Aberdeen has changed over the decades, but one thing remains the same – the great sense of community spirit in its neighbourhoods and suburbs.
Join us as we take a look through the archives at some memorable moments, from a gaggle of 1980s celebrities flying out of Dyce, to a demolition job gone badly wrong on Broad Street.
Ferryhill
Train driver at the Ferryhill depot, Angus Cameron, shows off the Flying Scotsman to some young train enthusiasts in 1981.
Berryden
Dairy worker Graham Singer points out part of the production process at Norco Dairy in Berryden to Primary 6 pupils of Smithfield Primary School in 1988. The youngsters were doing a project on milk and milk produce with teacher Eileen Thomson, back left.
Queen’s Links
Lead singer with the Bash Street Kids, Brian Crombie, belts out a number during the band’s concert at the Queen’s Links in 1979.
Dyce
A group of TV personalities from 1980 prepare to leave Dyce for a day in the hills. Led by ITN newscaster Sandy Gall, rector of Aberdeen University, newsreaders Anna Ford and Alastair Burnett boarded a Bristow helicopter and set off for the Cairngorms. Pop singer BA Robertson, and Grampian TV’s Selina Scott were there, too – all set to join a 20-mile sponsored walk through the Lairig Ghru. The personalities joined around 50 students at Derry Lodge for the trek through the Cairngorms.
Mannofield
Mannofield Shopping Centre was cutting edge retail when it opened in 1965. The new shops, complete with car park, were intended to attract customers from the housing developments at Airyhall and along the North Deeside Road.
Summerhill
Pupils at Summerhill Academy spent the summer of 1971 rebuilding this 1932 vintage Austin 10 before auctioning it at the school’s Wild West Fair. The car, nicknamed Salome, is pictured with some of the students who restored it. In the driving seat is teacher Duncan Fraser.
Grandholm
Grandholm Mills was once of the country’s leading textile producers and is pictured here in the 1930s.
Johnston Gardens
Costumes from all over the world were on show on the bridge over the duck pond at Johnston Gardens as a dozen members of Aberdeen Opera Company rehearse in the open air for a forthcoming show in 1985.
Mounthooly
The diddy Diddymen from the 37th Boys’ Brigade Junior Section were taking part in a show at the John Knox Church Hall, Mounthooly, in 1978.
Broad Street
A workman holds his head in his hands as part of a building being demolished on Broad Street in 1964 falls the wrong way. The stones and masonry were meant to collapse into the car park.
