A new archive on the history of Cowdenbeath’s Gala and Civic Week has been launched, pulling together more than 3,000 images, videos and articles covering more than a century!
My Cowdenbeath, with funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund Scotland, have launched the site in the lead up to the 2024 Cowdenbeath Gala, which is available at: www.cowdenbeathcivicweek.co.uk/history
The project was developed after the discovery of a huge box of photos taken by former Community Worker, Kenny Aitken, when the Broad Street Centre closed in 2018. Kenny was a keen photographer and captured many of the memorable events in the town.
Combining these with his own personal records from helping organise the Gala in the late 1990’s, local activist and My Cowdenbeath founder, Stuart Duffy, said it was the perfect opportunity to preserve an important part of the town’s history.
“I knew Kenny had captured hundreds of images over the years, so when I came across some of my own records from back in the Centenary Year 1990, we agreed as a group that it should all be put online so everyone can enjoy the materials – that’s when the big job of scanning and cataloguing started. We just couldnt let all that material stay in a box!” Stuart said.
“The Gala Day was always a special day when I was wee and I’m sure that’s the same for thousands of Cowdenbeath bairns over the decades, so it was important to create a place where we could start to build up a collection of things related to the Gala for future generations. Without a local museum, we agreed an online archive would be a good starting point and we advertised for donations of pictures relating to the Gala and we’ve been pleased to see so many folk coming forward.”
Included in the archive are photos and information relating to the town’s Citizen of the Year award, thanks to Cowdenbeath Community Council, which was introduced in 1979 and would see local champions lead the parade in open-top cars. This includes a photo from 1980, when Mrs Mary Mathie was honoured as Citizen of the Year, and was joined in an open-top Rolls Royce by TV personality, Glenn Michael!
Chairman of the Cowdenbeath Civic Week committee, Steven Haddow, said they were delighted with the results, which also offer the Gala its own website for the first time!
“We’re really excited to launch the new website and to have such a detailed and rich history laid out in this way – it’s really something to be proud of. The team at My Cowdenbeath have done a fantastic job and we’d also like to extend our thanks to everyone who donated photos or memories for the archive.”
“I think this all shows just how important our Gala Days have been through the decades and why its vital to keep these traditions alive, so we can foster that community spirit in the town. Hopefully we’ll have lots more memories from future Galas to keep adding to the archive!”
The site has photos and content going back to 1904, including articles from local papers before photography was a common feature in news publishing. Liz Rae spent many hours researching local archives to find stories and articles relating to the many different forms of Galas over the years, from the ‘Pit Treat’ to the old Co-op ‘Store Treat’ and today’s modern version.
During the reseach phase of the project, the team were also surpised to learn that Cowdenbeath Gala used to host its own beauty pageant, with photos from 1964 donated by Lorna Hay of Stenhouse Street.
They show some of Cowdenbeath’s young ladies turned out in their finest dresses and up-do’s and strutting their stuff on the catwalk built in the Public Park on top of the paddling pool!
Cowdenbeath’s 2024 Gala will be held on Sunday 9th June with a colourful parade through the town before an afternoon of fun events at the Public Park.
It’s hoped more locals will continue to donate photos, videos and articles for the archive, which help to preseve a bit of Cowdenbeath’s rich history for future generations. Any donations can be made by getting in touch with My Cowdenbeath on email – info@mycowdenbeath.scot
My Cowdenbeath CIC 