Galashiels, in the Scottish Borders, is situated 32 miles south of Edinburgh on the main A7 route and has a population of around 15,000. In the nineteenth century the town expanded greatly as the tweed trade flourished and it became a centre for the manufacture of Scottish woollens.
As the years roll by and developers move in, changes are inevitable and many prominent buildings disappear to make way for modern housing estates and traffic improvements, for example. Shops are continually changing ownership and most of the traditional family-run businesses have gone forever.
It is very important therefore that the achievements of the past are recognised and to some extent recorded. Galashiels in Old Photographs has done just that and the book contains photographs from the collection of the Old Gala Club - the Galashiels and District Local History Association. The majority of the photographs have never been published before, and the subjects include street scenes and buildings, sport, school groups, processions, people at work, transport, the armed services and farming scenes.
