John,
I love your website. I have many fond memories of growing up in the area, and visiting my grandmother (Grandma Stewart) at 6a Elbe Street. Before his marriage, Granda Stewart lived at 7 Bowling Green Street. Both of my parents were born in Leith - my mother (Francis Stewart) from Shetland stock, and my father (John Wynn) from a family of Wynns who came to Leith in 1847 as refugees from Ireland. In Ireland, they were actually called Guihan, but they had to change their names to Wynn before being allowed to emigrate, because Guihan (pronounced gwee-chin, with a soft `ch` as in loch) was considered `too Irish`.
Those Wynn settlers worked in the docks, generation after generation, until my father broke the tradition by getting a job as a bus driver. Their records show they had addresses at 2 Baltic Street; 1 Adelphi Place; 2 Ronaldson`s Wharf, and 75 The Shore.
Other Wynn relatives were found at 50, 70, and 78 Giles Street; 1 Redford`s Close, St Andrew`s Street; 13 Waters Close; Porter`s Land, Giles Street; Lamb`s Court, Giles Street; 3 Bowie`s Close; 4 Back of Vaults; Henry Hay`s Close, Giles Street; 48 Salamander Street; 4 Sheephead Wynd; Kemp`s Close, and 33 and 34 Cables Wynd.
I was born at Craigentinny (once part of Leith South) in 1937, but I left to enter the RAF in 1955. We moved to Australia in 1967 when my RAF service finished, and now live (as a retired couple) in the Dandenong Hills, 20 miles east of Melbourne, in Victoria.
Last June, my wife and I paid a long-awaited visit back to Leith. It seemed that many of the above addresses had gone, but I managed to photograph the remnants of the staircase I so often climbed when visiting my grandmother at 6 Elbe Street.
I really missed the Kirkgate, but we enjoyed our walks across the Links, and along the Shore. In particular, we thoroughly enjoyed our meal of chicken on a bed of haggis, which we had at the King`s Wark Pub. We loved the people, but it took me a little while to get my brain re-tuned to that lovely Leith accent (and my English - born wife had NO chance)! The weather, of course, was absolutely awful (but we had expected that)!
We`d love to hear from anybody who has any connection or association with the people or places I have mentioned.
Brian Wynn, The Basin, Australia
