The woman who changed Craigmillar

This time seven years ago Helen Crummy (nee Prentice) launched her new book ‘Whom Dykes Divide’ and was featured on the front page of the Chronicle.

Helen Prentice, the eldest daughter of Joanna Blaikie and John Prentice who was an accomplished fiddler, was born in Leith on the 10th May 1920 but later moved to Craigmillar. She married Larry Crummy in 1942 and moved to Greendykes where they raised their three children, Philip, Stephen and Andrew.

One day, in a meeting with the Headmaster of her son Philip’s primary school, she asked if her son could be taught to play the violin. The response she was given was that it took the school enough time to teach the children “all three R’s”.

Not put off by this remark, Helen teamed up with a group of local mothers to show how talented the children in the area really were. In bringing together all of the talent in the area the Craigmillar Festival Society (CFS) was born.

The CFS was set up in 1962 and, as well as showcasing the arts, this helped drive social change in the area by creating a platform to lobby on local issues through theatre. It’s popularity grew and it became very well known, they even had a visit from members of the Notting Hill Carnival.

Many local projects were set up through the society with some surviving today such as the annual Festival Fun Day, Craigmillar Community Arts and Caring in Craigmillar to mention a few. Even the Chronicle itself was set up by the CFS and was known at the time as the Craigmillar Festival News.

As well as being a community activist Helen was also an accomplished writer and published at least three books. The first, Let The People Sing: A Story of Craigmillar was published in 1992 and tells the story of the foundation of the CFS. Mine A Rich Vein: A History and Vision of Craigmillar was published in 2004 and tells the history of the mine workings and the final book in the trilogy was Whom Dykes Divide: A Story of the Niddrie Coalbearers shown above.

Helen also published a booklet called the Craigmillar Art, Culture and Heritage Trail, which gave information and history on the many landmarks in the area. In 1992 she was given an honorary doctorate by Heriot Watt University.

Helen passed away peacefully on the 11th July 2011 at the age of 91. In her memory a statue was erected outside the East Edinburgh Centre, unveiled in a ceremony which was attended by her former colleagues in the Craigmillar Festival Society. At the time the statue was unveiled this was the third statue of a woman in Edinburgh, the other being Queen Victoria at Leith Walk and an unknown woman at Festival Square. A room in the library was also named in her honour.

She is survived by her three children and six grandchildren. Her son Andrew Crummy is continuing her legacy and has been actively involved in the 3 harbours along with other projects including the Battle of Prestonpans tapestry, the Great Tapestry of Scotland and the Scottish Diaspora Tapestry which is currently featured in a number of exhibitions in Australia and New Zealand.

You can learn more about the Craigmillar Festival Society in Arts: the catalyst here.