A FEW days ago we reproduced three old photographs showing floral displays created by York Corporation gardeners on the city wall embankment in Station Road. One of the photographs was dated 1955, and showed a representation of Holgate Windmill, with its sails intact.

"We wonder what the unknown gardener who designed this display almost 60 years ago would have thought had he been able to see the magnificently restored windmill today?" we mused.

That prompted a call from Press reader Neville Meek. He knew exactly what that 'unknown gardener' would have thought of the restored windmill, Mr Meek said - because the gardener was his father-in-law.

For years, Robert 'Shepherd' Robinson was the York Corporation's head gardener. He not only designed the annual floral display on the embankment at Station Rise, but was also in charge of a team of gardeners looking after parks, gardens, hanging baskets and other floral displays across the city.

He lived in Beckfield Lane, just a few minutes walk from Holgate Windmill - and was a real York history buff, Mr Meek said. "He was very knowledgeable. He could take you places around York, and tell you the history of them. He could have told you the history of that windmill."

So what would he have thought to see the windmill restored today?

"He would have thought that it was absolutely fantastic," said Mr Meek, a retired fitter and engineer of 76 who lives in the Stockton Lane area. "He would have been very impressed."

Mr Robinson was born in Leeds in 1915, but his family moved to York when he was young, when his father, a sheet metal worker, took up a job with Rowntrees.

Mr Robinson left school at 14, and got a job at Stephenson's printing works in Hull Road. But then, at 16, he became an apprentice gardener with the York Corporation - and stayed with the Corporation until he retired at the age of 63 almost 50 years later.

During those years, he worked on the designs for many of the annual floral displays that were planted on the embankment at Station Rise - including a 'Festival of Britain' display in 1951, and a display to celebrate the 500th anniversary of York Minster in 1957.

He had a technique to ensure the displays turned out perfectly, Mr Meek said.

After deciding what the theme of the display should be - perhaps in discussion with his superintendent - he would rough out a scale drawing on graph paper. He would take this to the York Corporation engineers, who would make up a steel frame that Mr Robinson and his team could use when planting.

He'd then work out exactly how many plants of each colour would be needed for the design, before he and his team of gardeners would get planting.

Each year, once the design was ready, he'd put in a call to the photographic team at the Evening Press, who would come and take a photo, said Mr Meek.

Over the years, he built up a great collection of photographs. We have room for only a few here - but we hope they will bring back some memories.