 1962
#72 Class 5 locomotive over the ashpit at Polmadie depot, Glasgow, 1962.
#73 Firth of Forth in Scotland showing the Forth Road Bridge being built, 1960s
#74 Boats at Eoligarry Jetty on North Bay on the island of Barra in the Outer Hebrides, 1960
#75 Two women walking on a road on the island of Barra in the Outer Hebrides, 1960
#76 Two children stretching up to see sweets on display in a shop window at Castlebay on the island of Barra in the Outer Hebrides, 1960
#77 Inside view of the train which transported both passengers and their cars, so that people could go on holiday by train but still take their cars with them, 1960
#78 Cheapside Street Whisky Bond Fire – Glasgow, 1960s
Rubble chokes the narrow street as, hours after the outbreak, hoses still pump streams of water on to the smouldering ruins of a whisky warehouse in Glasgow. An explosion blew the walls of the building out, burying three fire appliances and killing nineteen men, fourteen firefighters, and five members of the Glasgow Salvage Corps.
#79 Cheapside Street Whisky Bond Fire – Glasgow, 1960s
Tons of rubble and whisky barrels engulf a fire engine, on the morning after a disastrous Glasgow whisky warehouse blaze. An explosion blew the walls of the building out, burying three fire appliances and killing nineteen men, fourteen firefighters, and five members of the Glasgow Salvage Corps. The incident remains Britain's worst peacetime fire services disaster.
#80 Disasters and Accidents – Cheapside Street Whisky Bond Fire, Glasgow, 1960s
#81 Workers being hoisted up from one of four anchor tunnels to hold securing cables of the Forth Road Bridge, which crosses the river near Edinburgh, 1960
The suspension bridge was built to alleviate severe traffic problems in the area, previously served by a double-track line with a road across the Forth Rail Bridge and an inadequate ferry service. Increased industry in the region led to demand for a new bridge; work began on it in 1958 and the Forth Road Bridge was opened in 1964.
#82 Harbour scene in the Hebrides, Scotland, 1960.
#83 Teeth factory in Dundee, 1963:
#84 Dunston Power Station’s six chimneys rise into the air with rolling fields behind them – on the spot where the MetroCentre now stands in Gateshead, 1960s
Electricity from the station supplied Northumberland, County Durham, Cumberland, Yorkshire and as far north as Galashiels in Scotland, as well as Tyneside. It became outdated and closed in 1981, being demolished five years later as work on the MetroCentre began. The picture was taken amid the dramatic terraces of Clara Street in Newcastle's West End where children dubbed the station's initial three chimneys Tom, Dick and Harry.
#85 Flooding at Waverley Terrace Blantyre, South Lanarkshire, 1960.
#86 SligaChan Hotel, Sligachan, Isle of Skye, Scotland, 1960.
A small settlement on Skye, Scotland. It is close to the Cuillin mountains and provides a good viewpoint for seeing the Black Cuillin mountains. Tradition has it that the Lord of the Isles attacked Skye in 1395, but William MacLeod met the MacDonalds at Sligachan and drove them back to Loch Eynort (Ainort).
#87 North Berwick Woolen Mill
#88 Bilston Glen Colliery, Midlothian, Scotland, 1960.
#89 Scottish people relaxing on the beach. Musselburgh, 1960s
#90 Tam O’ Shanter inn’ in Ayr, 1960s
#91 Scottish dockworkers wharfing goods. Scotland, 1960s
#92 A village festival, with the band; in a close-up, there is a bagpipe player, who wears the kilt, and on the background is a crowd, Scotland, 1968
#93 Road traffic in the street; in a close-up, can be seen typical two-level British buses, Scotland, 1964
#94 Dunfermline Abbey, Scotland, 1960.
#95 General view of Oban from Pulpit Hill, Scotland, 1960.
#96 Girvan, Ayrshire, Scotland, 1960.
#97 Kelso Abbey, Scotland, 1960.
#98 Renfrew Airport, Scotland, 1960.
#99 Rothesday, Isle of Bute, Scotland, 1960.
#100 Linlithgoe Palace, Scotland, 1960.
#101 A boy playing with dogs in a road of tenement housing in the Gorbals area of Glasgow, 1960
#102 Residents of the Gorbals area of Glasgow collecting firewood among partially-demolished tenement buildings, 1960
#103 A woman walking past a block of modern housing with two young children in the Gorbals area of Glasgow, 1960
#104 Boys climbing a tree near a modern tower block in the Gorbals area of Glasgow, 1960
#105 A man piling furniture onto a cart in a street of soon-to-be-demolished tenements in the Gorbals area of Glasgow, 1960
#106 A workman in a bulldozer in front of a tenement being demolished in the Gorbals area of Glasgow, 1960
#107 A coalman doing his rounds in his horse-drawn cart in the Gorbals area of Glasgow, 1960
#108 Mr and Mrs Curran sitting having tea in the kitchen of their soon-to-be-demolished tenement home in the Gorbals area of Glasgow, 1960s
#109 A man pulling a hand cart past a closed-down pawnbroker’s shop in the Gorbals area of Glasgow, 1960
#110 Modern housing in the Gorbals area of Glasgow, some of it under construction, 1960
#111 A woman and a little girl walking through an area of modern housing in the Gorbals area of Glasgow, 1960
#112 Tower blocks under construction in the Gorbals area of Glasgow, 1960
#113 Children playing beside modern tower blocks in the Gorbals area of Glasgow, 1960
#114 An area of cleared ground in the Gorbals area of Glasgow where debris from the newly-demolished slum tenements is being burnt on a bonfire, 1960
#115 Modern housing under construction beside old tenements in the Gorbals area of Glasgow, 1960
#116 A man walking past modern tower blocks in the Gorbals area of Glasgow, 1960
#117 Workmen and a bulldozer beside a tenement being demolished in the Gorbals area of Glasgow, 1960
#118 People walking past newly-built tower blocks in the Gorbals area of Glasgow, 1960
#119 The harbour at Dundee, 1960
#120 A high-rise block of flats under construction in the Gorbals area of Glasgow, 1960
#121 Housing on an estate in Glasgow, Scotland, 1960
#122 Children in the rebuilt Gorbals, Glasgow, 1960
#123 A man pulling a hand cart past tower blocks under construction in the Gorbals area of Glasgow, 1960
#124 Leeds United and Scotland international Bobby Collins in training on a bike at Elland Road, 1960
#125 Taxis in a Glasgow street, stuck in traffic around the city centre, August 1965.
#126 View of Edinburgh showing Edinburgh Castle, 1965
Edinburgh Castle became a royal residence when James I was murdered in Perth (1437) and his widow Joan Beaufort moved the Royal Court and her son, James II, to Edinburgh. The oldest part of the building is St Margaret's Chapel dating from c.1100 and named after King Malcolm III's wife. The chapel only survived Robert the Bruce's attack in 1313 because he ordered his men to leave it untouched. The Scottish crown jewels, The Honours of Scotland, are also on display there having been discovered by Sir Walter Scott after remaining hidden during the Cromwellian period.
#127 Three men play a game of lawn bowls on a bowling green in West End Park with the New Buildings of the University of Glasgow rising behind on Gilmorehill in Glasgow, Scotland, 1965.
#128 Pedestrians walk up a city street in the Grassmarket area of the Old Town in Edinburgh, Scotland, 1965.
#129 Welcome aboard the first Kensington-Inverness Motorail service . Motorail began in 1955 between King’s Cross and Perth, 1960s
#130 Bus depot, Glasgow, 1960s.
#131 Gene Sarazen of the USA beside the entrance to the Russacks Hotel during the Open Championship on the Old Course at St Andrews on July 7, 1964 in St Andrews, Scotland.
#132 A view of the new Gorbals flats, in Glasgow, Scotland, 1964
#133 A view of Glasgow, Scotland, looking towards the city centre from the new Gorbals flats, 1964
#134 Politics Berwickshire, Scotland, May 1964.
#135 St Mary’s Estate, Oldham, 1964.
A worker securing a concrete slab during the construction of 12M Jespersen prototype flats in Oldham, with derelict terraced houses in the background. In 1963, John Laing and Son Ltd bought the rights to the Danish industrialised building system known as Jespersen (sometimes referred to as Jesperson). The company built factories in Scotland, Hampshire and Lancashire producing Jespersen prefabricated parts and precast concrete panels, allowing the building of housing to be rationalised, saving time and money. The prototype flats shown in the photograph were built using the 12M Jespersen building system and were the first to be erected in Britain by Laing for the County Borough of Oldham. They were a short distance from the future St Mary's Estate on which 500 dwellings were due to be built comprising of low rise flats and modern terraced houses, replacing the earlier slums which had occupied the area. The 12M Jespersen flats on the housing estate were later demolished in 2007 with only
#136 Retired men sitting on park benches in Greenock, Scotland, 1964.
#137 An aerial view of Glasgow, Scotland, 1960s
#138 Candidate Andrew Forrester and his wife chat with a shopkeeper in Comrie, Scotland, 1963
#139 Princes Street, Edinburgh with cars parked at the kerbside, 1963
#140 Five hundred couples hitch hiking from Hendon to Gretna Green during an attempt to break the world record of 7 hours 49 minutes for charity, 1963
#141 Mall traffic is brought to a standstill as the car carrying Princess Alexandra of Kent and her husband Angus Ogilvy sweeps out from St James’s Palace, 1963
#142 A Scottish cook in kilt is preparing Scottish specialities for the visitors of the Munich IGAFA, the international gastronomy and tourism exhibition, on 19 April 1963.
#143 England goalkeeper Gordon Banks and centre-half Maurice Norman (No.5) beat off an attack by Scotland centre-forward Ian St John (behind Norman) during the soccer international at Wembley, 1963
#144 Margaret Sweeny, the Duchess of Argyll (1912 – 1993) arriving at court during her divorce hearing in Edinburgh, 1963
#145 Airlie Castle at Kirriemuir, Angus, in Scotland, 1963
#146 Exterior view of Celtic Park, home of Glasgow Celtic football club in Parkhead, May 1962.
#147 Gordonstoun School, Scotland, May 1962.
#148 Gordonstoun independent secondary school in Moray, 1962
#149 The railway employee responsible for the oiling on board the Flying Scotsman looks at an old steam locomotive in a siding at King’s Cross Station in London as the train leaves for Edinburgh on its centenary journey, 1962
#150 Reels of quarter-inch wire are drawn from here to the cable anchorage at the other end of the Forth Road Bridge, 1962
#151 The end of the Forth Road Bridge in Scotland, where the suspension cables are anchored, 1962
#152 Dundee Nostalgia, 1960s
A torrent of abuse has been lured on Dundee Corporation for daring to build many of its own houses. The council has been accused of wasting ratepayers' cash, by operating a Direct Labour Building Department in open competition with private firms. Pictured are some of the houses which have started such a furore in the city. 25th February 1962
Most of it looks almost exactly the same as today, except for the cars and clothes. With one major exception – Glasgow/Inverclyde of the 1960s has more in common with 1893 than 2023. It’s hard to believe that’s the same city I grew up in. There is something strange about even the faces of those shipyard workers, as if they are from another era and not from the modern era.
Uig and Sligachan don’t look any different really.
First picture has an Austin Allegro which wasn’t sold until the 70’s
That’s a really cool pictures, thanks for posting