The Dr Thomas Guthrie statue at Edinburgh’s West Princes Street Gardens should be hauled down, according to an Edinburgh-born and raised abuse survivor David Smith.
Another Guthrie’s school abuse survivor, Fred, started a petition to remove the statue five months ago. Since then, his petition has garnered more than 1,000 signatures.
“There’s quite a lot of us [survivors] that want the statue removed. We want a sincere apology and we want them [the government] to acknowledge what we went through,” David said.
“It’s an offensive statue that affects us every time we see it. Whenever I see that statue I think about how many children suffered at [Dr Guthrie’s boys’ school] and I’m reminded of what I went through. I won’t go anywhere near the statue knowing what they put me through.”
Dr Guthrie was a 19th century Scottish preacher who founded a school for impoverished children in 1847. In 1887, the Guthrie school moved to Lasswade Road in Liberton. It subsequently became an Approved School in 1933 and was referred to as a ‘List D’ school from 1968 until it closed in 1985.
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“The words used to describe children's homes and residential schools have changed over time,” the Scottish government said.
“Residential care settings could be called residential schools, List D Schools, Borstals or Approved Schools. A child could be placed in these settings for a range of different reasons relating to care, protection or as a result of running away, truancy or on offence grounds.”
As children, Fred and David were both placed into care and protection, and they were both sent to Dr Guthrie’s boys’ school in southern Edinburgh.
Fred attended Guthrie’s school for boys from 1970-1972, and David attended from 1967-1969.
“I was 11-years-old when they sent me in front of the judge. I was a wee boy and I could barely see over the dock. They sentenced me to three years of care and protection for a crime I didn’t commit,” he said.
“I was 11 years old when I was sent to Guthrie’s. I had been very happy at primary school and I was looking forward to grammar school, but it was all taken away from me. My education ended when I entered Guthrie’s.”
At Guthrie’s, Fred was known as student number 38, and he was subjected to abuse immediately after he was put under care and protection.
“My first night at Guthrie’s, I showered with the other boys and one wee boy’s entire body was black and blue. His whole body had been whipped and beaten. I thought ‘what have I done to deserve this [place],” Fred remembered.
Fred was subjected to physical, mental and sexual abuse for two years at Guthrie’s boys school. He was once locked in a small cupboard for two weeks and given a razor blade by school staff.
“Can you believe that? I was 11 year old and I could almost touch the walls on every side,” Fred recalled.
Fred also accused staff of making pornographic movies of him and other boys. He recalled one teacher who took Fred and seven other children to a river where he ordered them all to strip naked and filmed them playing leapfrog.
Fred’s hand was broken five times during his time at Guthrie’s, and he was also stabbed in the spine.
“I’ve been complaining for 54 years and I still don’t have a case against my abusers. Now most of them are probably all dead and I feel like I’ve been treated like scum my whole life,” Fred said.
“That boarding school was like a concentration camp. Guthrie’s destroyed my life. Because of [my abusers] I have no education qualifications, and my life has been ruined. I want the privilege of hearing them admit what they have done and acknowledge what we suffered.”
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Another teacher put his hands down David's trousers. When David told the headmaster, he was accused of lying and beaten with a leather strap.
After he was released from Guthrie’s, David said the teacher tracked him down at the butcher shop where he worked. He entered the shop when David was alone and ordered David to come to his house alone after hours or he would have David sent back to Guthrie’s.
Another time, David was taken to the sick bay where he stayed overnight. He accused both the sick bay matron and her deputy assistant of sexually assaulting him in the sick bay when he was just 12 or 13 years old.
“The abuse has affected me all my life,” David said.
“I was stabbed in the forehead by a so-called teacher with a pencil. Even to this day, I have a black dot on my forehead so every time I look in a mirror that black dot brings back painful memories to me at 67 years of age.”
Fred and David experience flashbacks and intense emotions when they see the Thomas Guthrie statue standing over Edinburgh’s Princes Street Gardens.
“The statue is just mocking all the Guthrie abuse victims. Everyone who walks by it sees the child under Guthrie’s arm and thinks he was a good Christian man. Nobody knows the truth. That school was hell on earth and seeing him portrayed as a good Christian who helped orphans is complete rubbish,” Fred stated.
“I’m 64 years old now and I will fight this until I die.”
Dr Thomas Guthrie died in 1873, and his statue was unveiled in Edinburgh in 1910. The statue was given B-list status by Historic Scotland and Edinburgh Corporation, now Edinburgh City Council, in December 1970.
Fred previously petitioned the Scottish Parliament about removing the statue, but he was told it was a local issue. He claims the City of Edinburgh Council informed him that he needed to be an Edinburgh resident to make a local petition.
However, the council said as far as they are aware, they have not been contacted about requests to remove this statue before.
A council spokesperson clarified that Fred did not need to have a local address, but advised that he needs to collect 200 signatures from people on Edinburgh’s voter register in order for his petition to be considered.
The spokesperson continued: “We don’t have a comment on [the school or abuse claims] as this school wasn’t under local government supervision. But if a petition reached the amount of signatures it would be considered by the relative committee.”
In August, the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry (SCAI), which was set up in 2015 to investigate the abuse of children in care, confirmed that there would be hearings in 2023 examining statements and evidence gathered for List D schools, including Dr Guthrie’s Schools Association in Edinburgh.
“Commencing in the second half of 2023, public hearings about the abuse of children in residential accommodation for young offenders and children and young persons in need of care and protection will begin,” the SCAI announced.
“The case study will explore the nature and extent of physical, sexual, and emotional abuse including consideration of the use of corporal punishment, restraint and segregation.”
The Inquiry wants to hear from any person who has evidence or information about abuse at Guthrie’s and other List D and Approved Schools between 1930 and 2014 at
The Inquiry’s witness support team can be contacted on 0800 0929 300, or emailed at talktous@childabuseinquiry.scot. Individuals can also write to the Inquiry by post at: SCAI PO Box 24202, Edinburgh EH3 1JN.
Dr Guthrie’s Association, a registered Scottish Charity since 1986, has been contacted for comment.
The petition to remove the Thomas Guthrie statue can be found on Change.org here.
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