The Postcard
A Valentine's Series postcard with an image that is a glossy real photograph. The card was posted in Dumfries using a 2½d. stamp on Tuesday the 3rd. July 1962. It was sent to:
Mrs. K. Woods,
'Cottrells',
Heckfield,
Basingstoke,
Hants.
The message on the divided back of the card was as follows:
"Here for the day with
Guild members.
Sorry still no letter, but
I've been full of visitors.
Evelyn Eric and David,
and now Bud's sister &
her husband from
Eltham London, but I
will write soon & give a
real newsy letter.
Love Elsie."
Dumfries
Dumfries is a market town and former royal burgh in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, near the mouth of the River Nith on the Solway Firth, 25 miles (40 km) from the Anglo-Scottish border. Dumfries is the county town of the historic county of Dumfriesshire.
The population of Dumfries was estimated in 2020 to be 46,500.
Before becoming King of Scots, Robert the Bruce killed his rival the Red Comyn at Greyfriars Kirk in the town in 1306. The Young Pretender had his headquarters here towards the end of 1745.
In the Second World War, the Norwegian Army in exile in Britain largely consisted of a brigade in Dumfries.
Dumfries is nicknamed Queen of the South. This is also the name of the town's football club.
People from Dumfries are known colloquially in Scots language as Doonhamers.
Bonnie Prince Charlie
Opposite the fountain in the High Street, adjacent to the present Marks & Spencer, was the Commercial, and later the County, Hotel.
Although the hotel was demolished in 1984, the original façade of the building was retained, and incorporated into new retail premises. The building now houses a Waterstones Bookshop.
Room No. 6 of the hotel was known as Bonnie Prince Charlie's Room, and appropriately carpeted in the Royal Stewart tartan. The timber panelling of Prince Charlie's Room was largely re-instated and painted, complete with the oil painted landscapes by Robert Norie (1720–1766) in the over mantels at either end of the room, and can still be seen as the upstairs showroom of the book shop.
The Young Pretender had his headquarters here during a 3-day sojourn in Dumfries towards the end of 1745. £2,000 was demanded by the Prince, together with 1,000 pairs of brogues for his kilted Jacobite rebel army, which was camping in a field not one hundred yards distant.
A rumour that the Duke of Cumberland was approaching made Bonnie Prince Charlie decide to leave with his army, with only £1,000 and 255 pairs of shoes having been handed over.
Robert Burns
Robert Burns moved to Dumfriesshire in 1788 and Dumfries itself in 1791, living there until his death on the 21st. July 1796. Today's Greyfriars Church overlooks a statue of Burns, which was designed by Amelia Robertson Hill, sculpted in Carrara, Italy in 1882.
The statue was unveiled by future Prime Minister, Archibald Primrose, 5th. Earl of Rosebery on the 6th. April 1882. Today, it features on the 2007 series of £5 notes issued by the Bank of Scotland, alongside the Brig o' Doon.
The First Steamboat
After working with Patrick Miller of Dalswinton, the inventor William Symington decided to carry out a trial in order to show than a steam engine would work on a boat without the boat catching fire.
The trial took place on Dalswinton Loch near Dumfries on the 14th. October 1788. The experiment demonstrated that a steam engine would work on a boat, and Symington went on to become the builder of the first practical steamboat.
RAF Dumfries
The first official intimation that RAF Dumfries was to be built was made in late 1938. The site chosen had accommodated light aircraft since about 1914. Work progressed quickly, and on the 17th. June 1940, the 18 Maintenance Unit was opened at Dumfries.
RAF Dumfries had a moment of danger on the 25th. March 1943, when a German Dornier 217 aircraft shot up the airfield beacon, but crashed shortly afterwards.
The pilot, Oberleutnant Martin Piscke was later interred in Troqueer Cemetery in Dumfries town, with full military honours.
On the night of the 3rd. August 1943, a Vickers Wellington bomber with engine problems diverted to, but crashed 1½ miles (2.4 km) short of the Dumfries runway.
Algerian Independence
So what else happened on the day that Elsie posted the card?
Well, on the 3rd. July 1962, France and its President, Charles de Gaulle, recognized the independence of Algeria, with the signing of the declaration at a meeting of the French Cabinet.
The Chichester Festival Theatre
Also on that day, the Chichester Festival Theatre, Great Britain's first large modern theatre with a thrust stage, opened. Laurence Olivier was the first artistic director.
Tom Cruise
The day also marked the birth of Tom Cruise, American film actor known for Risky Business, Jerry Maguire and the Mission: Impossible film series.
He was born Thomas Cruise Mapother IV, in Syracuse, New York.
'Come Outside'
Also on the 3rd. July 1962, the number One chart hit record in the UK was 'Come Outside' by Mike Sarne.