Tay ferries and Royal Arch star as amateur photographer's photos of 60s Dundee unearthed

The Courier

06-06-2025

Old photographs which capture the changing character of Dundee have been digitised to bring the past back to life.
They chart moments of city history and lost landmarks in the 1960s.
The photos were taken by Dundonian Ron Wilson, whose lifelong passion for photography started from a young age, inspired by his mother.
Ron was a Clydesdale Bank manager and well-known in Dundee.
He died aged 69 in 2000.
The slides had lain untouched for decades before his family decided to preserve them for future generations, including the grandchildren he never met.
They were digitised by Grant Millar from Broughty Ferry, who runs a business converting cine films, videos, slides and negatives from the analogue era.
His daughter Fiona Robb, from Kinross, said the collection goes back to 1959.
She said: 'We have great memories of family evenings, setting up the projector and screen to look at the slides.
'Dad was interested in capturing events on his camera.
'Because he lived in Dundee for so long, he had a lot of photos of Dundee scenes.
'We wanted to get them digitised to preserve the images and prevent any further deterioration.
'Another reason was that my parents sadly did not get to meet their grandchildren.
'Preserving the photos lets the grandchildren have an idea of what their grandparents were like, as well as seeing their parents' generation growing up.
'It will give them a visual family history.'
Ron was born in March 1931 in Dundee.
He grew up in Glenprosen Terrace and attended Rockwell School and Harris Academy.
After a period of National Service in the RAF, he started working as a bank clerk for the Clydesdale Bank in Dundee High Street and sat his bank exams.
He lived in Glenprosen Terrace until he married Marjorie MacKenzie.
And it was a double wedding at St David's North Church in August 1959.
Marjorie's sister, Elizabeth MacKenzie, also tied the knot with Stanley Watson Millar.
Ron and Marjorie moved to Downie Park in Dundee.
Fiona was born in 1962 and Murray followed in 1966.
The couple were both dedicated members of the High Kirk in Kinghorne Road.
In addition, Ron was a keen photographer – both of family and Scottish scenery.
Ron's photographs chronicle the transformation of Dundee in the Swinging Sixties.
Street scenes include the old Overgate.
And the Angus Hotel is shown welcoming visitors.
The Grill and Griddle is pictured serving coffee and breakfast.
The Tay Ferries are also still sailing in the photographs taken by Ron.
The La Scala cinema was still showing movies.
The Murraygate cinema had a narrow facade consisting of a large, square tower clad in white tiles and topped by a huge golden globe.
It was recognised as the grandest cinema in Dundee.
However, the spectacular building disappeared in October 1968.
The Royal Arch and Dundee West Station are still standing in Ron's photographs.
Dundee West was one of the city's gothic architectural masterpieces.
It closed in May 1965 and was then demolished in April 1966.
The Royal Arch stood at the junction of Dock Street and Shore Terrace from 1850.
However, it was allowed to fall into disrepair and neglect.
Slow but steady work started to dismantle the arch in February 1964.
It was blown up with dynamite on March 16 1964.
But some saw it as a deliberate act of cultural vandalism.
The start of construction of the Tay Road Bridge is also recorded by Ron.
The Tay Ferries were still in daily use up until the crossing took over.
Rubble from the Royal Arch was used as foundations for the approach ramp.
Fiona has spent hours admiring Ron's photographs.
She said the family is incredibly proud of his collection.
They also show private moments which were all the more precious.
'Dad's main camera was a Pentax Spotmatic SP II,' said Fiona.
'He always took it with him on trips.
'I think our grandmother sparked his lifelong passion for photography.
'We can fondly remember our gran using a Ricohflex box camera with the viewfinder on top and trying not to cut people's heads off!
'We remember that, as children, he would get us to stand still for him to photograph family portraits.
'On Christmas Day he got us to arrange our Christmas presents for a photo.
'This was partly so we could remember who to thank.
'My brother Murray and I can remember being a tad impatient with this process, as we were not allowed to play with our presents until the photo was taken.
'Parties and family occasions were also always photographed by my dad.'
After stints as a bank accountant in St Andrews and Ayr, he moved with the family to Lochgilphead, in Mid-Argyll, after he was promoted to bank manager.
But he never stopped taking pictures.
Ron and Marjorie continued to live there after he retired from the bank in 1988.
In 1992 they moved to Forfar.
Ron always wore a shirt, tie and waistcoat – even after retiring.
Fiona described her dad as quiet and reserved 'with a great sense of humour'.
'He was a very good provider to our family and worked extremely hard and conscientiously, doing his best to be helpful to his many customers,' she said.
'He was a devoted husband, father, son, nephew and family man.
'As well as his interest in photography, Dad was also an avid stamp, coin and toy car collector and proudly displayed his car collection in the hall of the family home.'
He was also a fan of classic films and musicals.
Westerns with John Wayne, Glenn Ford and Alan Ladd were always a favourite.
Fiona said: 'He was a church elder and member of the Iona Community.
'He was also a Rotarian.'
His idyllic retirement was shattered when Marjorie died in 1994.
She was just 58.
Ron was heartbroken.
'Dad regained some zest for life but never really recovered,' said Fiona.
'In the last five years of his life, he suffered a series of mini-strokes.
'He died in 2000, aged only 69.
'We are now so very grateful that he took all these photographs, as it gives us a wonderful collection of photos of family occasions, events in the Dundee area and shots of beautiful Scottish scenery.
'Unfortunately, our parents did not live long enough to meet their grandchildren.
'We want to keep our parents' memory alive, via Dad's photos, so that Joel and Lucas will have some idea of what their grandparents were like.
'When asked, people usually described our dad as a lovely man – unless you were one of the very few who he denied a loan to…'