Hoddam Primary School

A Memory of Ecclefechan.

I lived in Ecclefechan from 1958 to 1973. I started Hoddam primary in 1963 and left Hoddam primary school in 1970 to go to Lockerbie Academy. My teachers at Hoddam were :- Primary 1 - Mrs Hope,  Primary 2 - Mrs Patterson,  Primary 3 - Mrs Davidson, Primary 4 & 5 - Mrs McBride and Primary 6 & 7 - Mr Hope. We also had a music teacher called Mrs Collinge who would turn up every wednesday and give us a lesson.  If I can remember correctly some of the people in the class were :- Raymond Davidson, David Cruickshank, Ricky Graham, Shona Creelman, Amy Mason, Isabel McDowell, James Sproat and Joy Little.  Apologies to the others but my brain is struggling after so many years away. The dinner ladies were my gran Edith Gilmour and Mrs Dow.  The Mace shop in the village was run by Ian Murray and his wife Isobel. I was their paperboy for a couple of years (1968 - 1970). There were also Casbolts shop and Watsons in the High Street and Miss Guthries in Academy Street, famous for her penny tray. Mrs Ash had the knitwear/wool shop opposite Casbolts. There was a chip shop in the High St opposite the hotel. Horsburgh's shop was opposite Ash's. Mr Minto had a bycyle repair shop on the Hoddam Road opposite the war memorial. Pats hair boutique was up Langlands Road next to a butchers shop owned by her husband. The local policeman was PC Swan.  We also had a superb football team in the village with the likes of Raniere Mason, Peter and Tom Murray, John McDowall, Gary Carruthers, Robert Donaldson (Doss), Norman Gallimore, Eddie Black and, of course, myself.

---

---