Pictures: Provost Robert Braid says farewell to the Queen and Forres Academy Football XI for Christmas Magazine 1949.
A historic photo exhibition which is usually held in the Tolbooth will this year be done online.
The Forres Heritage Trust usually hosts two four-day events in May and September showcasing a wealth of historic photos curated by volunteers Ray Mills and Ross Dalziel.
However, in 2020 the exhibitions had to be cancelled due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
Now, with the May event also not being able to go ahead in the historic building, the Trust has decided to put a small collection online.
Ray Mills who has been supporting the Trust with the exhibitions since 2011 explained:
“Last year, both exhibitions had to be cancelled and unfortunately, at least for next month’s event we are still in the same position, so with the support of Claire Doughty who helps the Trust with publicity we have decided to put four collections online.
“It’s certainly different to how we have done things in the past, but myself and Ross are pleased that we are able to showcase some of the pictures that the Trust now has in its possession.”
The albums which will be shown include the Forres Cycling Club, the Royal Visit in August 1961, a collection from the Rev Alan Smith and Forres Academy.
Ray added:
“There are around 20 pictures in each album and these are just a small sample of what is contained within the Trust’s hard copy archives and usually displayed at their exhibitions.”
The pictures will be available on the Forres Heritage Trust website from May 5, and the albums will remain on the website and be added to over time.
George Alexander, chairman of the Forres Heritage Trust which owns the Tolbooth and also looks after Nelson’s Tower said:
“We are delighted that we are still able to share a small selection of the Trust’s pictures and I thank Ray and Ross for their hard work in pulling this together.
“Of course, we will miss the interaction with the visitors who get so much joy of being able to visit the Tolbooth and talk with the volunteers about the images, but for now, hopefully this exhibition will still please many.”
George added:
“We do hope that come September we may be able to invite people back into the Tolbooth for the second exhibition of the year, but at the moment we are just waiting to see how things progress.”
