THE first Cockenzie and Port Seton Gala was held on Saturday, June 25, 1949. Catherine Thomson was the first Seton Queen.

This year's gala took place yesterday (June 1) with Rebecca Ough being crowned the 76th Seton Queen and Lewis Bisset the second Seton King.

The idea of having a gala came from the headmaster of Cockenzie Primary School, Mr Andrew McFarlane, who had come from Pencaitland, where a children’s gala was held each year.

A committee was formed to look into the idea of having a gala in the village.

Jim Hickie, who had a drama background, was elected onto the committee and was asked to put forward a proposal for a children’s gala. Jim wrote a script which included reference to the local heritage of the village; this was accepted. The script included the local fishing fleet taking the gala queen from Cockenzie Harbour to Port Seton Harbour, with the royal barge being attacked out at sea by pirates. This was followed by the crowning of the Seton Queen by a local dignitary.

The crowning ceremonies originally took place at the Pond Hall from 1949 until 1972. Since 1973, the ceremonies have taken place at King George V playing fields.

The crowning ceremony made a return to the gala's spiritual home the Pond Hall in 1991 and one final time in 1994 (which was a show of community strength for the Pond Hall, following East Lothian District Council’s decision to close the Pond and Pond Hall in 1994).

In 2020 and 2021, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the traditional gala day did not take place. The two queens were crowned, but not in the traditional way.

In 2023, a new character was added to the royal court, a king; the king and queen being crowned by either a gracious lady or an honourable gentleman.

Characters of the early galas included the local industries at the time: boat builder, fisherman, farmer and miner. Other characters that endure to this day include fisher girls, pirates, sailors, Britannia, flowergirls, Spirit of Goodwill, Scotland, England, Ireland and Wales. In modern times, the characters taking part in the gala have changed.

In 1963, Cockenzie and Port Seton Gala hit the big screen – maybe not quite the big screen as such. Gosford Films & Stuart Douglas Films filmed the 1963 gala in 16mm colour; it was directed by Jim Hickie and the film lasts around 18 minutes. The film is called ‘Queen for a Day’ and can be viewed by going to the National Library of Scotland moving film archive website and searching for 'Queen for a Day: Cockenzie & Port Seton Children's Gala Day'.

From 1949 until 2019, a unique tradition of the gala was that the local fishing boats would take the royal court from Cockenzie Harbour to Port Seton Harbour (except when the boats could not sail due to weather conditions). In 2020 and 2021, due to the Covid pandemic, the boats could not sail.

Since 2022, due to major changes within the maritime and Coastguard regulations, it is no longer possible for the local fishing boats to transport the royal court. The trip on the fishing boats is now a tradition of the past.

Article by Eric Dickson, Cockenzie and Port Seton Local History Society