University
of Edinburgh
Journal
XLIV:
No.46:
3 Number 1
Volume
JUNE 2010
Published by
THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH
GRADUATES’ ASSOCIATION
£14.00
June
2013
University of Edinburgh Graduates’ Association
Patron
HRH The Princess Royal
Honorary Presidents
Cecily E Giles CBE
J A R MacLean
Iain F MacLaren
President
David A Lamb
Vice-President: Jack McLaren
Honorary Secretary: Joyce E Richardson
Honorary Treasurer: Kirsty L Chisholm
Honorary Editor: Peter B Freshwater
Immediate Past President: Ritchie Walker
Honorary Accounts Examiner: Morris Thomson
Assistant Secretary: Joan H Meikle
Executive Committee Members 2013-2014
Jane Denholm
Lorna L Henderson
Michael Langdon
John Mavor
Ian Urquhart
Malcolm M Wylie
Student Representatives
President Edinburgh University Students’ Association
President Edinburgh University Sports Union
Vice-President (Services) Edinburgh University Students’ Association
Editorial Committee
Ian Campbell (Reviews Editor and Convener)
Peter B Freshwater (Honorary Editor)
Sallie K R Gray (Obituaries Editor)
Barbara Laing
Lucinda L Mackay
Iain F MacLaren
Patricia J Spark
J R Sutherland (Editorial Assistant)
Rena Tough (Assistant Editor)
Ian Wotherspoon
Malcolm M Wylie
The Association would welcome members’ email addresses
to ensure more expedient communication.
The Association acknowledges permission to use the drawing of the
Old College by Lady Lucinda L Mackay
University of Edinburgh Journal
Volume 46: Number 1
June 2013
Contents
Graduates’ Association Office Bearers and Committee Members From the Editor
Graduates’ Association News
President - David A Lamb
New Members and Donations Received
Branches and Clubs
Athene Acknowledging Vulcan
University News
New Year Honours List
University Notes
The Scientific Work Behind the Higgs Boson
Dig Uncovers a Nobleman’s Grave
The Edinburgh Campaign Reaches its £350M Target
Chemistry Marks the Tercentenary of the Chair
University Regents
University Collections Masterpieces III Exhibition Jim Haynes’ Paperback Bookshop Commemorated
Articles
The Provenance of Panamint
In Search of My Grandparents: A Sentimental Journey to South India
The Friends of Edinburgh University Library:
The First Fifty Years
Reception for the Patron of the Graduates’ Association
Summerhall: Arts Centre of Excellence
Ian J Fleming (1915-2012):
Agricultural Historian, Teacher and Manager Reviews Appreciations
Professor Susan Manning
G Ross Roy
Obituaries
Notes for Contributors
Journals Received
Welcome to the Graduates’ Association
IFC
2
3
4
5
7
8
10
11
12
12
14
14
15
16
20
24
28
37
40
44
51
52
53
IBC
IBC
OBC
The Journal is published twice a year and is sent to all members of the Association.
Tel. 0131 650 4292/3; Fax. 0131 650 4293; Website: www.dev.ed.ac.uk/gradassoc; Email:
gradassoc@ed.ac.uk. The price to others, including libraries, colleges, etc. is £14.00 each
number, payable in sterling.
UK ISSN 0041-9567
From the Editor
T
he June 2013 issue of the Journal is the first of
a new volume, 46. It includes a composite
report on the Association’s Reception for
our Patron, HRH The Princess Royal, comprising
the text of the then President’s speech of welcome
and short pieces from all nine group leaders, as
well as four pages of colour photographs taken
during the evening; altogether they provide a
happy souvenir and useful record of an historic,
memorable and most enjoyable occasion. Other
articles include ‘The Provenance of Panamint’ by
Russell Cowe, who conducted such a memorable
film evening for the Association last summer;
‘In Search of My Grandparents’ by Bridget Stevens, who followed family
connections with India; ‘Summerhall — Arts Centre of Excellence’ by Iain
Gale and Paul Gillon, demonstrating developments in what the building that
used to house the Royal (Dick) Veterinary School; ‘The Friends of Edinburgh
University Library — the First Fifty Years’ celebrates the golden jubilee of
support for the Library’s research collections; and ‘Ian J Fleming: Agricultural
Historian, Teacher and Manager’ by John Fleming and Isla Smith, which marks
the changes in agricultural practice of which Ian was aware during his long
lifetime. We have also included a number of shorter notes on matters of current
interest in the University, reprinted with acknowledgment from the University’s
news website.
For the formatting and organisation of this issue, Rena Tough and I have
been very grateful for the services of our new temporary Editorial Assistant,
John Sutherland, and to Ian Campbell who enabled us to avail ourselves of
John’s commitment and expertise.
Several articles for the December 2013 issue are already in preparation. We
shall be focusing on aspects of the University’s heritage: Francis Jeffrey and
the Edinburgh Review, which was founded in No. 18 Buccleuch Place from
which we now publish this Journal; the history of the study of history at the
University; and the painted ceiling of Riddle’s Court, Edinburgh, established
as a University Hall in the 1880s by Patrick Geddes.
Next year, 2014 sees a number of major anniversaries, including the
outbreak of World War I in 1914 and the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. It also
sees the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Graduates’ Association. 2015
will see the anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe, and the 90th
of the founding of this, the University of Edinburgh Journal. How best to mark
these is something that the Association’s Executive Committee and the Journal’s
Editorial Committee will address, and would welcome suggestions and actual
contributions from all members. Do please contact us and tell us what you
would like to see in the Journal.
Peter B Freshwater
2 University of Edinburgh Journal 46: 1 (June 2013)
D
President — David A Lamb
avid Alexander Lamb LLB 1967 SSC, was admitted a Solicitor in the
Supreme Courts in 1977. He trained with Shepherd & Wedderburn WS
and from 1969 to 1984 moved to Stuart & Stuart WS becoming a partner.
He was principal partner of the Private Client Department of John G. Gray & Co.
SSC from 1984 to 1991. He was appointed a Tribunal Judge of the Social Security
Tribunals from 1991, retiring from full-time appointment in 2008. He continues
on a part-time basis with the Tribunals Service, now in addition sitting as a
Convener of the Mental Health Tribunal for Scotland. He has previously been
Treasurer of the Society of Solicitors in the Supreme Courts, Joint Auditor of
Edinburgh Sheriff Court and Chairman of the Immigration Appeal Tribunal.
Outwith professional life, he enjoys Italian language, culture and music
(acting as Treasurer of the Scottish Italian Circle), and fitness training. He was
a member of the Business Committee of the General Council and at one time
Convener of the Finance and Statistics Committee. He is an Elder of the Church
of Scotland Liberton Kirk Congregation, and maintains active links with the
small ancient Waldensian Church in Italy, as Secretary/Treasurer of the Scottish
Waldensian Society. He also assists with the Visits Group of the Edinburgh
Members’ Centre of the National Trust for Scotland.
University of Edinburgh Journal 46: 1 (June 2013) 3
New Members
From 1 April to 30 September 2013
We are delighted to welcome the undernoted new members and invite them to send us
news of themselves or other graduates from time to time. We would urge those living
near an existing branch to join it. Others, who wish to start a new branch, should
contact 18 Buccleuch Place for help in contacting other graduates.
Edward F Bowen, Lundie, Angus
Winifred Gordon (née Logan), Glasgow
Oonagh Gray (née Parker), Edinburgh
Thomas F Marshall, Gifford
Elsa M Monteith (née Wotherspoon), Edinburgh
LLB
MA
MA
MA
MA
1966
1946
2002
1967
1952
Donations
From 1 April to 30 September 2013
The undernoted members have responded to our appeals for voluntary contributions
and we wish to thank them most warmly for their generosity. Several anonymous
contributions have also been received.
Dame Mary Corsar, Edinburgh
Paul Kirnon, USA
David Lamb, Edinburgh
Fred Lawson, Musselburgh
Lady Lucinda Mackay, Edinburgh
Henry McKinlay, Hertfordshire
Jack McLaren, Edinburgh
Anne L Munro, Edinburgh
Hugh R W Murray, Nursling, Hants
John Murrie, Edinburgh
Alastair A Robertson, Edinburgh
Change of Address
Please note that the Graduates’ Association Office premises have
moved to 18 Buccleuch Place, EH9 9LN
The office will be open:
Monday-Friday 9.30am - 12.30pm
Tel. 0131 650 4292/3
Fax. 0131 650 4293
Email: gradassoc.admin@ed.ac.uk
Website: www.dev.ed.ac.uk/gradassoc
4 University of Edinburgh Journal 46: 1 (June 2013)
Secretaries of Branches and Clubs
Edinburgh University Club of Birmingham
Dr William Mackenzie, 4 Herbert Austin Drive, Marlbrook, Bromsgrove,
Birmingham B60 1RA
Edinburgh University Club of Bristol
Mrs Diana S Wyatt, Little Manor, 1 Stoke Paddock Road, Bristol BS9 2DJ
Tel/Fax: 0117 9681291
Email: dswyatt@blueyonder.co.uk
Edinburgh University Graduates’ Association (Liverpool Branch)
Mr Graham R Arnold, 13 Sefton Drive, Sefton Park, Liverpool L8 3SD
Tel: 1051 733 9357
Email: patriciaaarnold@gmail.com
Edinburgh University Club of London (affiliated)
Mr John Poynton, 146 Elizabeth Avenue, Little Chalfont, Amersham HP6 6RG
Email: jepoynton@eucl.org.uk
Website: www.eucl.org.uk
Edinburgh Graduate Theatre Group
Mr David Grimes, 15a South Gillsland Road, Edinburgh EH10 5DE
Tel. 0131 441 6557
Edinburgh University Club of London News
W
e are delighted to announce that HRH The Princess Royal has agreed to
become the Club’s patron in succession to her father. Our President, Iain
Poole, has had a meeting with her staff and learned that she is keen to
be involved with the Club. As 2014 is the Club’s 150th anniversary we are looking
to link the two in events, perhaps both in London and in Edinburgh. Watch this
space!
We had a most successful reception at the House of Lords last October, hosted
by Lord MacKay of Clashfern, a member, and signed up just over a dozen new
members. This was followed later that month by a visit to the Magic Circle. In
January we piggybacked, as last year, onto the Burns Club of London’s Burns Night
at the Caledonian Club. There are so many Burns’ Night celebrations now that it is
difficult to get sufficient attendance, especially as our old venue at St. Columba’s
decided to ban alcohol. Those who attended tell me that it was well worth it and
very good exercise.
Since then things have gone a bit flat as we have been experimenting with
new facilities on our website, including an online payment mechanism for events,
and our Facebook campaign. The latter has not produced much feedback as yet,
probably because we have not had many events to promote during this period, and
so is now on hold while we finalise our programme for 2013.
A small group of us visited the National Physical Laboratory in February as part
of an open day. This involved a fascinating sequence of short lectures on various
aspects of measurement, including trying to measure temperature directly against
molecular activity, and the importance of bubbles to more or less everything in
the physical world! In contrast, we have a visit to the Whitechapel Bell Foundry
booked for early March, and are trying to arrange lunch and a tour sometime soon
at Lincoln’s Inn.
University of Edinburgh Journal 46: 1 (June 2013) 5
T
University of Edinburgh
Women’s Club
he Club aims to promote friendship and contacts among women who are
associated with the University of Edinburgh. Members include graduates,
former staff, and partners of existing and former staff. Meetings, visits
and social events take place during the day throughout the academic year. New
members are always welcome and may join at any time.
The Club is based in refurbished University premises at 18 Buccleuch Place
and special interest groups include:
•
A Badminton Club which plays weekly at King’s Buildings in the
autumn and spring terms.
•
A Book Group which meets monthly from October to April.
•
A Garden Group which has talks by invited speakers in the autumn
and spring terms, and a garden visit and plant sale in the summer.
•
The International Group run a special programme throughout the
academic year for women from abroad who are postgraduate students,
or partners of postgraduates at Edinburgh University. Club members
organise weekly English language lessons in the Club flat and provide
childcare during this time.
Further information about the University of Edinburgh Women’s Club, and
how to join can be found at the Club web site www.uewc.org
(Garden Group visit to St Andrews Botanic Garden)
(Photograph courtesy of Marian Shepherd, Club member)
6 University of Edinburgh Journal 46: 1 (June 2013)
Athene Acknowledging Vulcan
by Bernie O’Donnell (2012)
Gifted to the Association by Valerie and Stewart Robertson
V
(Athene Acknowledging Vulcan)
alerie Robertson, the past Editor of the Journal, and her husband Stewart,
have generously presented to the Graduates’ Association a watercolour
painting of Athene Acknowledging Vulcan by the Edinburgh painter
Bernie O’Donnell. Athene, the Greek goddess of wisdom and learning reaches
across the centuries, to associate with Vulcan, the Roman god of fire, and does
so in the setting of 21st-century Edinburgh University where, together, they
train members of the University in extinguishing fire.
The painting marks Valerie’s and Stewart’s links with the University,
Valerie’s as a graduate of the University, a former teacher, and later Editor
of the University Journal; and Stewart’s as a Fire Safety Officer in the Health
and Safety Department. It now hangs in the Journal Editorial Office, where all
members of the Association are invited to come and see it.
(Photograph of Athene Acknowledging Vulcan courtesy of Graeme Ross)
University of Edinburgh Journal 46: 1 (June 2013) 7
University News
New Year Honours List
Order of the British Empire (Civil Division)
Order of the Companion of Honour
Professor Peter Higgs Hon DSc 1988
Emeritus Professor of Theoretical Physics (staff)
Knights Bachelor
Sir John Leighton MA 1980 and 1982 Drhc 2009
Director General, National Galleries of Scotland
Commanders
Mr Nicholas Ferguson BSc 1970
Chair, Courtauld Institute
Dr Katherine Grainger MBE LLB 1997 Drhc 2011
2012 Olympic Gold Medalist for rowing
Mr Magnus Linklater
Editor, The Times in Scotland (Friends of the University)
Dr Marian Wilson MA 1979 PhD 1990
Deputy Director, Campaigns, Risk and Intelligence Service, Sheffield, HM
Revenue and Customs
Officers
Mrs Sheila Fleet
1968 (Fashion & Jewellery), Edinburgh College of Art
Jewellery Designer, Sheila Fleet Orkney Designer Jewellery
Dr Robert Hubrecht BSc 1979
Deputy Scientific Director, Universities Federation for Animal Welfare
Professor Howard Liddell BAr 1970
Co-Founder, Scottish Ecological Design Association
Sheriff Isobel Poole LLB 1963
Professor David Porteous FRSE BSc 1975 PhD 1979
Professor of Human Genetics and Molecular Medicine (staff)
Dr (Edward) Bruce Ritson MBChB 1961 MD 1967
Chair, Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems
Members
Dr Nicola Benedetti Hon DMus 2011
Violinist
Professor (Oscar) Peter Buneman MBE FRS
Professor of Database Systems (staff)
Mr Kenneth Reedie MA 1972
Curator, Canterbury Museum
8 University of Edinburgh Journal 46: 1 (June 2013)
Alan Walker
Honorary Fellow (staff)
Dr Andrew Wardman MBChB 1976 MD 1986
Consultant Physician and Director of Medical Education, Wigan
Ms Frances White MA 1970
Manager, Little Haddon Residential Care Home
Medallists of the Order of the British Empire
Douglas Currie MA 1950
Dr Alice Doherty MBChB 1949
Officer of the Order of the British Empire (Diplomatic Service and Overseas
Division)
Ms Kate Ewart-Biggs MA 1991
Regional Head, Middle East and North Africa, sub Saharan Africa and South
Asia, British Council
Military Division (Army Awards)
Queen’s Volunteer Reserve Medal
Chaplain to the Forces 3rd Class Reverend Louis Kinsey QVRM TD BD 1988
Dip 1989; Royal Army Chaplains’ Department Territorial Army
Monthly Coffee Morning
The Association meets for coffee at the
National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street,
Edinburgh
We meet in the Balcony Café on Level 3 from
10.30am - 12.00pm
on the following Saturdays in 2013:
6 July, 3 August, 7 September, 5 October,
2 November, 7 December
Do join us!
Further information from the EUGA Office
Tel. 0131 650 4292
Email: gradassoc.admin@ed.ac.uk
University of Edinburgh Journal 46: 1 (June 2013) 9
University Notes
The following items marked with an asterisk * are reprinted with thanks from the
University of Edinburgh’s news website.
The Scientific Work Behind the Higgs Boson*
The world and the University have rejoiced with Professor Peter Higgs at the
identification by research teams at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN of a particle
believed to be the elusive Higgs boson.
T
he electroweak theory, which unifies the electromagnetic and weak
interactions of elementary particles has, since 1970, received experimental
support to a precision unprecedented in the history of science. This
unification involves a close relationship between the massless photon, which
carries the long-range electromagnetic force, and the W and Z vector bosons,
which carry the short-range weak force and must therefore be very massive.
Prior to the invention of the Higgs mechanism, it was not known how to
formulate a consistent relativistic field theory with a local symmetry which
could contain both massless and massive force carriers.
In 1962, Goldstone’s theorem had shown that spontaneous breaking of
symmetry in a relativistic field theory results in massless spin-zero bosons,
which are excluded experimentally. In a paper published in Physics Letters on 15
September 1964 (received on 27 July 1964), Peter Higgs showed that Goldstone
bosons need not occur when a local symmetry is spontaneously broken in a
relativistic theory. Instead, the Goldstone mode provides the third polarisation
of a massive vector field. The other mode of the original scalar doublet remains
as a massive spin-zero particle – the Higgs boson.
Higgs wrote a second short paper describing what came to be called ‘the
Higgs model’ and submitted it to Physics Letters, but it was rejected on the
grounds that it did not warrant rapid publication. Higgs revised the paper and
submitted it to Physical Review Letters, where it was accepted, but the referee,
who turned out to be Yoichiro Nambu, asked Higgs to comment on the relation
of his work to that of Francois Englert and Robert Brout, which was published in
Physical Review Letters on 31 August 1964, the same day his paper was received.
Higgs had been unaware of their work, because the Brussels group did not send
preprints to Edinburgh. Higgs’ revised paper drew attention to the possibility
of a massive spin-zero boson in its final paragraph. During October 1964, Higgs
had discussions with Gerald Guralnik, Carl Hagen and Tom Kibble, who had
discovered how the mass of non-interacting vector bosons can be generated by
the Anderson mechanism.
The previous year, Philip Anderson had pointed out that, in a superconductor
where the local gauge symmetry is broken spontaneously, the Goldstone
(plasmon) mode becomes massive due to the gauge field interaction, whereas
the electromagnetic modes are massive (Meissner effect) despite the gauge
invariance. However, he did not discuss any relativistic model and so, since
Lorentz invariance was a crucial ingredient of the Goldstone theorem, he did
10 University of Edinburgh Journal 46: 1 (June 2013)
not demonstrate that it could be evaded. In Higgs’ second 1964 paper he referred
to Anderson’s work in a way which implied that Anderson knew about the
non-relativistic counterpart of the Higgs boson. In fact, Anderson didn’t and it
was not until 1981 that an unexpected feature of the Raman spectrum of NbSe2
was understood to be due to ‘a massive collective mode which exists in all
superconductors – the oscillation of the amplitude of the superconducting gap’,
the only Higgs boson to be discovered experimentally before 2012.
The search for the Higgs boson became a major objective of experimental
particle physics. Although the best fit to all the electroweak precision
measurements gave its mass between 52 and 110 GeV, it was excluded below
114 GeV. Its mass could not exceed 1 TeV if the electroweak theory itself is to
remain valid up to this energy scale, precisely the range that is within reach
CERN’s Large Hadron Collider. We know now that the ATLAS and CMS have
found a Higgs-like boson at a mass of around 126 GeV which increasingly looks
like having all the properties of the Standard Model Higgs boson.
Peter Higgs’ work was a crucial step on the road to a unified theory of the
forces of Nature and is clearly basis for an experimental programme to look at
further details of the discovered particle and its extensions beyond the Standard
Model.
Dig Uncovers a Nobleman’s Grave*
T
he remains of a medieval nobleman are among dozens of discoveries
made in an archaeological dig at the University. Also found at the site
were the remains of a 13th-century monastery. The discoveries were
made at the construction site of the Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Innovation
(ECCI) which will be housed in refurbished buildings at the University’s High
School Yards.
Archaeologists spotted the discovery when they uncovered the corner of an
elaborately decorated sandstone slab. They found that the slab, which covers
the grave, bore tell-tale carved markings of a member of the nobility, including
a sword and a cross. Experts say they will be able to find out much more about
the individual buried in the tomb once they are able to remove the headstone
and access the remains underneath. They have been able to date the remains
because of the grave’s position on the site of the monastery, and its similarity to
other gravestones found from that period. Analysis of any skeletal remains or
teeth would give information on where the individual was born, what he ate,
where he lived and how he died.
Building teams made the find at the site of a former car park which is being
prepared to host a rainwater harvesting tank, as part of construction work on
property that will house the new centre. Designers hope the project will create
the world’s most sustainable historical building. Malcolm Fraser Architects
have led the project with contractors Graham Construction, with services
provided by Headland Archaeology.
Formerly, the location was the site of the seventeenth century Royal High
School, the sixteenth century Old High School, and the thirteenth century
Blackfriars Monastery. As well as the Knight’s grave, the excavation of the area
University of Edinburgh Journal 46: 1 (June 2013) 11
has revealed for the first time the exact location of the Blackfriars Monastery,
which was founded in 1230 and destroyed during the Protestant Reformation
in 1558.
The Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Innovation is hosted by the University
of Edinburgh, in partnership with Heriot-Watt University and Edinburgh
Napier University. It seeks to bring together students, academics, governments,
businesses and communities to work towards a low-carbon future and is a
hub for the knowledge, innovation and skills required to create a low-carbon
economy. The refurbished building, which dates back to back to the Royal High
School of 1777, will reopen as an innovation and skills hub in summer 2013.
Ross Murray, the archaeologist who found the grave, studied at the
University’s former Archaeology building, just a few feet from where the grave
was found.
The Edinburgh Campaign Reaches its £350M Target
T
he University of Edinburgh Campaign was launched in 2006 to raise
£350M, and realised its target in November 2012. This magnificent
fundraising effort has enabled the redesign of teaching and research
space, including libraries and museums as teaching and research resources.
It has supported life-changing research, and provides a huge range of
bursaries and scholarships for undergraduate and postgraduate students. It
has extended our cultural understanding of the University and the City of
Edinburgh, of Scotland and the rest of the world. Much of this money has been
raised by the hard work and generosity of Edinburgh alumni all around the
world. Information about the Campaign is available on the University website:
www.ed.ac.uk, or in printed form from the University’s Development &
Alumni and Communications & Marketing Offices.
Chemistry Marks the Tercentenary of the Chair*
T
his year marks 300 years since the first professor of chemistry was
appointed at Edinburgh. A series of celebrations will mark the school’s
contribution to the discipline over its three centuries, and its continuing
tradition of excellence. The Chair of chemistry, established in 1713, was first
occupied by Professor James Crawford. Professor Joseph Black, discoverer of
carbon dioxide, held the Chair of Chemistry at the University of Edinburgh
between 1766 and 1799. At this time, chemistry at Edinburgh had grown to
attract students from as far afield as Europe and the New World. During the
industrial revolution, chemistry’s position at the interface of engineering,
medicine and physics helped shape industry and trade.
Hundreds of years later, chemistry at Edinburgh remains at the heart
of scientific developments. Researchers are at the forefront of fields such as
developing new materials and compounds with a range of applications;
applying chemical expertise to problems in medicine and biology; and
probing the fundamental properties of molecules. In the most recent Research
Assessment Exercise, Edinburgh together with St Andrews was ranked first in
chemistry in the UK in the power ranking.
12 University of Edinburgh Journal 46: 1 (June 2013)
Teaching chemistry at Edinburgh remains a strong tradition. In the latest
national student survey, students gave a satisfaction rate of 100 per cent.
Chemistry students have won national prizes from the Salters’ Institute every
year for the past 16 years — more than any other UK chemistry department.
This year’s celebrations began with a Burns’ Supper, marking the
connection between Scotland’s most famous poet and Professor Black. Burns
and Professor Black were contemporaries and acquaintances during the
Scottish Enlightenment. This year’s Edinburgh International Science Festival,
in late March and early April, included contributions from the School’s staff
and students.
In the summer, a chemistry symposium and dedicated graduation
will take place, featuring a public lecture from alumnus Sir Fraser Stoddart
(BSc 1964, PhD 1966, DSc 1980). Sir Fraser is widely recognised as a pioneer in
nanotechnology and molecular chemistry.
Historic Exhibition
In August until October, a public
exhibition, Edinburgh 300: Cradle of
Chemistry, will be held at the University’s
Main Library featuring treasures from the
University’s archives. This will highlight
the School’s significant discoveries and
its contributions to the world and its
economies. Items on show will include
models of compounds made by Professor
Alexander Crum Brown using knitting
materials, and analytical scales for
weighing chemicals used by Professor
Black. (Image: Professor Alexander
Crum Brown’s wool ball model of a rock
salt molecule.)
Centuries of Influence
As the year of events draws to a close, an October symposium will mark
chemistry in 18th-century Edinburgh. This will focus on how chemistry at
Edinburgh helped to shape the discipline and inspire chemists around the world.
A musical composition created by Julian Wagstaff to mark the tercentenary will
be performed at a concert in late October to mark the closure of celebrations.
Students, staff, alumni and supporters of the School of Chemistry are
warmly invited to become involved in the celebrations, by contacting
chemistry-300@ed.ac.uk. Our chemists continue to help solve some
of the greatest challenges facing society, as they have always done.
Professor Eleanor Campbell, Head of School of Chemistry
University of Edinburgh Journal 46: 1 (June 2013) 13
University Regents
T
he work of the Campaign will be continued as themed fundraising with
the creation of a panel of up to fifty University Regents, key people
prepared to share their experzztise, knowledge and experience and
to create and develop networks of support for the University and its work.
Regents will be briefed and partnered by key members of University staff.
They will be regularly briefed on developments and will work with their
partners in their own time. They will be invited to an annual event at which
they will meet the Principal or one of the Vice-Principals and will be briefed
on development projects of especial currency and interest. Anyone interested
in the work of the Regents is invited to contact Professor Mary Bownes,
Senior Vice Principal External Engagement, Charles Stewart House, 9-16
Chambers Street, Edinburgh EH1 1HT; telephone: +44 (0)131 650 6443; email:
Mary.Bownes@ed.ac.uk
University Collections Masterpieces III Exhibition,
5 April – 6 July
T
his
year’s
Masterpieces
exhibition in the University
Library,
George
Square
promotes the University’s collections
on Science and Medicine and examines
three themes, Science as Innovation,
Science as Art, and Science as
Statement. A very selective exhibition
of 37 key items, it opens the lid on the
University’s treasure-chest of research
collections in science and medicine,
and welcomes the collections of the
Edinburgh College of Art which enrich
the overall resources of the University
as a whole.
Masterpieces III is open:
6 July, Monday – Saturday
10.00 -17.00.
Admission is free.
14 University of Edinburgh Journal 46: 1 (June 2013)
Jim Haynes’ Paperback Bookshop Commemorated
Photographs by Peter B Freshwater
A
lumni of fifty years ago
will remember Jim Haynes
Paperback Bookshop ‘At
the Sign of the Rhinoceros’ (19591967) in Charles Street, Edinburgh
(opposite the Charles Street Tavern,
if memories need prompting) and
round the corner from the Men’s
Union (now Teviot House). The
University and the Edinburgh
College or Art have commemorated
their merger, and have celebrated the
cultural richness of the Paperback
Bookshop, by commissioning a
bronze sculpture of the rhinoceros
head by William Darrell and of a
book, the Haynes Nano-Stage sculpture by David Forsyth; they now adorn
the new Charles Street, outside the University’s Visitor Centre and Informatics
Building.
Jim Haynes’ contributions to the cultural life and heritage of Edinburgh
are legendary. He attended Edinburgh University. His bookshop is believed to
have been the first paperback bookshop in the country. He stocked the Penguin
edition of Lady Chatterley’s Lover when it was published in 1960, and sold a
copy to a customer who promptly went outside and burned it. He founded
the Howff Folk Club and, as his longer-lasting legacy, the Traverse Theatre in
Edinburgh and in London. And he helped create the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
These were heady days for the arts and literature.
He, John Calder and Sonia Orwell
organised the watershed International
Writers’ Conference, 1962, Edinburgh
which brought many of the writers of
the day head to head, and at which
the Press had a field day over the
nude model who was wheeled across
the McEwan Hall gallery on a BBC
lighting trolley. This was followed by
the Drama Conference in 1963. He
returned and was welcomed back to
Edinburgh in 2012 for the International
Book Festival that revisited the Writers’
Conference of 1962.
University of Edinburgh Journal 46: 1 (June 2013) 15
The Provenance of Panamint
by Russell Cowe
Russell Cowe (MA 1968) is the founder and owner of
DVD and Blu-ray producer Panamint Cinema. He and
his wife Isobel presented a memorable Film Evening to the
Graduates’ Association and guests in May 2012 in the
Playfair Library Hall.
‘Little do ye know your own blessedness; for to travel
hopefully is a better thing than to arrive, and the true
success is to labour’ quoth Robert Louis Stevenson in
Virginibus Puerisque (1881).
U
ncertainty and anticipation of the unknown is
one of the joys of life, and this phrase could have been inscribed on
my first nappies as I made my appearance in this world at Elsie Inglis
Maternity Hospital on the fifth anniversary of Pearl Harbor. I was the progeny
of a romantic encounter by my parents who met in Colombo, Ceylon and
married there as the war ended. Dad was a corporal in the RAF and my mother
a WREN. The shock of my grandparents when he arrived at Lady Menzies Place
with his English bride was largely assuaged by their joy at his safe return.
My early years in a top flat in Wolseley Terrace are forgotten, but I have
happy memories of life at 28 Royal Park Terrace. Our beloved St Margaret’s
Loch was only minutes away, with a quick climb over the wall into The King’s
Park. My pal Alistair and I spent most of the summer weeks there, much of it on
the rowing boats — 1/6d per hour. We were like Oor Wullie and Soapy Soutar.
(Alistair did not take kindly to the more apposite soubriquet ‘Fat Boab’.) Illicitly
fishing for the ‘Queen’s Perch’ with a line of cat gut, we were spied one day by
our nemesis, the ‘Parky’ and the loudspeaker cried out ‘Come in, number 9’.
We knew we were in for a clip on the ear, so Alistair and I rowed for the other
side. The Parky was now in PC Murdoch mode and raced round the loch at full
speed. We reached the rocky banks just a few yards ahead of him and ran to the
sanctuary of St Antony’s Chapel, too steep a climb for our elderly foe, where we
had an excellent view of our rowing boat drifting in the middle of the loch.
As often as we could go, the pictures and theatre were our favourite family
outings: the Regent and the Salon with my pals on Saturday, and often mid
week with my Mum or Dad. My favourite was Dad’s half day on Tuesday.
Lunch with my wee sister at The Playhouse, Patrick Thomson’s, Grant’s or the
Brown Derby, where the owner, actor Moultrie Kelsall, was often maitre d’, and
in the evening a trip just with Dad to the Regent, where he often sneaked me in
to an ‘A’ film — maybe Leo Genn and Leo Gorcey in a scary Bowery Boys flick,
or Eddie Constantine as Peter Cheyney’s narcotics agent Lemmy Caution.
Saturdays in the Salon basement cinema with four or five cartoons
sandwiched between two B-westerns bring back my fondest memories. The
thrill of rolling bangers from the back stalls and betting at which row they
16 University of Edinburgh Journal 46: 1 (June 2013)
would explode was mesmerising. The long suffering usherettes would flash
their torches in fury and confusion, not sure whether the culprits were Audie
Murphy, Rory Calhoun or the Royal Park Terrace gang.
Several years ago my curiosity about the B-westerns of the 1930s and 1940s
was awakened by the purchase of Phil Hardy’s Western Encyclopaedia, and
after some research I started to release some rare titles on VHS video, just as a
hobby.
Then another infamous act of aerial warfare, two years before Pearl Harbor,
together with my fondness for westerns, was to bring a total change in my life
and business affairs.
In 1998, I found myself President of the South Queensferry Rotary Club
and, with the Millennium imminent, decided to embark on a special project to
raise funds for a new Scout Hall at Port Edgar. The question was ‘How would
Captain Mainwaring approach this?’ An encounter in my local with Ronnie
Finlayson, head of history at Queensferry High School provided the answer.
Useful places, pubs. I had met Ronnie when he asked me to stand for election
to the school board a few years earlier, and he told me of a film made by the
GPO Film Unit about the deployment of barrage balloons around the Forth
Estuary in the wake of the Luftwaffe’s attack on Rosyth Naval Base in October
1939. ‘Wouldn’t this make a good video to sell for the Scout Hall project?’ he
asked. Ronnie duly produced a video copy of a television broadcast, but with
opening titles missing.
After a few telephone calls aided by the British Film Institute’s Handbook,
I tracked down the film, Squadron 992 directed by Edinburgh-born Harry
Watt, to the Imperial War Museum Film Archive. The curator, Jane Fish, with
whom I still do the odd project, generously granted the Rotary Club a licence
to produce the film on video for a nominal fee, and our millennium project was
underway.
A year or so later, in 2000, the British
Board of Film Classification sent me an
invitation (as a result of having classified
several B-westerns) to a presentation at the
Lumiere Cinema, an open event for public
and trade alike. During the interval I became
engaged in conversation with John Gray a
retired producer from BBC Scotland, and
mentioned Squadron 992. To my astonishment
he told me that from 1937 to 1939 he had
been a sound engineer with the GPO Film
Unit. John then went on to describe West
Highland, a film about the last days of steam
on the West Highland railway, which he
had made for BBC Scotland in 1960. A few
weeks later he showed me the film at his flat in Stockbridge and asked me if
I’d be interested in producing a video release. John was rightly proud of this
wonderful film which he had made in the style of, and as a tribute to, the GPO’s
classic Night Mail. Twelve months later, in the centenary year of the opening
of the extension of the West Highland line to Mallaig, the video was released.
University of Edinburgh Journal 46: 1 (June 2013) 17
We had a premiere at the Filmhouse, which Scotrail and the press attended and
this chance release turned a hobby into a full-time business. Characteristically
John, still a busy man and then in his 80s, did not attend as he was called away
to an urgent meeting in London, so I presented his address to the gathered
audience. John and I became close friends and later, in 2001, I took him on a
two day trip on the Jacobite steam train to Fort William and Glenfinnan during
the West Highland Rail Festival. We arranged a showing of the film, and John
spent much of the railway trip signing autographs and videos. John died in
December 2006.
The publicity generated by West Highland made me realise there was
demand for a company to produce video and later DVDs and Blu-rays of
archive documentary material, and I gradually established contacts with the
nation’s film archives and many independent film makers. Our catalogue now
contains over 70 titles.
The uncertainty and anticipation of the future still goes on. Last October I
was invited by the eminent documentary filmmaker Martin Smith, who assisted
Bill Clinton in the establishment of the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in
Washington, to produce a DVD of two films from The Struggles for Poland series
shown on Channel 4 in 1987. A Different World describes Jewish life in Poland
from 1919 to the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in 1943. I had worked with Martin
before on The Terrible Price (BBC2 Wales), published in 2004, to commemorate
another 70th anniversary, the 1934 Gresford (near Wrexham) Mining Disaster
in which 266 men lost their lives.
Some of Panamint Cinema’s many highlights of the past twelve years have
been:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Night Mail & West Highland on DVD: the first release of Night Mail and a tribute
to the work of John Gray.
Voyages of the Sea Harvesters produced in 2003 with my friend and colleague
Ken Neil: archive films of Scotland’s drifter and trawler fleets with interviews
with veteran fishermen recorded by Ken.
One Continuous Take – The Kay Mander Film Book (2010): a 2-disc retrospective
of the last survivor of the British Documentary Film Movement with a booklet
with biographical and viewing notes. Kay will be 98 this year and now lives
in a nursing home in Castle Douglas. This was the first time any of the many
British documentary filmmakers has had a dedicated DVD release.
Faces of Scotland (2010): the first Blu-ray high definition disc to be released in
Scotland, and the first Blu-ray in Britain featuring classic archive documentary
films.
Roamin’ in the Gloamin’ (2011): Sir Harry Lauder’s only filmed stage performance
from 1931 and two recently discovered comedies by Rikki Fulton.
West Highland (2012): a re-release of John Gray’s film with three other films
about the lines of the West Highlands. The definitive West Highland railway
DVD.
A Different World & Messenger from Poland (2013): Jewish life in Poland from
1919 to 1943. Released to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Warsaw
Ghetto Uprising in April 1943.
The release of vintage B-movies still continues with Crashing Thru – Sergeant
Renfrew of the Royal Mounted from 1939, and Son of the Navy – Jean Parker 1940,
both released in 2012.
18 University of Edinburgh Journal 46: 1 (June 2013)
Later this year I plan to release The Gunman from Bodie (1942) starring Buck
Jones; this was my very first video release. Also on the cards are The Hawk of
Powder River (1948) with Jennifer Holt and Eddie Dean, and Romance of the
Rockies (1937) with Tom Keene; these will all be produced from near-mint prints
from my 16 mm film collection.
Finally my next project, provisionally entitled ‘Scotland’s X-Files’ comprises
rare and unseen propaganda films from World War II, garnered from the vaults
of the Imperial War Museum Film Archive.
On the 70th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising,
Panamint Cinema is proud to announce the DVD release of
A Different World & Messenger from Poland
A Different World: Poland’s Jews 1919-1943. There are many films about the Holocaust.
Raye Farr’s film A Different World is exceptional in that it concentrates on the vibrant
lives of Polish Jews before their arrival at the Third Reich’s killing centres. “Anyone
interested in the history of our times will want to see A Different World.” Sir Jeremy
Isaacs, executive producer of The World at War.
Messenger from Poland. Jan Karski witnessed the Holocaust first hand. He sought
to alert the West to the slaughter while it was happening and while they could make
a difference. Messenger from Poland tells his story in his own words; his words are
urgent testimony, urgent still after the passage of 70 years.
The films were made for the documentary series The Struggles for Poland, and produced by
DNA ‘Poland’ Ltd., in association with WNET New York & Norddeutscher Rundfunk Hamburg for
Channel 4 UK. © DNA ‘Poland’ Ltd. MCMLXXXVI.
DVD Format NTSC Region Free. 92 mins. Fullscreen. Aspect Ratio 1.33:1
Panamint Cinema, Abercorn Schoolhouse
By Newton, West Lothian, UK, EH52 6PZ
t: +44 (0)1506 834936 e: cinema@panamint.co.uk w: www.panamint.co.uk
(Photographs courtesy of Russell Cowe)
University of Edinburgh Journal 46: 1 (June 2013) 19
In Search of My Grandparents:
A Sentimental Journey to South India
by Bridget Stevens
Bridget Stevens was President of the Graduates’ Association from 2009 to 2011. Her
father, W V Stevens, was President of the Association from 1983 to 1985. He had been
Honorary Secretary from 1974 until 1983, and Journal Editor from 1971 until his
death in 1987. This article is based on a talk that Ms Stevens gave to a Graduates’
Association lunch in 2012.
I
always knew that my father had been born
in India to parents who were working for
the Salvation Army but it was only many
years later, in the course of a very special
trip to South India in 1998, that I discovered
just how amazing their story really was. My
travelling companions on that trip were three
cousins so it was a true family project, which
came about as a result of my cousin Tim,
who in 1996 had been working as a doctor
for Médecins Sans Frontières in Afghanistan,
deciding to stop off in India on his way home.
Seeking out the little village in Tamil Nadu
where he believed Grandpa and Grandma
Stevens had lived and worked in the early
part of the century, Tim was delighted to
find that there was still a strong Salvation Army community there, that the
Stevens name was recognised and that some of the more elderly villagers even
remembered meeting our grandparents.
At home, we discussed the idea of establishing some kind of memorial to
our grandparents and the plans for our trip were born. Most of all, we wanted
to find out more of the back story and were helped in this by a well-thumbed,
modest little pamphlet published by the Salvation Army in 1944 as a record of
William and Elizabeth Stevens’ contribution to the cause.
A successful watchmaker and jeweller in Worthing, Grandpa William
Stevens, though never a particularly religious young man, was one day taken
by a friend to a Salvation Army meeting where he became inspired by their
aims and ideals. So much so that he offered his services to the organisation,
eventually selling his business to pay for the necessary training. Told that he
would be sent to Canada, William was all set to go when, five days before
departure, he received a telegram ‘Will you exchange Canada for India? If
so, farewell tomorrow, go home to family Sunday, come to London Monday;
sail for India for life Tuesday’. And that was what he did, with no time for
inoculations, visas or any of the other pre-trip preparations that nowadays we
consider essential for overseas travel.
20 University of Edinburgh Journal 46: 1 (June 2013)
Arriving in Tamil Nadu in 1886, William was invited to change his name
to Jesu Ratnam (Tamil for Jewel of Christ), exchanged his western clothes
for local ethnic dress, even painting a red dot or Bindi on his forehead, and
settled in a small, very poor village in Kanyakumari District, right down at
the southernmost tip of India, where he began the work, preaching to the
villagers and working with them to improve their lives, which was to keep
him in India for the next thirty four years. The village was later re-named
Retnapuram, in acknowledgment of the work which he and Grandma were
to do there and of the affection in which they were held.
The pamphlet also tells the parallel story of Elizabeth Geekie growing
up in Dundee, also coming into contact with the Salvation Army and going
out to India where she met William. She too assumed a local name, Puramai
(meaning Patience). They married in Nagercoil in 1893; the wedding ring was
made of coral and cost fourpence. Twelve years elapsed before the former
jeweller could afford to buy his bride a gold one. They had five children
and gave each of them an Indian middle name. For example my father was
christened William Jai (meaning Victory). Many years later, when his work
for the Chamber of Commerce took him to politically sensitive parts of the
world, he had to change his middle name to Victor. The children had their
early schooling at Hebron School in Ootacamund.
William and Elizabeth both learned Tamil and made a point of living
and working with low-caste untouchables (now Dalits), their lifestyle being
heavily criticised by upper-caste Hindus as inappropriate for white people.
This was not a case of lordly benevolence towards grateful natives in a nice
warm, sunny climate. Nor was it the British Raj being lived out with palaces
and servants, gin & tonics and punka wallahs. My grandparents lived in
mud huts, and had to contend with snakes, flies, mosquitoes, smells, no
proper sanitation, abject poverty and disease. Elizabeth in particular suffered
several bouts of cholera, one of which necessitated her temporary return to
England during WW1, when the ship she was travelling on was narrowly
missed in the course of a torpedo attack from enemy submarines.
In addition to her missionary work, Elizabeth acted as nurse, sewing
teacher, marriage counsellor and literacy tutor to the villagers. We read that
her medicine chest consisted of coconut oil, Vaseline, Epsom Salts and castor
oil. Later, along with a doctor friend visiting from England, the Stevenses
set up a dispensary which gradually over time became a hospital with full
operating theatre and clinical laboratory facilities. They had expected to live
out their lives in South India but it was not to be. Another cryptic telegram
arrived from the Salvation Army, this time saying ‘Are you willing to go
to Korea?’ It seems this was a rhetorical question — there was never any
real possibility of a negative reply! So, aged over 60, off they went to start
all over again in a new country, learn its language, its peoples’ ways, and
its social problems. Here too they worked with the poor and the illiterate,
especially street children. A later posting to Kenya, where William founded
the first Salvation Army school in Nairobi, came to an abrupt end when he
was knocked down by a car and badly injured. They returned to England;
Elizabeth died in London in 1945 and William in Worthing in 1946.
University of Edinburgh Journal 46: 1 (June 2013) 21
We (the group of four cousins) felt that all of this dedication and selfless
hard work deserved some kind of tangible memorial and so we commissioned
a small plinth with images of William and Elizabeth to be installed outside
the Salvation Army Hall in Retnapuram, and arranged to travel there for the
unveiling. We had no idea what, if anything, to expect but in the event our
day in the village turned out to be quite extraordinary and unforgettable. That
morning, at our modest hotel in Nagercoil (where our grandparents had got
married), my cousin Anne and I were presented with and dressed in beautiful
saris, then a group of senior Salvation Army officers, in smart white uniforms,
arrived in a rather ancient white minibus to take us to the village, where we
were greeted by a brass band, a posse of photographers and a banner strung
up overhead bearing the slightly embarrassing words ‘Welcome to our Beloved
Leaders!’ After being introduced to various key people, and listening to several
speeches of welcome, we unveiled the plinth and moved into the Hall for a
Service of Commemoration, for which the entire population of the village
had assembled. The four of us were seated on a platform at the front while
the villagers squatted on the floor. The service lasted for over three hours and
was mostly in Tamil, with only the odd bit of translation into English. It was
extremely hot even in this room with its open sides.
Throughout the service we were presented with gifts, many consisting of
shawls which we were directed to place immediately round our shoulders. At
one point I had no fewer than seven shawls draped round my shoulders! There
was a slight worry that one or other of us would pass out with the heat! The rest
of the service consisted of hymn-singing, stick-dancing, prayers and numerous
tributes to our grandparents — the whole thing being recorded on video.
Afterwards a simple, communal meal was served, consisting of vegetables and
rice which we ate with our fingers off plantain leaves. Throughout the day we
never quite knew what was going to happen next or when it would all end and,
after the meal, although it was by now dark, we were invited to do a walkabout
and visit every house in the village. It was explained to us that a generator
had been specially hired so that the streets, which were really no more than
mud paths, could be strung with fairy lights in honour of our visit. Flower
petals were strewn in our path as we processed from house to house, drinking
endless cups of tea, smiling, nodding, bowing namaste — and wishing that we
had remembered to bring our anti-mosquito cream! Feeling a bit like the Pied
Piper of Hamelin, we accumulated clusters of smiling children who insisted
on hanging on to us as we moved along. The video shows us kissing babies,
patting old people on the head and generally behaving like minor royalty or
ingratiating politicians! Eventually it was all over and we were driven back to
our hotel to recover and reflect on our extraordinary day.
Later on we visited Ootacamund (‘Snooty Ooty’) high up in the Nilgiri
Hills, summer capital of the Raj, popularly known as the Queen of Hill Stations,
where Hebron School still exists and where we were able to look at archival
material recording the enrolment and attendance records of our parents nearly
a hundred years earlier. Another emotional moment for me was finding the
Church of South India hospital where my father was born and, in its grounds,
the grave of his older brother, Charles Chellya, who had died in infancy of a
disease which nowadays would have been very easily cured.
22 University of Edinburgh Journal 46: 1 (June 2013)
Prior to making the trip we had asked ourselves whether it might not have
been more useful to donate what we would spend on plane tickets and hotels
to the villagers so that they could pay for improvements to their education and
healthcare. In the end we decided to travel to Retnapuram because it seemed
the right thing to do. Our commissioning of the plinth and additional financial
donations to the village so that all of their costs were covered seemed to be
appreciated and from my personal point of view the day remains a highlight
of my life, an experience which was both highly charged emotionally and
absolutely unforgettable.
(The Unveiling)
(Photograph courtesy of Bridget Stevens)
A Graduation Gift
A year’s subscription to the Graduates’ Association,
including the University of Edinburgh Journal,
makes an ideal gift for a new graduate.
Details and application forms from
the Association Office.
Email: gradassoc.admin@ed.ac.uk
Tel. 0131 650 4292
University of Edinburgh Journal 46: 1 (June 2013) 23
The Friends of Edinburgh University
Library: The First Fifty Years
by Peter B Freshwater
Peter Freshwater (MA 1964) is Editor of the Journal and formerly Deputy University
Librarian, who edited the FoEUL Newsletter and The Piper for many years. This
article is printed here by kind permission of the Editor of The Piper. Another version,
with full colour illustrations, appears in The Piper no. 39, Summer 2013.)
A
fiftieth anniversary presents a
golden opportunity for reviewing
the past. It is wholly right and
proper to revisit achievements, and to
enjoy them, especially as some of them may
identify possible directions for the future.
The Friends of Edinburgh University
Library (FoEUL) was founded fifty years
ago last year. The inaugural meeting took
place on 1 November 1962. It established a
programme of meetings, one in November
and one in May; both were connected to
Library exhibitions, one to mark the 200th
anniversary of the Regius Chair of Rhetoric
and Belles Lettres, and one of Benefactors to the Library in Five Centuries. At
the second, the FoEUL launched a draft guide to purchasing policy, limiting
the objectives of the Friends to ‘those areas of thought and knowledge in which
the library is already strong’. Members were also encouraged to donate books
which they no longer required. They could include standard editions of texts,
textbooks and standard reference books in good condition; recent pamphlets,
papers and monographs, especially foreign, of significant interest; long runs of
scarce or expensive periodicals; books relating to Scotland or written by native
Scots; and books and pamphlets on Africa. These were the days of the first
rapid expansion of universities after the Robbins Report (1962), and of foreign
and Commonwealth studies in the wake of the Hayter Report (1961). The
Friends’ policy document was revised in 1974, but the basic principles remain
the same.
The first purchases were made within these limits, and attracted gifts in
kind from members, who were also ‘assured that similar gifts in other fields will
be equally welcome’ (Report for the Period to 30 September 1963). The catalogue
of Benefactors to the Library in Five Centuries, a short mimeographed booklet
which in some ways should be regarded at the Friends’ first publication, was
to become an important source of reference for the Library for many years. It
has only partially been replaced and updated by the Library’s online Gallery of
Benefactors.
24 University of Edinburgh Journal 46: 1 (June 2013)
By the end of its first year, FoEUL had 80 life members, 523 individual
subscribing members, and 13 institutional members; these were listed in the
annual Report, and continued to be so until 2006. It attracted substantial gifts
of book and manuscripts from nine members, and smaller donations from ten
others. It had made or contributed to six significant purchases, totalling an
expenditure of £393, and still ended the year with a bank balance of £1,856.
Twenty-five years later, in 1987, membership had fallen a little to 601 (224 Life,
371 Annual, and 6 Institutional). The bank balance had risen to £30,729. By 2006,
membership had fallen seriously to 348 (263 Life Members and 85 Annual). The
financial balance had risen to £69,089 and now (2012) stands at £79,985.
During its first fifty years, FoEUL has had seven Presidents, five Secretaries
(University Librarians ex officiis), seven Honorary Treasurers, and five Editors of
the Newsletter and The Piper. FoEUL has held many meetings, often addressed by
scholars, experts, and authors of international repute, and has organised visits
by members to other notable libraries and collections in the Edinburgh area.
Until recently these have been recorded in the annual report, and sometimes
reported in the Newsletter and The Piper; they still make fascinating reading.
The Friends’ publications, perhaps more modest than those of other
Friends’ organisations, have given pleasure to members and have introduced
readers to Library resources not usually seen on open shelves. Apart from the
Benefactors to the Library exhibition catalogue (1963) already mentioned, the first
two, a facsimile reprint of Vincent Lunardi’s An account of Five Aerial Voyages
in Scotland (1976), and letters of Thomas and Jane [Carlyle] (1980), were also the
first two of four Drummond Books, the series commemorating the donation
of the Library’s second foundation collection, by William Drummond of
Hawthornden. They were followed by Charles Finlayson’s Clement Litill and
his Library (1980), published jointly with Edinburgh Bibliographical Society to
mark the 400th anniversary of the lawyer Clement Litill’s bequest of books to
the town of Edinburgh that became the University Library’s first foundation
collection. Two more Drummond Books, The Tounis College (1985), and Sons
of Scotia, Raise Your Voice; (1991) followed, along with the texts of four talks,
Under the Influence: Douglas Dunn on Philip Larkin (1987); Brought to Book, also
on Philip Larkin, given by the bibliographer Barry Bloomfield in 1995; and The
Library as I Knew it: Two Talks Given to the 25th Anniversary Meeting, by George
Shepperson and Jean R Guild (1988). The Friends’ other regular and very
popular publication has been the annual Christmas card, available exclusively
to members for the first year and, thereafter, to other members of the University.
A complete set of cards provides a fascinating set of illustrations from a wide
range of the Library’s rare book and MS collections. The tiny figure of a piper
in the illuminated border of a C15th manuscript Book of Hours appeared on an
early card, and was quickly adopted as the basis for the Friends’ logo and, later
for the title of the Friends’ newsletter.
The objectives of the Friends have always been ‘to act as a channel for gifts
of books and manuscripts to enhance the Library’s collections; to purchase, or
contribute to the purchase of, rare and valuable items which the Library could not
otherwise acquire; and to promote the reputation of the Library and its collections’.
The encouragement of purchases and of gifts has always been paramount. Until
recently, the Friends’ acquisitions have been listed in their Report for the Year.
University of Edinburgh Journal 46: 1 (June 2013) 25
The first major purchase to which the Friends contributed in its second
year, 1963/64, was the second Halliwell-Phillipps collection of early editions
of Shakespeare and other Elizabethan and Jacobean plays, from the town of
Penzance, to which the collector had gifted it. FoEUL’s decision to contribute
a very large proportion of its funds ‘was a powerful factor in inducing the
University authorities and others to grant the substantial sums which were
required’ (Report for the Year to 30th September 1964), and was acknowledged by
Professor John Dover Wilson in his memoirs. Indeed, the Library’s Shakespeare,
Jacobean and Restoration drama collections has been a constant thread in the
Friends’ acquisitions. Most recent large purchases have been, in 2010, a fine
copy of Raphael Holinshed’s Chronicles (1587) from Bernard Quaritch in London
who had purchased this work at the sale of the Earl of Macclesfield’s collection
in 2007; and in 2012 the photographic archive of the author and photographer
Gordon Wright, which underpins the Library’s collections of modern Scottish
writers.
Collections, which have benefited repeatedly from the Friends’ purchasing
power, include the Library’s foundation collections of Clement Litill and
William Drummond of Hawthornden; letters of Thomas and Jane Carlyle; the
papers and early printings of the modern Scottish poets Hugh MacDiarmid,
Norman MacCaig, George Mackay Brown, Helen B Cruickshank, Edwin and
Willa Muir, and Maurice Lindsay (most of whom were Edinburgh University
alumni); the University’s historical collections of lectures, correspondence and
research papers by academic staff and students; collections on missionary and
colonial trading organisations in Africa and America; the history of medicine,
veterinary medicine, and physical and natural sciences; landscape and urban
architecture; and Islamic, Sanskrit, and Arabic and Persian studies.
Unusual acquisitions have included Sir John Dalrymple’s late C17th
private archive of printed and MS pieces on making soap from herrings; and a
complete set of Picture Post in 80 volumes which delighted economic and social
historians. In response to a Fourth Centenary appeal in 1980, many members,
along with other University alumni, contributed quantities of memorabilia of
their student days to the University Collection. Separate appeals, suggested
by individual members in the mid 1980s, when the Library was struggling
desperately to cope with the first rounds of Government recession and to
digitise the Library catalogue, urged members to contribute to the purchase of
an additional computer terminal with which to access the new online catalogue
of the Library, and to create a fund for the purchase of extra copies of textbooks
for students. Each one raised a few hundreds of pounds. A special appeal to
members in 2009 raised a substantial partnership fund to purchase state-of-theart display cases for the refurbished Main Library Exhibition Room.
Bequests and gifts of books by some individual Friends have created new
collections. The bequest in 1979 by Kenneth Ryrie, of Thurso (MA 1942) of
1,500 volumes included over 500 early Penguin and Pelican Books published
between 1935 and 1985; they formed the basis of the Library’s now extensive
Penguin Collection, which was extended and expanded with the active help of
many other members of the Friends. It is now the largest collection of Penguin
Books in Scotland, and one of the most significant in the UK. After the death
in 1982 of Alan F Stark of Edinburgh (BL 1933) his family presented over 1,500
26 University of Edinburgh Journal 46: 1 (June 2013)
volumes from his personal library; many of these books were also published in
the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s and include notable illustrated editions and private
press books. Professor George Shepperson’s great interest is in the Black
Diaspora, the history of the African peoples and their spread across the world.
The Library’s research collections on Africa and African peoples are the richer
for the many collections of books and personal papers that he has gifted, as
well as encouraging others to do the same. Through Mr Michael Strachan, the
Library acquired the archives of the Ben [shipping] Line; they were later joined
by the shipping archives of Christian Salvesen, and of Salvesen’s South Georgia
whaling station. Dr John Watt donated a complete set, with other books, of the
works of the novelist L A G Strong.
Individual Friends have contributed to the Library in a voluntary capacity.
Professor Ridgway Shinn Jr of Rhode Island College in the USA, catalogued the
academic papers of Arthur Berriedale Keith, Professor of Sanskrit and Lecturer
in Constitutional Law; and Miss Ierne Grant, through her brother Dr Douglas
Grant, catalogued a number of the Library’s other collections of personal
papers. Generous financial donations and bequests, such as those by Miss
Elizabeth Watt, Dr James Curr, Mrs Elizabeth Pearce, and Dr H M Adam, have
enabled the Friends to purchase items or collections that suddenly came on the
market, such as a collection of classic treatises on architecture from the City
of Edinburgh Libraries; these have stayed in Edinburgh and are still available
here for local research.
FoEUL can look back over its first fifty years with pride at having made
important contributions to the Library’s collections and services. Individually,
many of its acquisitions look small and mundane but, viewed collectively, they
are extensive and impressive. Now, as much as ever, the commitment of the
Friends’ support is a powerful partnership tool for further purchases. More
members are needed to help bring in funds and to spread the word about the
Library, its collections and its services. Journal readers who would like to join
the Friends and help to support the University Library are warmly invited
to contact them by writing to the Secretary of FoEUL, Edinburgh University
Library, George Square, Edinburgh EH8 9LJ, or online via the website
www.friendsofeul.wordpress.com. The Library’s Gallery of Benefactors can
be visited at www.lib.ed.ac.uk/about/bgallery/Gallery
University of Edinburgh Journal 46: 1 (June 2013) 27
Reception for the Patron of the
Graduates’ Association,
HRH The Princess Royal,
Chancellor of the University
A reception was held on Tuesday 24 February in the Georgian Gallery, Old College
to enable the new Patron of the Graduates’ Association, HRH The Princess Royal,
Chancellor of the University, to meet members of the Association and their guests.
Some 90 people attended a very enjoyable and memorable occasion.
I
n a speech of welcome, Mr Ritchie Walker,
President of the Graduates’ Association, said:
‘Patron, Principal, Members and Guests:
‘On behalf of the University of Edinburgh
Graduates’ Association it is a great pleasure
to welcome you to this Reception here in the
Georgian Gallery and to express our thanks to
the University for its support to-night. My own
recollection from some decades ago is of the
Gallery being the New Reading Room, where
Economic History’s recommended books were
always in great demand and the best seats were
at the small tables on the balcony!
‘Patron, we are honoured by your presence this evening. Research in
our bi-annual University of Edinburgh Journals reveals that you are only our
second patron! In the autumn of 1952 HRH the Duke of Edinburgh was one of
our Honorary Presidents; however, at the following AGM on the successful
motion of William V Stevens, the father of Bridget, my predecessor as
President, His Royal Highness accepted the approach to become Patron of
the Association, a new office.
‘At our Golden Jubilee Dinner in July 1974 in the Upper Library the
principal guest was our Patron and the photograph from nearly forty
years ago is on display this evening. The father of Cecily Giles, one of our
Honorary Presidents, was for many years Journal Editor and likewise with
Bridget’s father, before he became President. Dynastic succession seems to
be the tradition of the Association. This is true elsewhere in the University
with the three Monro Professors of Anatomy and two father and son pairs of
University Librarians!
‘Originally our title was the Edinburgh University Alumnus Association,
i.e. open to anyone who had been a student here, something still enshrined
in our constitution. ‘Furnish the University with financial support’ was part
of the message from the Rector, Stanley Baldwin, at our inauguration in 1924.
That, I suspect, has been done very much by individual members rather than
the Association, whose role in keeping its members positively and warmly
28 University of Edinburgh Journal 46: 1 (June 2013)
in touch with the University has helped make them receptive to approaches
for support from the Development and Alumni Office.
‘At this point may I compliment Isobel Mieras, sister of our Vice-President,
David Lamb, for the lovely clàrsach music, enlivening the evening.
‘Looking to the future, e-mail is transforming communication with
our members and there is much the Association can share with both the
University’s General Council and the Development and Alumni Office. On
a local front we are actively promoting joint events, such as the Film Night
with the various Friends bodies: Edinburgh University Library, St Cecilia’s
Hall and the Talbot Rice Gallery.
‘Patron, thank you for accepting the Association’s invitation and
graciously joining us here tonight.’
Professor Sir Timothy O’Shea, Principal of the University, also gave a brief
speech of welcome. The Patron graciously replied.
Members of the Association acted as group leaders and presented members and
guests to the Patron. They have kindly provided the following brief observations on
the occasion:
Professor Ian Campbell
I
learned a lot from our evening with the Chancellor. First, I learned
how well the University of Edinburgh can rise to such occasions, with
splendid rooms and excellent catering arrangements. Second, I was
forcibly reminded what an interesting and valuable chance it is to meet the
Association’s members in groups and as individuals, and we had plenty of
time as there was a large group for the Chancellor to pass round. And third,
how utterly professional and yet humanly welcoming the Chancellor proved
as she worked her way unweariedly round us all, a chance to talk to every
individual, interest in everything that the group leader had to say about the
group and about its members. And it was done without an eye on the clock,
and yet to time, then it was off to Holyroodhouse and a formal dinner.
It was a chance to catch up with many members of the Association, now
retired but still active in support of the University, and to meet many more.
The Graduates’ Association is much more than the readership of the Journal,
and their presence made for a most rewarding evening.
Mrs Lorna Henderson
T
he Reception for our new Patron, HRH The Princess Royal, has been
one of the highlights of 2013. It was striking how she responded
immediately, and with interest, to everyone she met. To speak
meaningfully to around seventy guests, in just over an hour, is quite an
achievement! It was an honour to introduce to her such interesting people,
all of whom happily responded to her lively enthusiasm, charm, and sense
of humour. What was really impressive was our Patron’s ability to tune
University of Edinburgh Journal 46: 1 (June 2013) 29
in so quickly to each group, all from different fields, but all supporters of
Edinburgh University and the aims of the Graduates’ Association. We found
it a delight that Her Royal Highness seemed to be thoroughly enjoying the
Reception. It was also a great pleasure to hear her gracious, impromptu,
response to President Ritchie Walker’s address of welcome. A wonderful
evening! Haste ye back, Ma’am!
Mr Alan Johnston
I
have been fortunate to meet HRH The Princess Royal on previous
occasions, and have always been impressed not only by her friendly
informality, but her considerable knowledge of, and interest in, the
Organisation in question and its priorities.
The time she spent with us at our Graduates’ Association Reception in
February was no exception to this, and indeed further reinforced it. In relation
to The University of Edinburgh, I believe that she is very conscious of the
role and commitment of her father, HRH Prince Philip, as our Chancellor
for more than 50 years; and joked that she did not expect to match his
length of service! In meeting our Members and Guests, she was particularly
interested in the detail of their continuing involvement with the University,
and was pleased to have the opportunity to recognise and support this. It
was particularly noticeable to me, as I introduced her to others, that she
quickly found areas of common interest to encourage a relaxed conversation,
but with substance, such as the role of sport in communities, which she
discussed with some young graduates and guests. She quickly spotted my
lack of knowledge of horse riding when I attempted to contribute to the quite
technical conversation she had on the topic with my daughter — but I was
scolded with humour!
I was left in no doubt that she will continue to help the Graduates’
Association achieve its aims and is pleased to do so. We should continue to
seek appropriate opportunities for this.
Mr David Lamb
T
his happy event was much enjoyed by all taking part. Our Patron was
most gracious and involved, in taking the chance to speak briefly to
virtually all our members who attended, after the introductions by
our President, and the Group Leaders. HRH The Princes Royal seemed
relaxed and to be enjoying the event greatly, to the extent of her making an
brief, almost unexpected, but very pertinent and engaging, response to the
comments from the Principal and our President, Ritchie Walker.
Continued on Page 35
30 University of Edinburgh Journal 46: 1 (June 2013)
Photographs of the Reception
1
1
2
2
University of Edinburgh Journal 46: 1 (June 2013) 31
Photographs of the Reception
!
!
"
"
32 University of Edinburgh Journal 46: 1 (June 2013)
Photographs of the Reception
!
!
"
"
University of Edinburgh Journal 46: 1 (June 2013) 33
Photographs of the Reception
!
!
"
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34 University of Edinburgh Journal 46: 1 (June 2013)
Continued from Page 30
Mr Iain MacLaren
T
he Reception was a very special occasion which will long be remembered
by the 90 members and guests who assembled that evening in the Georgian
Gallery, Old College. Because of our Patron’s other commitments in
Edinburgh, the Reception presented problems of organisation and timing, but
the arrangements planned by President Ritchie Walker and Assistant Secretary
Joan Meikle worked perfectly, and the Association is deeply grateful for all that
they did to ensure the total success of a notable landmark event in our history.
HRH The Princess Royal had said that she hoped to meet as many as possible
of our members participating in the Reception, and in order to facilitate this the
company was divided into nine groups of ten, each of which had a designated
leader. On her arrival our Patron was formally greeted by the President, who
guided her to each group in turn and introduced its leader to her. Group leaders
presented individual members of their groups to our Patron and this enabled
her to converse briefly with most of them in little more than one hour.
All of us who had the honour of meeting and talking with HRH were as
delighted by her wonderfully relaxed and gracious manner as by her obvious
enthusiasm for and emotional involvement with our University. We hope
fervently that we may be privileged to enjoy her presence at many more
gatherings of the Graduates’ Association.
Mr Jack McLaren
M
y guest Sandra Elgin, Grants and Project Support Officer with
Edinburgh City Council, and I thoroughly enjoyed the Evening
Reception for our Patron, HRH The Princess Royal, in the beautiful
surroundings of the Georgian Gallery. The tone for the evening was set by HRH
who seemed to have enjoyed meeting all those present. The speech at the end
by HRH expressing her hope to have further involvement with Graduates’
Association rounded off a very successful evening. The organisers and in
particular the Group Leaders ensured a successful evening by all their efforts.
Professor John Mavor
H
RH seemed to enter the Gallery unannounced and without fuss. She
proceeded to ‘work’ the groups around the room in a relaxed fashion,
so much so that those of us in last position believed that she could
not reach us before time ran out. Remarkably, a combined effort by our Patron
and our President led to her eventually speaking with us, in an unhurried
and engaging way, as for the previous groups. We were left with an enduring
impression of a lady who had made every effort to engage with representatives
of the Association, and we all felt that the visit was a considerable success
because of her genuine interest and involvement.
University of Edinburgh Journal 46: 1 (June 2013) 35
Dr Joyce Richardson
T
his was a memorable occasion. HRH The Princess Royal made a point
of greeting each member of our group which included John Murrie,
Avril Crosbie, Anne and Michael Munro. In particular I introduced
her to Jean McCallum whose father Sir James Learmonth had been asked
to operate on King George VI at Buckingham Palace in 1949. This led to a
discussion by our Patron of the contribution of Scottish medicine in France
in the First World War. I also had the opportunity to remind her of her visit
to open the Nutrition Research Unit at Yorkhill Hospital in Glasgow almost
20 years ago. This identified a time lapse that we both found difficult to
believe.
Bridget Stevens
I
remember two things in particular about this occasion. First, the
knowledge which HRH displayed about the history of university
continuing education in the UK. Having been involved in this field for
most of my working life, I thought I knew it all but our royal guest was
able to tell me about the first ‘adult school’ which was said to have begun in
Nottingham in 1798 to meet the needs of younger women in lace and hosiery
factories. I hadn’t been aware of this. Protocol for royal visits suggests that it
is the Visitor who will ask the questions but on this occasion I found myself
asking questions of HRH — and being impressed by the authority with
which she answered them. I was also touched by the gracious reference she
made in her end-of-visit remarks to the dynastic nature of the Graduates’
Association and to a photograph of the Association’s Golden Jubilee Dinner
in 1974, which had been attended by her father, HRH Prince Philip, Duke of
Edinburgh, who had preceded her as Patron and also by my father, William
V Stevens, then Honorary Secretary and Journal Editor, who would later
become President, as I myself did 26 years later.
Photograph Identification
1. Andrew & Valerie Calder, Margaret Allan, Patron, Iain MacLaren
2. Ritchie Walker, Bridget Stevens, Patron
3. David Lamb, Margaret Kidd, Patron, Lucinda Mackay, Stuart & Shiela Monro
4. Jean McCallum, Patron, Joyce Richardson, Ritchie Walker
5. Sarah Johnston, John Smyth, Patron, Alan Johnston
6. Ritchie Walker, Lorna Henderson, Patron, James Henderson
7. Jack McLaren, Patron, Matilda Mitchell, Sam Trett, Rebecca Carwood
8. John Mavor, Patron, Valerie Robertson, Susan Mavor, Ian Maudlin, Sue Wellburn
(All photographs courtesy of Douglas Roberston Photography and used with
permission from the University Protocol Office)
36 University of Edinburgh Journal 46: 1 (June 2013)
Summerhall: Arts Centre of Excellence
text by Iain Gale, photographs supplied by Paul Gillon
Iain Gale (MA 1982) is a journalist, art critic, author, and editor of the National Trust
for Scotland’s magazine Scotland in Trust. Paul Gillon is the Communications &
Marketing Director at Summerhall.
I
t once housed one of the best known
and respected veterinary teaching
hospitals in the world (which
continues at Easter Bush on the outskirts
of Edinburgh). Now, however, in one
of the most exciting and innovatory
projects of its kind in recent years,
the original Royal (Dick) Veterinary
College has been transformed into
a different centre of excellence.
Summerhall, as it is now known after
the title of the original Georgian house
on this site, opened in late 2011 as an
arts centre with a difference. Privately
funded, since then it has staged over a
thousand performances and more than
thirty exhibitions, winning no less than
eighteen prestigious awards. It has also
embraced new technology by launching
Tech Cube, a business incubator for hitech companies, housed in the college’s
famous high-rise block.
It might surprise some of those familiar with its original purpose that
the transition from university veterinary school to innovative arts centre has
been accomplished without any remarkable structural changes and this is a
key part of its ethos. It was felt vital that the essential character of the building
should be preserved, with many of the rooms retaining their original fixtures
and features and simply being adapted to a different role. It is perhaps symbolic
of this sensitive transition that the familiar figure of Morris Knight, who looked
after the building when it was the old ‘Dick Vet’, should still be seen now every
day in his new role doing the same for Summerhall.
Former students will be intrigued to discover that the anatomy lecture
theatre makes the ideal space for visual art video displays, book festival
talks or small theatrical productions. Similarly, the Demonstration Room is
now a theatre and exhibition space which last year hosted an award winning
performance of La Merda, while the Library, with its attached café has seen
exhibitions by world-renowned and emerging artists such as David Michalek
and Stephen Thorpe. The Dissection Room has echoed to the sounds of jazz
legend Archie Shepp. The Main Hall theatre space showed the award-winning
Songs of Lear and a critically-acclaimed operetta Dr Quimpugh’s Compendium
of Peculiar Afflictions from composer Martin Ward (Royal Opera, ENB) and
University of Edinburgh Journal 46: 1 (June 2013) 37
librettist Phil Porter (Royal
Opera, RSC). Other shows
have included the fascinating
V&A exhibition From Gaga to
Gormley, and a retrospective of
performance art guru Carolee
Schneemann. In addition,
the world famous Richard
Demarco Art Archive is now
housed here in an exhibition
space covering two floors of
the main building’s south
wing.
One of the most astounding
transformations has been that
of what was the small animal hospital into what is now the Royal Dick Bar,
a stylish watering hole and restaurant. Here too the nature of the building
is remembered with cabinets displaying animal skeletons being among the
eclectic furnishings.
These are still early days and
Summerhall will continue to develop
and evolve. With plans in place to
re-address its history as a centre of
education the complex has recently
seen several rooms converted into
one open plan area to be used as an
education and performance space
for children.
This is only the start of a
long term project to create what
promises to be the most dynamic
arts centre in the UK, encompassing
visual art, theatre, music, dance,
literature, education, film, libraries
and science. It is, surely, a classic
example of how inspirational
vision and private investment can
really make a difference and at the
same time preserve the dignity and
history of an old friend.
For further information on Summerhall, visit:
www.summerhall.co.uk.
38 University of Edinburgh Journal 46: 1 (June 2013)
(Summerhall Café Interior)
(Summerhall Dick Bar Interior)
(Photographs courtesy of Paul Gillon)
University of Edinburgh Journal 46: 1 (June 2013) 39
Ian J Fleming (1915-2012): Agricultural
Historian, Teacher and Manager
by John Fleming and Isla Smith
His son and daughter, John Fleming and Isla Smith, pay tribute to their father; a proud
and committed family man of firm beliefs, with a wide range of interests who loved
Scotland. He devoted much of his energy to recording the changes in agricultural and
industrial life which he had witnessed in his lifetime. John, a graduate in Chemistry
from St Andrews, has retired after 38 years in the chemicals industry, most of those
years spent abroad, and now lives in Edinburgh. Isla, a graduate of Heriot-Watt, lives
south of Oxford after her recent retirement from her position as Development Director
at Keble College, Oxford.
I
an Fleming was the oldest professional agricultural engineer in the country,
and a member of the Institute of Agricultural Engineers for well over sixty
years. His main legacy is to be found in the National Museum of Rural Life
at Kittochside, near East Kilbride, in their collection of vintage agricultural
machinery and the presentation there of agricultural heritage.
Ian’s association with the land dated back to the mid-1920s, when he
returned from school in London to spend holidays in Blairgowrie, where he
quickly gravitated to one of the nearby farms. There was never enough money
for him to become a farmer, but he achieved the next best thing, a career that
was never far from the land. In retirement, looking back over seventy years
or more, Ian was conscious that he had seen and been part of the enormous
social change in rural life, as advances in mechanisation and in plant and
animal breeding led to undreamt-of increases in agricultural productivity. He
had known farming from the 1920s, when it was worked exclusively by horse,
with all the infrastructure and manpower that this entailed. Then, in the 1930s,
he had seen the arrival of the first agricultural machines, including the first
combine harvester to arrive in Scotland, now part of the Kittochside collection.
In post-war years, he had sold combines and other machines throughout
Scotland, including the Claas combine, which he regarded as consistently one
of the best. With this lifelong connection to farming, he knew many of the farms
in Scotland and their farmers, or their descendants, and where might be found
this or that interesting machine tucked away in the corner of their steading.
Ian felt that there was an important story here to be told, both in words, and
through the machines that had made that story.
He also researched and published the stories of a number of groundbreaking Scottish engineering inventions. Sadly, these had in common that,
although they had been invented in Scotland, commercial ineptitude, excessive
costs of defending intellectual property or the lack of development funding led
to their being exploited elsewhere, with little if any economic benefit accruing
to the original Scottish inventor. Bell’s reaper in the 19th century was an early
example, bringing little and only belated benefit to the Reverend Patrick Bell,
who did not take out a patent but felt it should be for the benefit of mankind.
40 University of Edinburgh Journal 46: 1 (June 2013)
Several Americans felt differently, and Bell’s invention formed the basis for
McCormick’s and other reapers in the United States. In the 20th century, singlesleeve valve engines based on the Burt-McCollum patents were perfected in
a number of radial aero piston engines used in World War II, but these never
enriched the inventors. SSV engines powered Argyll cars made immediately
before and just after WWI, and Scotland’s only indigenous tractor, the Glasgow
tractor. Neither the Argyll nor the Glasgow companies survived the 1920s.
Ian was born on 19 March 1915
in London, the only child of John
(Jack) Fleming and Kathleen Burns.
Jack, the most talented son of a
large Edinburgh family, qualified
as a chartered accountant, and
had become Secretary of British
Dominions Insurance before he was
30. Kathleen and Jack met while
she was teaching at the Edinburgh
College of Art, introduced by one
of Jack’s older sisters, a pupil of
Kathleen’s. They were married on
4 October 1913, and set up house
in London, where Ian was born.
Tragically, Jack contracted TB and
died when Ian was only 18 months
old, leaving Kathleen to bring Ian
up on her own.
Ian went to University College School in Hampstead, remaining there as
a boarder where Captain Scott-Lowe ran the boarding house, forever known
as ‘Scalleys’; Ian survived to be the last of the ‘Scalleywags’. As boarder and
housemaster, Ian and Scalley had a less than harmonious relationship, but, in
the geography classroom, they developed considerable mutual respect. Ian
played 1st XV rugby for UCS as hooker, was CSM of the OTC, and captained the
shooting eight. He writes of hair-raising drives from Hampstead to Bisley, 40
miles in under an hour. One might not need to look any further for the reason
for his taking three attempts to pass his ‘Matric’ (you had to pass everything at
one sitting then), English being the problem each time. By then, he was so well
versed in all the other subjects that he achieved distinctions in most of them!
Life was very far from easy for the single mother and her son, and from
this upbringing, Ian was forever careful about money. In the Army, during the
war, he found it simplest just to be teetotal. He graduated from the University
of Edinburgh in 1937 with a BSc in Agriculture. Again, he played rugby, denied
a blue by a skiing injury, and was a founder member of Edinburgh University
Ski Club in late 1936.
After graduating, he joined first the Institute of Animal Genetics, where he
made a significant study of the life cycle of the sheep tick on a farm in Ettrick,
then moved to the East of Scotland College of Agriculture to teach agricultural
engineering. Though in a reserved occupation, he joined up in 1940, and the
Army found the perfect place for him, first in RASC, then, after its formation, in
University of Edinburgh Journal 46: 1 (June 2013) 41
Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. Qualified as a Radio Mechanic and
as an Armament Artificer, he spent much of his war around the Home Counties,
preparing radio vans for Russia and tanks for the Normandy invasion.
During the war, the Duke of Buccleuch opened his town house in central
London as a social centre for Scots in the services. There, the eyes of a young
REME corporal were drawn to the best dancer on the floor, Margaret Watson;
they were married in Dundee on 22 May 1943. After receiving his commission
in 1944, Ian was posted to India for the final year before VE-day. He returned
home greatly smitten with this amazing country, his fascination evident from
his detailed memoir of this posting and from the letters to Margaret and his
mother. All his days, at school, university, in the army and later, he was a
prolific correspondent; letters arrived with metronomic regularity.
Ian was fortunate in being demobbed quickly, in late 1945. Back in
Edinburgh, he picked up where he had left off, at the East of Scotland College,
re-engaged on his pre-war pay! With a wife to look after and a family on the
way, he quickly realised that there was no future there, and that he had to make
a move. John was born in June 1946, followed by Isla in October 1949.
He joined Scottish Agricultural Industries, who were then going into the
agricultural machinery business. Working at Rosehall outside Haddington,
he secured the Scottish dealership for Claas combines, doubling his sales each
year for the first three years. SAI moved him to take charge of William Reid
in Forres, and a staff of about one hundred. Besides the machinery dealership
(International Harvester in this case) and repairs, Reid’s supplied grain
handling and dairy equipment, and also had a millwright’s business catering
to the distilleries of the Moray coast. Responding to the huge quantity of fallen
timber after the gales of early 1953, William Reid designed an excellent portable
sawmill, many of which were exported, and a few of which survive today.
Faced with the need in the late 1950s to replace their fertiliser plant in Leith,
SAI decided to dispose of their machinery dealerships. Given the choice of
staying with machinery or with SAI, Ian opted for the latter, which obliged a
move to Aberdeen, followed quite quickly by a return to Edinburgh, where he
took charge of an agricultural work-study service offered by SAI, and later, of
their bulk fertiliser spreading service. Unfortunately, the late change in career
direction had left Ian in somewhat of a dead-end at SAI, and he left in 1970,
still with a decade left to work. He spent his final ten years of work as training
adviser to the agricultural machinery trade, but this involved reporting to some
unimaginative individuals, with whom he had little in common.
Ian was active in many bodies, contributing much to the four hundredth
anniversary celebrations of the foundation of the University of Edinburgh in
1983, and to the centenary in 1993 of the Scottish Philatelic Society, of which he
was President in 1978. He was a co-author of Britain’s First Chair of Agriculture
at the University of Edinburgh (1790-1990), produced for the celebrations of the
bicentenary of the Chair of Agriculture in 1990. He was a staunch supporter
of the University of Edinburgh Graduates’ Association, contributing many
interesting articles to the Journal, and for a time was Secretary of the Edinburgh
Section.
Above all, he wanted to leave as his legacy a record of his story of farming
as he had seen it evolve from the 1920s onwards. He was Joint Secretary of the
42 University of Edinburgh Journal 46: 1 (June 2013)
Scottish Country Life Museum Trust and also its Technical Adviser. When, in
2001, the National Museum of Rural Life at Kittochside opened, and absorbed
the collection of the Scottish Country Life Museum, Ian became an enthusiastic
contributor to the merged museum. He scoured the country for examples of
agricultural machines of historic interest, and ensured that these could be
acquired for the museum and restored as closely as possible to their original
condition.
He bought his first computer at the age of 86, and learned how to use it,
though he was never totally sure of the difference between a folder and a file!
His time at the keyboard only came to a halt when his hands stopped doing
what the brain told them to. Unfortunately, he came just too late to personal
computing to use the internet. Who knows what he might have achieved with
access to that resource? His computer files have been of inestimable value in
compiling this article.
In retirement, Ian and Margaret were fearless travellers, to India, returning
to a place where he had spent a leave in 1945, Siberia, cruising down the River
Yenesei, Russia, a canal cruise from St Petersburg to Moscow, Turkey, the wild
east of Anatolia, China, Jamaica and not least the USA where he was so proud
of his (unpaid) speeding ticket from the Montana Highway Patrol!
For someone brought up entirely by his mother, he was determined to
provide a secure and balanced environment for his family. Early holidays
centred on the west coast of Scotland and generally involved much walking
and fishing. In the 1960s, Dormobile holidays extended the horizons of his
children, with great distances travelled, quite intrepidly for those days.
He revelled in the arrival of his four grandchildren and took a great interest
in all their exploits and derived such pleasure from watching their growth into
adulthood. When his great-grandchildren appeared, his sense of the continuity
of the family gave him enormous satisfaction. Encouragement of the young
was not merely restricted to his own family; he was immensely hospitable and
loved it when people dropped in unannounced. Since his death, many have
written of doors opened or suggestions made which made a difference to their
lives.
St Andrew’s Night Dinner
St Leonard’s Hall, Pollock Halls,
Holyrood Park Road, Edinburgh
Saturday 30 November 2013
6.15pm-11.00pm
Guest Speaker ­— Owen Dudley Edwards
(For further information, see Autumn Programme of Events)
University of Edinburgh Journal 46: 1 (June 2013) 43
Reviews
‘We are reviewing the situation…
Fagin in Lionel Bart’s Oliver based on Oliver Twist: Charles Dickens
Scottish Medicine: An Illustrated History. Helen Dingwall, David Hamilton, Iain
Macintyre, Morrice McCrae, & David Wright. Edinburgh: Birlinn, 2011, pp. xviii + 286, illustrated. £30.00 9781780270180
T
his is a landmark book; a coffee-table book, certainly, but nane the waur
o’ that. In fact, its being a coffee-table book should keep it where it
belongs, right in the eye of the family and the public. It is the latest
in what has become an informal series of such books, including Duncan
Macmillan’s Scottish Art 1460-1990 (Mainstream, 1990), John Purser’s Scotland’s
Music (Mainstream, 1992), and William Milliken’s and Sam Bridgewater’s
Flora Celtica (Birlinn, 2004). Well written, beautifully illustrated and elegantly
published, they provide the general reader with excellent introductions on
different aspects of Scotland’s heritage. To date, Mainstream and Birlinn
share the honours.
The early sections to 1850 are a refreshing revisitation of generations of
medical historical research and writing, but the finest and most interesting
sections are the last two, Intervention by the State and Health and Health Care
from the Mid-twentieth Century which invite readers to own the book for
themselves: ‘I was there and saw that or, if I wasn’t, my gran certainly was’
is the feeling that brings this book home to the Scottish reader. The special
box on the medical novelist A J Cronin, author of the stories that became Dr
Finlay’s Casebook, is especially welcome. All credit to the authors for including
a short, but perhaps too short, section on Complementary and Alternative
Medicine, especially herbalism, chiropractice and homeopathy; like them or
loathe them, the history of medicine cannot ignore them. There is no index
for ‘quack doctors’ as such, but they are there too. The design of the book
and quality of illustrations are stunning, and match the quality and content
of the text.
Peter B Freshwater
Edinburgh’s Colonies: Housing the Workers. Richard Rodger. Argyll Publishing,
Glendaruel, 2011, Pp.128 (paperback), £11.99. 9781906134785
G
ardez l’eau! has become something of a running joke when the
subject turns to times past in Edinburgh’s Old Town. However,
without wishing to be too po-faced, it was no joke for those that had
to live there. After 1767 this did not tend to include the middle classes who
abandoned it in their droves for the spacious environs of the New Town
(a situation not dissimilar to the Caucasian exodus from post war inner
city America). The less well heeled who took their place faced even greater
squalour as venal landlords partitioned the apartments vacated by the
departing petit bourgeoisie to maximize their investment.
44 University of Edinburgh Journal 46: 1 (June 2013)
Plus ça change and all that but nigh on a century later some working
class heroes had the bright idea of building affordable houses for the likes of
mechanics, masons and tradesmen in general on cheaply acquired land on
the outskirts of Edinburgh. Dubbed the ‘Colonies’, a name originally given
due to their peripheral location, this soon became something of a misnomer
as the burgeoning city engulfed them as its net spread ever wider but the
name stuck.
Richard Rodger’s book tells of the history of the company that built
these now iconic dwellings: a group of local builders collectively known as
the Edinburgh Cooperative Building Company (ECBC). If it all sounds a bit
William Morris that’s because, in the beginning at least, it most certainly was.
Inspired by the traditional fishing village style quarters with their outside
stairs and barley twist railings, the Colonies’ design combined functionality
with a pleasing aesthetic. They offered solidity, built to last and all for £160.00
or thereabouts; the ECBC even arranged the mortgages, again at preferential
rates.
Alas, financial pressures dictated that the dream of providing quality
houses for working class folk did not endure; the ECBC went upmarket as
property prices soared such that long before their liquidation in 1954 they
had become just another company whose overriding concern was to provide
dividends to their shareholders. For all that they did leave a lasting legacy.
The author reflects the subject matter in that it is expertly crafted, pleasing
on the eye and will undoubtedly remain a definitive text on the subject for
many years to come. A real eye-opener.
Rod Johnson
The Influence of D F McKenzie; edited by Alistair McCleery and Benjamin A
Brabon. Edinburgh: Merchiston Publishing, 2010, pp. viii + 94. Paperback.
Gratis; available from Merchiston Publishing, Scottish Centre of the Book,
Edinburgh Napier University, with a handling fee of £5.00. 9780955356155.
T
his book celebrates the philosophy of the late Don McKenzie, Professor
of English at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand and, later,
of Bibliography and Textual Criticism at Oxford. He was well known and
much respected throughout the world of studies of the histories of the book, of
printing and publishing and of libraries insisting, as he did, that these studies
should be conducted as a social science.
The book opens with an analytical appreciation of McKenzie’s life and
achievements by David McKitterick that first appeared in the Proceedings of the
British Academy in 2002, shortly after McKenzie’s death. It works as a keynote
paper, setting the context and framework for the essays that follow. Peter D
McDonald examines censorship and control of publishing in South Africa
during the apartheid era. Sydney J Shep looks at McKenzie’s review of
the clash of oral and written cultures involved in Europeans’ colonisation
of New Zealand and Australia. David Finkelstein explores the need for
historians of the book to engage with digital images and media. Alistair
McCleery assesses the full bibliographical implications of different editions
of James Joyce’s Ulysses.
University of Edinburgh Journal 46: 1 (June 2013) 45
These are four essential foci on aspects of the study of media as social
phenomena, the essential life blood of centres for the study of the book
and its history. They inform the teaching and research programmes of the
Scottish Centre of the Book at Edinburgh Napier University and, in many
aspects, of Edinburgh University’s own Centre for the History of the Book.
These excellent, interesting and well-written essays are useful background
reading for anyone interested in the history of the book and book trades.
Peter B Freshwater
An Eye on the Street, Glasgow 1968 Photographs by David Peat, Edinburgh,
Renaissance Press, 2012, pp. 108. 9780954396138
H
ere are two small but extraordinary books which offer unqualified
pleasure and enlightenment. Produced by Lucina Prestige’s admirable
Renaissance Press, they focus on different arts—poetry, visual art, and
music in one, photography in the other—but both are delightful and rewarding
works of art in themselves.
An Eye on the Street is a pleasure of a different kind. Beautifully produced
and designed by Lucina Prestige once again, it is a collection of photographs of
Glasgow taken by David Peat in 1968. An award-winning documentary filmmaker and cinematographer, Peat died in 2012. These previously unpublished
photographs were taken when he was a young man of twenty-one creating
a portfolio of his work. They focus on the poverty-stricken areas of the
Gorbals, Tradeston, Maryhill, and Cowcaddens. Inevitably these amazing
black and white pictures evoke a Glasgow that was fast disappearing. This
is a Glasgow of urban wastelands and squalour, of dark tenements, messy
back-courts, broken windows, crumbling buildings, rubbish-strewn streets,
graffiti-covered walls, and shabby, run-down shops. Almost every image
here suggests poverty, neglect, hardship, and deprivation. But despite this,
the book’s impact is not at all depressing. The children we see here living
and playing in the grim streets—and the camera’s focus is almost exclusively
on the children—seem full of life and energy. However depressing their
circumstances, they seem determined to survive. These great photographs
show us a Glasgow of the past, but they have lessons for the here and now.
Buy this book and see for yourself.
Andrew Hook
Through the Letterbox A Book of Haiku by George Bruce Illustrated by Elizabeth
Blackadder, Edinburgh, Renaissance Press, 2011, pp. 168. 0954396103
9780954396107
T
hrough the Letterbox A Book of Haiku consists of the collected haiku poems
of the Scottish poet George Bruce which he began writing in 1971, and
went on producing right up until his death at the age of ninety-three in
2002. Adding immeasurably to the reader’s pleasure are the fine illustrations
by the Scottish painter, Elizabeth Blackadder, alongside or around each one.
Her deft and delicate drawings match exactly the spare beauty of the haikus’
46 University of Edinburgh Journal 46: 1 (June 2013)
words. The Scottish composer John Maxwell Geddes rounds off the book with
a musical setting for ‘Haiku Envoi’, Bruce’s final poem.
Each haiku, the poet tells us, consists of three lines and seventeen syllables.
Collected here are around two hundred examples of the form on almost every
possible theme: people, poets, painters, places, musicians, cats, fishes, nature,
the seasons, art and philosophy. All life’s instances are here:
What is a haiku?
A haiku—a single breath
that breathes with the river
or
The perspective of the haiku
is lean, no fat.
Multum in parvo
or
Blow wind blow, through
the letter-box. It rattles
with a shout here comes Spring
Add in the art of Elizabeth Blackadder on every page, and this book becomes a
letter-box of pleasures.
Andrew Hook
James Hogg, Contributions to Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine: Volume 2,
1829-1835. Thomas C Richardson. Edinburgh University Press, 2012,
pp. lvii + 509. Hardback £80. 9780748624898
T
his second volume completes the comprehensive record of James
Hogg’s involvement with Blackwood’s Magazine undertaken by Tom
Richardson for the Stirling / South Carolina Research Edition of the
Collected Works [S/SC]. In all, the two volumes contain carefully edited
versions of almost 100 items, stretching from short songs in the Noctes
Ambrosianae series to novella-length stories. At the same time, the present
volume excludes some twenty contributions which were reproduced in
different collections within Hogg’s lifetime, notably The Shepherd’s Calendar
(1829) and A Queer Book (1832), editions of which appeared at the onset of
the Collected Edition’s publications in 1995. This decision not to duplicate
material within the same collected edition is commendable, and arguably
contrasts favourably with another S/SC compilation, Contributions to
Annuals and Gift-Books (2006),which replicates texts and commentary
from the S/SC edition of A Queer Book. Conversely, the present volume
includes a number of items which, though not accepted by Blackwood’s,
were originally intended by Hogg for publication there, and subsequently
failed to find a suitable outlet in their original form within his lifetime.
In two instances, ‘The P and the Q’ and ‘The Miser ’s Grave’, dual print/
manuscript versions are given, on the grounds that the Blackwood’s printed
text significantly altered Hogg’s original intention. All in all, the most
careful consideration has gone into this volume’s orchestration of materials,
informed throughout (as its editor would be first to acknowledge) by the
ongoing researches that has supported S/SC from its inception, not least
those by Gillian Hughes, the General Editor for this volume and its 2008
University of Edinburgh Journal 46: 1 (June 2013) 47
companion. The result is something less while at same time far greater
than the ‘Contributions’ title might immediately suggest.
Somewhat surprisingly, perhaps, the period covered by this volume
proves to have been one of the most fertile in Hogg’s engagement with
the Magazine, notwithstanding the large rift with William Blackwood
that occurred late in 1831. Underlying this is a larger shift by Hogg to
miscellaneous writing in the mid-1820s, itself buoyed up by the burgeoning
production of periodical literature at that time. More especially, the
phenomenal rise of a new species of keepsakes and annuals in London,
with their inexhaustible appetite for short pieces by celebrity authors,
considerably expanded Hogg’s range of opportunities, allowing him
to operate more as a professional rather than patronised contributor. In
fact, as Professor Richardson’s Introduction amply illustrates, one of the
main causes of friction in Hogg’s dealings with the Magazine during this
period was a suspicion that Blackwood was unreasonably holding on to
copy which could be profitably used elsewhere. In an open situation, with
its Scottish base, wide range of contents, and tolerance of less decorous
materials, Blackwood’s till the early 1830s clearly constituted a first port of
call for Hogg’s writing, and it is there evidently that he found the greatest
room for expression. The variety of narrative voices employed, forms of
interaction with the reader, and range of genres and topics covered, are all
remarkable, betraying little if any diminution of the skill and ingenuity
now more usually recognised in ‘major ’ works such as Confessions of a
Justified Sinner. The embodiment of this material as a whole offers the
opportunity for a continuing re-alignment in the critical evaluation of
Hogg’s work.
Both in the establishment and annotation of texts, the scholarship shown
here is of the highest order. Where the Blackwood’s printed article provides
the base text, Richardson is astute in correcting errors of the press, if
perhaps a trifle conservative in eschewing larger conjectural emendations.
His handling of manuscripts is equally well-guided, informed at it is by
a comprehensive knowledge of the materials available, and by an ability
to distinguish different categories in Hogg’s production, including early
drafts, fair copy, and recycled work. In following a manuscript source, care
is taken to preserve Hogg’s original idiosyncratic spelling, a policy which
to an outside eye might seem to bring mixed results, though which once
embarked on needs to be followed to the letter to avoid subjective choices
being made. Annotation is full and exceptionally well-informed, though
on a few occasions veering towards the overlong. In particular, directions
to consult the Oxford DNB after already fairly full accounts of relatively
well-known literary figures might seem in excess of requirements for most
likely readers. On the principle that it is better to have too much rather
than too little, however, Edinburgh University Press is to be commended
for allowing so much room to individual editors. The same goes for the
Collected Edition as a whole, which reaches its 26th volume with this
work, but without so far declaring any endpoint in its listings.
48 University of Edinburgh Journal 46: 1 (June 2013)
Peter Garside
CDs & DVDs
The Definitive West Highland Film Collection (Panamint Cinema, available
from Abercorn Schoolhouse, by Newton EH52 6PZ; www.panamint.co.uk
PDC 2056
A
misleading cover picture perhaps, the train perhaps suggesting a
trainspotter’s collection. And, to be fair, it is that in generous measure.
But much more. Four films, West Highland, A Line for all Seasons, West of
Inverness, The Line to Skye, each different, each enlivened by some of Scotland’s
most majestic scenery, Rannoch Moor, majestic loch after loch, desolate glens,
scattered villages, Fort William with a glimpse of its vanished station, Inverness
station before its ‘modernisation’, even Queen Street in Glasgow with the
cobbled streets strangely empty of motor traffic, but not of the trams which
ground round George Square, the first thing to greet the arriving traveller.
There is a great deal in West Highland which, despite its black and white,
is unforgettably nostalgic to a generation that knew corridor coaches, the old
sleepers and the old diners, and above all the panting of the Black Fives and the
B1s and the oldsters from the companies that predated the LMS and the LNER
which still patrolled the rails for which they had been designed. Hairstyles,
clothes, manners of travelling (did people really wear hats to travel by train?),
children lifted up on to the train from the trackside miles from the nearest
station to go to school, fish trains, aluminium trains of bauxite wagons, freight
train after freight train all forgotten today when the roads have swept that
traffic clean. The other films feature a lot of colour, a lot of diesel (though much
even of that footage is of railway history), and a little of the strangled vowels
of commentary which grate on modern ears, though West Highland is graced
by much commentary from those who lived and worked on it, and some quite
wonderful unaccompanied Gaelic singing. A DVD to settle down to, to play
right through, and to marvel at the good fortune that the Beeching axe which
was poised over these wonderful railway lines never fell.
Ian Campbell
Gaudeamus Igitur! Music for Graduation. Edinburgh University Singers; John
Kitchen conductor and organist, Wayne Weaver assistant conductor. Edinburgh:
Delphian Records, 2009. CD DCD37414. £10.50. Available from the University
of Edinburgh Visitor Centre and Online Shop.
I
t is good to be reminded that St Andrews is not the only singing university
in Scotland. This excellent compilation puts Edinburgh right alongside it.
For those of us whose graduations are receding rapidly into the distant
past, this is an eye- and ear-opener. Then, there was no music except for
Herrick Bunney on the McEwan Hall organ; but he managed to introduce
a light note to a grave occasion by bringing the academic procession to the
platform with ‘When Johnny comes marching home’, better known to us as
‘The animals came in two by two’. Times have changed. Principal Sir Timothy
O’Shea has instigated a greater use of music at graduations, and John Kitchen
and the University Singers have risen to the occasion with a wide range of
music, beginning with the universal academic anthem ‘Gaudeamus igitur’,
University of Edinburgh Journal 46: 1 (June 2013) 49
continuing with songs by Handel, Vaughan Williams and traditional Scottish
tunes to words by Robert Burns, all arranged by John Kitchen — and a superb
choral arranger, he! The great set piece of Parry’s I was glad changes the mood,
leading into more modern settings of traditional songs. Nostalgic classics, ‘A
nightingale sang in Berkeley Square’ arranged by Peter Backhouse and ‘Over
the rainbow’ arranged by Guy Turner, give way to more Scottish songs, and
the collection ends with Richard Rogers’ ‘Blue moon’ and Gershwin’s ‘I got
rhythm’. Handel provides processional and recessional organ music. Those
with an interest in student and college song may be disappointed that only
‘Gaudeamus igitur’ is included. The time is ripe for a revival of many student
songs from a hundred years ago.
The sound of the University Singers is beautifully fresh and clear, just right
for Kitchen’s and others’ arrangements and for the occasion. Like the graduands
and their families listening to it, this music moves and is moving, with joy and
hope for the future.
Peter B Freshwater
Reviewers
Ian Campbell is Professor Emeritus of Scotish and Victorian Literature at the
University of Edinburgh and Review Editor of the Journal.
Peter B Freshwater is former Deputy Librarian at the University of Edinburgh
and Editor of the Journal.
Peter Garside is professor of Bibliography and Textual studies at the University
of Edinburgh and Honorary Fellow of the Centre for the History of the
Book.
Andrew Hook was formerly a member of the University of Edinburgh English
department and Bradley professor of English at the University of Glasgow.
Rod Johnson studied at the University of Edinburgh and now lectures at the
City of Glasgow College.
Easter Bush Campus Tour
Meet at Reception, Teaching Building,
Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies
Thursday 12 September 2013
2.00-4.00pm
(For further information, see Autumn Programme of Events)
50 University of Edinburgh Journal 46: 1 (June 2013)
Appreciations
Professor Susan Manning (1953-2013)
I
n Susan Manning, the field of Literary Studies has lost one of its most brilliant
and inspirational thinkers, and a great friend to colleagues, students and
scholars around the world. Scottish by birth, Susan grew up in Oxfordshire
before starting her immensely distinguished academic career at the University
of Cambridge. After her PhD, she took up a fellowship at Newnham College,
where she wrote her first book, The Puritan-Provincial Vision (Cambridge UP,
1990). This ground-breaking work was the first to allow a full understanding
of the relation between Scottish Calvinism and American Puritanism and was
the start of Susan’s profound engagement with the intellectual currents of
Transatlantic exchanges.
In 1999 Susan moved to Edinburgh to take up the Grierson Chair in
the department of English Literature, and, in 2005, became Director of the
University’s Institute of Advanced Studies in the Humanities. The many
colleagues, postdoctoral students and visiting fellows who passed through
IASH will remember Susan’s great warmth, kindness, genuine interest in all
forms of intellectual life and ability to contribute to them in new and dazzling
ways. She created an academic community in Edinburgh that, in its commitment
to sociability and pioneering intellectual questions, echoed the Scottish
Enlightenment that had been one of
her most abiding interests. Through
her work with the Consortium of
Humanities Centers and Institutes,
and frequent invitations to speak
at conferences, Susan extended this
community internationally, inspiring
the work of colleagues across the
world.
In her second book, Fragments
of Union, published by Palgrave in
2002, Susan began to develop her
ideas about the complex structures
of thought that move between
Scotland and America, addressing
the formation of national memories
and the myths, narratives and
philosophies that run through them.
It is a far-reaching book that only someone of Susan’s depth of knowledge and
fine control of complex ideas could produce. These ideas come to fruition in her
final book, The Poetics of Character, which despite illness and her own exacting
standards, Susan was able to finish before she died and which will appear
with Cambridge. We are fortunate to be left with a book of such great richness,
testimony to an eminent career cut far too short.
Dr Penny Fielding, Head of Department of English Literature
University of Edinburgh Journal 46: 1 (June 2013) 51
G Ross Roy (1924-2013)
M
any in Edinburgh will have noted and regretted the passing of G
Ross Roy whose long and distinguished career at the University of
South Carolina resulted in several strongly Scottish achievements.
Though Ross (as he was universally known) was Canadian in origin, his
academic and personal commitment to Scotland was intense, and in his
department he became the focus of Scottish teaching and research at a time
when such was rare. In his own life, he was an avid and exceptionally
successful collector of books and manuscripts; the results were twofold
in the superb private library he enjoyed showing to visitors (his Burns
collection was unrivalled) and in the collection built up in Columbia, South
Carolina, over decades. It attracted and attracts researchers from all over,
many of them supported by the Ormiston Roy Fellowship he endowed in
memory of his parents.
Ross’s main international impact
was in the journal Studies in Scottish
Literature which he edited (and
with his wife Lucie) produced year
after year, giving many an early
opportunity in their careers to reach
an international audience, a refereed
journal of authority, a wide sweep
of historical coverage, and the
zestful reviewing of Scottish literary
scholarship as slowly it has gathered
momentum in recent decades.
It is good to know that Studies
in Scottish Literature did not die
with Ross, but will continue in an
electronic annual form under the
editorship of a former member of
our own department, Patrick Scott,
who recently retired from an important post in the library Ross did so much
to foster. Robert Burns & Friends (Columbia, SC, 2012) edited by Patrick
Scott and Kenneth Simpson, is a fitting tribute not only to the scholarly
achievement at Columbia, but to the man who made it possible. Edinburgh,
most appropriately, conferred the honorary DLitt on a distinguished man
of letters.
Professor Ian Campbell
52 University of Edinburgh Journal 46: 1 (June 2013)
Obituaries
‘And some there be which have no memorial who are perished as though they
had never been ...
Their bodies are buried in peace, but their name liveth for evermore.’
Ecclesiasticus, xliv
The following deaths of members of the University have been intimated to the Association Further
details, in some cases, may be found in The Scotsman, The B.M.J., The Veterinary Record and
other newspapers and journals. If no date of death is recorded, no exact date has been passed to us
by the Development Office.
The annual list of deceased graduates is issued by the General Council in their Annex to the
February Billet. This can be consulted online on the Council’s website at www.heneralcouncil.
ed.ac.uk/publications.htm or by writing to the Secretary of the General Council, University of
Edinburgh, Charles Stewart House, 9-16 Chambers Street, Edinburgh EH1 1HT.
Tariq Munir Abbas MB 1943 FRCSE FRCOG: 2012, after graduating he moved to
the Bristol area, specialised in obstetrics and gynaecology and was ultimately
appointed consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist to the South West Regional
Hospital Board.
Charles Ingram Aitchison MB 1960 MRCGP DObstRCOG DCH: 15 August 2012,
became a general practitioner in Kendal, Cumbria.
James Alexander Aitken MA 1956: in Edinburgh, 17 April 2012, aged 87, was
educated at Flora Stevenson’s and George Heriot’s schools before joining the
RAF during WWII. He trained in the Vickers Wellington with 170 Squadron
at RAF Hemswell, Lincolnshire and participated in the Bomber Command
offensive. The last mission carried out by 170 Squadron was the attack on the SS
barracks at Berchtesgaden in the Bavarian Alps. His crew transported liberated
prisoners back from Germany to Britain. After the war, he held a number of jobs
before studying at the University. He taught at Oakley, Dunfermline High, Fife,
Liberton, Gillespie’s and Leith Academy in Edinburgh. He retired, aged 60, and
resumed his studies in German, played curling and took up genealogy research.
Jeanette Lilian Anderson (née Rayment) BSc 1946 PhD: 16 November 2011.
David Cameron Ball MA 1979 CA: in Strathallan, due to a skydiving accident, 5 January 2013, aged 56, attended Stewart’s Melville College and then Edinburgh
University. He joined Ernst and Young and became a specialist in banking. He
was among the first to recognise the impact that information technology would
have on the financial services industry. Later, he became chief manager of Bank
of Scotland’s direct mortgaging operations. In 1994, he was appointed head of
IT at the bank’s corporate division. After the bank’s merger with Halifax in 2001
he became head of group technology for HBOS (Europe). He was a director of
his own business, DCB Consulting Ltd, as well as IT integration director for The
Co-operative Banking Group. He previously worked as an IT director at Tesco
and Tesco Bank. Last year he was appointed as a non-executive director of online
‘digital passport’ business Miicard.
Edith Mary Barlee (née McLean) MBE MB 1949: in Edinburgh, 17 February 2013,
aged 86, was born in Haddington, and educated at Dunoon Academy and at
Knox Academy, Haddington. After graduating, she held junior posts in medicine
and gynecology at Inverness Royal Infirmary, later moving to the Simpson
Pavilion in Edinburgh before becoming a registrar in obstetrics at Stirling Royal
University of Edinburgh Journal 46: 1 (June 2013) 53
Infirmary. In 1954 she returned to Haddington as a general practitioner and then
moved into the Public Health Service and was registrar in infectious diseases in
the Edinburgh City Hospital, later moving to Dunfermline. She married in 1961
and retired from practising medicine to raise her family, remaining extremely
active with the local community. In the early 1970s she became involved with
the Brownies, eventually becoming Brownie badge secretary for Edinburgh, and,
in 1974, began participating in the Drum Riding for the Disabled Association,
where she did much valuable work, ultimately in 1999, receiving a long-service
award.
Andrew Steven Woodhouse Bell BVMS 1966: 13 May 2012.
Jean Ogilvie Biggar (née Gourlay) MA 1941: 18 October 2012.
Walter Andrew Biggar BSc 1935: 16 November 2012.
Dorothy Birtwistle BSc 1949: 7 May 2012.
Kenneth William Blaikie MBChB 1947 DTM&H 1954: in New Zealand, 14 November
2012.
Leo Charles Lynton Blair BL 1953 PhD: in Shropshire, aged 89, father of former
Prime Minister Tony Blair. He lectured at the University of Adelaide. In the 1950s
he returned to the UK settling in Durham where he lectured and qualified as a
barrister. He also gave lectures overseas, notably in Sierra Leone. After the war,
he became a staunch Conservative switching to Labour in his seventies when his
son became leader of the Labour party. He left Govan High School, aged 14, and
joined the Scottish Young Communist league becoming its secretary. In 1942, he
signed up with the Royal Corps of Signals and ended the war as acting major.
He became chairman of Durham Conservative Association and was considered
a likely candidate for any vacant Conservative seat. This was not to be as he was
disabled by a stroke in 1963.
Lis Brady MSc 2010: 21 November 2012, aged 64, was educated at Laurel Bank School,
Glasgow. She became a medical researcher at the Western and Royal infirmaries
in Glasgow. She combined parenting with various roles: as a teacher, a medical
secretary and latterly as a researcher and writer for the Royal Commission on
the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. She spoke French fluently
and was an accomplished pianist and passionate about art. Over a period of
twenty years she was the major collector of Joyce Gunn Cairns’ work. Her most
striking achievement was the completion of her MSc in film studies, given that
throughout the greater part of her study she was terminally ill.
John Barclay Broadbent MA 1952 PhD: 10 November 2012, aged 85. Scholar of
English literature and critic who re-evaluated the work of Milton. In 1944 he was
commissioned into the Royal Marines and four years later he went to Edinburgh
University and then St Catharine’s College, Cambridge where he was appointed
to a post at King’s College becoming Director of Studies. In 1969, he became
Professor of English and American Studies at the University of East Anglia. He
published Some Graver Subject in 1960 and Poetic Love in 1964. He retired at the
age of 60 from UEA in order to do more as an artist.
Robert Richard Fernie Bruce DFC and Bar MusBac 1938: in Wales, 13 August 2012,
aged 96, was the great-grandson of James Bruce, the 8th Earl of Elgin and 12th Earl
of Kincardine. He attended Rugby School, where he demonstrated a prodigious
musical talent. During WWII, he first worked with the Friends Ambulance
Service during the London blitz. Later he served with the RAF as a navigator
in Canada. He teamed up with the Mosquito training unit and was posted back
to England. The squadron’s role was instrumental in helping the all-important
54 University of Edinburgh Journal 46: 1 (June 2013)
night raids on Europe by Bomber Command. After the war, he taught in Brighton
and then became a lecturer at Cardiff University. He was a recognised composer
in the early 1950s. The work was premiered by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra
and was recorded by the Polish Symphony Orchestra in 1999.
Kathleen Anne Burgess (née Scott) MB 1940: in Forfar, 19 September 2012, aged
97, was born in Broxburn and educated at Craigmount School. She and her
future husband Gordon, were in the same medical year and graduated at the
same ceremony. After a brief junior post at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital when
her husband joined the RAF as a medical officer, she moved to Forfar to assist
her father-in-law in his medical practice, where she and later her husband both
practised until their retirement. During this time they took part in the Forfar
Diabetic Survey of 1962. After retiring they travelled widely.
David Norman Miller Burns MB 1961 DObsRCOG MRCGP: 1 January 2012, went
into general practice in Mansfield, Notts.
David Burton BSc 1958: 17 August 2012.
Ewen Cameron BVM&S 1980 MRCVS: in Melrose, 13 December 2012, aged 55,
was educated at Hurst Grange School, Stirlingshire and then Fettes College,
Edinburgh, where he captained the school rugby and cricket teams, as well as
representing Edinburgh schools at squash. He also captained the rugby and
cricket teams while at The Royal (Dick) Veterinary College where he became a
temporary lecturer in Veterinary Medicine at the Large Animal Practice Teaching
Unit before becoming assistant to the Glasgow Universities Practice in Lanark. In
1983 he joined John Reed and Nigel Brown in the St Boswells veterinary practice,
where he became a partner. The practice grew and is now known as Greenside
Veterinary Practice.
Hanna Helena Canaris MB 1946: 18 June 2012.
Alistair Baxter Cassie MB 1948 FRCSE FRCS: January 2012. After serving in
the medical branch of the RAF, he undertook further training in surgery in
Manchester and became a consultant surgeon to the Burnley Hospital Group. He
was author of a number of papers on surgical subjects.
Huw Ceredig BMus 1973: 24 January 2013.
Rev Henry Martyn Cook MA 1939: 9 July 2012.
Sheila Dodds Cormack MA 1946: 29 November 2012.
John William Cowie MB 1944 FRCSE FRCR DMRD: 15 June 2012. After graduating,
he moved to Yorkshire and, after further training in surgery and anesthetics, was
appointed consultant in radiology at Bradford Royal Infirmary, Hull and East
Riding Hospitals respectively.
William John Crawford MA 1961: 14 November 2012.
Eleanor Gardner Cruickshank (née Brodie) MA 1943: 1 December 2012.
John Barry Dawson (staff) BSc PhD FRSE: in Edinburgh, 2 February 2013, aged 80,
studied geology at Leeds University and then went on to study at the Centre
for African Studies. He concentrated much of his field-work in Africa, but his
reputation as an academic and lecturer at Edinburgh University was acknowledged
by geologists worldwide. He worked for the Tanganyika Geological Survey until
he returned to the UK in 1964 to become a lecturer at St Andrews University.
After a time at Sheffield University he moved to Edinburgh University in 1989,
retiring as Emeritus Professor of Geology but continued his research. In 1968 he
won the Clough Memorial of the Edinburgh Geological Society and last year he
was awarded the Collins Medal of the Mineralogical Society.
University of Edinburgh Journal 46: 1 (June 2013) 55
Mary Nicol Finlay (née Peggie) MBChB 1944: 8 January 2013.
Una Rachel Finnegan MSc 2011: 19 January 2013.
Timothy John Fraser-Smith LLB 1972 MBA: in the Bahamas, 25 October 2012,
aged 66, held a distinguished career in banking. Since 2000 he was the chief
executive officer of Deltec Bank & Trust. He attended Lime House Prep School
in Cumbria and then Glenalmond College and was both captain of the school
and the 1st XV. He had a gap year touring South Africa before taking an MBA at
Cranfield Business School. After graduating at Edinburgh, he joined Grindlays
Bank, London with further postings in Lebanon, Pakistan, Greece, New York and
Hong Kong. He moved to ANZ in 1984 in Switzerland, and worked in Jersey and
London before returning to Switzerland. He died when Hurricane Sandy hit the
Bahamas.
Ian Graham Donaldson Garvie MA 1951: 1 March 2012.
Brenda Particia Rachel Gaskin (née Stewart) MA 1946: 2 January 2013.
James Douglas Gelly MA 1952: 3 November 2012.
Alan George MA 2007: 14 November 2012.
Stuart Kennedy Gibb MA 1947: 1 June 2012.
Michael Inglis Girdwood MB 1945: in Pietermaritzburg, 19 December 2012, aged
91, born and raised in Johannesburg, South Africa, he followed his grandfather,
father and brother to Edinburgh University Medical School. Edinburgh remained
important to him throughout his life and he returned frequently over the years
to visit family and attend Medical Reunions. He started his professional career
at the Johannesburg General Hospital, before moving to Northern Rhodesia
where he was later appointed Chief Medical Officer of two large mine hospitals.
After 27 years he moved to Kwa-Zulu Natal and took up the post of Medical
Superintendent at the local hospital, where he remained until he retired.
Andrew Vick Gold BSc 1955: 4 June 2012.
Richard Herbert Gosling MBChB 1946: 5 October 2012.
Christopher Scott Hall MA 1976: on the Yangtze River, near Shanghai, 7 November
2012, aged 59, an inspiring teacher, principled social activist and talented
photographer and writer. After graduating, he joined the National Health Service
before moving to the University of Stirling. He returned to Edinburgh working
for Lothian Regional Council before becoming a professional photographer
developing a successful commercial practice, which included a relationship with
the Edinburgh-based Tayburn design agency. Many will have seen the historic
photograph of all 129 MSPs at the re-convening of the Scottish Parliament in
1999, taken by Chris and Robin Gillanders, which now hangs in the Scottish
National Portrait Gallery. He had wide-ranging interests focusing on books and
politics. He was a long-term member of the Labour party but latterly joined the
SNP. He was on the board of the Changeworks and a supporter of Livingston
FC.
Trevor Richard Walker Hampton CB MB 1954 FRCPE DA QHP: 7 October 2012.
Surgeon Rear Admiral. He spent his career serving in the Royal Navy and became
a consultant physician at the Royal Naval Hospital, Plymouth. His final service
posting was in charge of operational medical services as leader and innovator in
the area of nuclear, biological and chemical defence. Returning to civilian life he
carried out part time work assessing disability.
Ian James Hardie LLB 1973: in Nairn, 16 October 2012, aged 59, attended George
Watson’s and toured the eastern United States with the school orchestra in 1968
56 University of Edinburgh Journal 46: 1 (June 2013)
before studying at the University. He became a partner with Taits of Kelso for
eleven years before becoming a partner with R&R Urquhart. Music of all sorts
exerted a powerful fascination and he joined a pub band with Fred McLudgie’s
Big Idea. He then joined the folk group Jock Tamson’s Bairns and made two
albums in the 1980s. He had established a name for himself both as fiddler and
composer with the Occasionals dance band and the Ghillies (with piper Duncan
MacGillivray) and Highland Connection. His debut album in 1986 was A Breath
of Fresh Airs. In 2001 he gave up the legal work and went to America resulting in
the album Westringing. He was posthumously inaugurated into the Traditional
Music Hall of Fame in December’s Scots Trad Music Awards.
Philip Ray Hart PhD 1962 BA MA BD: in Richmond, VA, 3 November 2012. Professor
Emeritus of Religion, University of Richmond. A graduate of the University of
Richmond, he joined its staff in 1956 as Director of Religious Activities before
coming to Edinburgh to research his PhD. He later moved into a teaching career
at the University of Richmond, where he was greatly respected and loved by his
students, who founded the Philip Hart Prize in his honour after he retired; it is
awarded to a student of religion who excels in academics and leadership.
Peter Leslie Hedge BSc 1979: in Hassocks, West Sussex, 7 October 2012, was an
enthusiastic member of the EU Mountaineering Club, editing the journal in
1979. After postgraduate work on chrysanthemums, in association with the
Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, he moved back to Sussex. Although illness
made him unfit for permanent work, he made his mark as a volunteer, including,
among others, eleven years at the Oxfam bookshop, Brighton, with the Brighton
Early Music Festival, the RSPB Brighton and District Local Group and, as he
became proficient in French, German and Italian, notably with the Hassocks
Twinning Association.
Janet Taylor Young Henderson (née Forrest) MB 1946 FRCGP: in Grantown-onSpey, 24 August 2012, aged 88, did her internship in Ontario before returning to
Edinburgh to marry fellow-graduate Dr Lindsay Henderson, and they moved to
Haddington to train in general practice. In 1952 they went into general practice
in Grantown-on-Spey and, with another GP, were instrumental in setting up
the Grantown Health Centre. In 1977-1983, she was regional adviser for general
practice in the Highlands. She was very active in local affairs, including those of
Grantown Red Cross, the Blood Transfusion Service and the Highland Hospice
Committee and she chaired the Moray & Nairn Childrens’ Advisory Panel.
Nancy Mitchell Holmes MBChB 1954: 3 January 2013.
John Derek Hoy BSc 1975 MSc: 10 November 2012.
Douglas James Hutchison BSc 1974: 13 December 2012.
Robert Edward Hutchison MA 1972: 7 January 2013.
Wilson Barrie James MB 1954 FRCPGlas FRCR FFR DMRD: 1 January 2012, moved
to Glasgow where he undertook further training in radiology and was appointed
consultant radiologist at the Southern General Hospital, Glasgow. He was the
author of a number of papers on various subjects including mammography,
gastroenterology and computers in diagnostic radiology.
Paul Gordon Jarvis MA PhD FILDOC FRCE FIFOR FIBIOL (staff): 5 February 2013,
in Aberfeldy, aged 77, read botany at Oxford’s Oriel College. He undertook
graduate studies at Sheffield and, before moving to the Institute of Plant
Physiology in Uppsala, completed his PhD under Nato sponsorship. He moved
to Australia in 1964 to take up the position of permanent visiting scientist at
CSIRO and returned to Scotland to lecture at Aberdeen between 1966-75 and
University of Edinburgh Journal 46: 1 (June 2013) 57
later became professor of Natural Resources at the University of Edinburgh in
1975, a position from which he retired in 2001.
Patricia McLeod Johnson (née Beveridge) MBChB 1962: 29 July 2012.
Alexander John Keay MB 1951 FRCPGlas FRCPE DCH: 13 December 2012, held
junior posts in the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Edinburgh, later moving
to the Children’s Medical Unit in the Northern Hospital Group, ultimately being
appointed consultant paediatrician at the Western General Hospital, Edinburgh.
He was the author of a number of papers and articles on paediatrics.
Andrew William Sharp Kerr MB 1948: 24 December 2012, attended George Watson’s
College before studying at Edinburgh University. He joined the RAMC serving
in Hong Kong and Malaya with the Royal Scots, the Cameronians and the First
Battalion of the Malay Regiment becoming fluent in the Malay language. After
military service he remained in the Territorial RAMC for some years. He then
went into general practice briefly before returning to academic life in 1951. He
became a senior lecturer in the Faculty of Medicine, Department of Anatomy,
at the University. He lectured on temporary attachment at Ahmadu Bello
University, Nigeria from 1970-71 and later at Glasgow University. He was an
external examiner to the Royal Colleges of Physicians of Edinburgh and Ireland.
He was the author of articles in learned journals and a contributor to A Companion
to Medical Studies and an edition of Cunningham’s Anatomy.
Mieczyslaw Korwaser BCom 1947: 2 July 2012.
Jurand Alexander Krawiecki MB 1949 FRCPsych DPM: January 2012, moved to the
Manchester area where he specialised in psychiatry and was later appointed
consultant psychiatrist in the Trafford Health Authority. He published a number
of articles on psychiatric subjects.
Anne Catherine Wilson Laing (née Walker) MBChB 1947: 18 December 2012.
Valerie Ann Leakey (née Fraser) MA 1963: 1 October 2011.
John Allon Liver MBChB 1949: 12 October 2012.
Goldie Lyall (née Aronson) MA 1952: in Edinburgh, 23 September 2012, aged 80,
was educated at Sciennes Primary and at James Gillespie’s High School. While
at university she met her future husband and moved to London. She taught at a
variety of inner-city schools in London and Weybridge College. She returned to
Scotland in 1963 and after six years moved south again. She retired to Edinburgh
in 1982.
Norman Alexander Mackintosh Macdonald LLB 1953: 17 May 2011.
Margaret Corstorphine Macewan (née Hay) MA 1951: January 2012.
Mary Maciver (née Brown) MA 1941: in Edinburgh, 13 October 2012, aged 92,
studied English and the Classics followed by a diploma at Moray House. She
became Principal Teacher of English at Portobello High School. With her love
of literature and drama she moved in national literary and theatrical circles.
On retirement she embarked on a diploma in music and then studied at the
Edinburgh College of Art for three years. Her paintings have been exhibited at
galleries throughout the UK, including the Scottish Gallery, Richard Demarco
Foundation and Inverleith House.
Catriona Margaret McClements (née Lowe) MA 1938: in Edinburgh, 29 November
2012, aged 96, was the first woman to graduate with First Class Honours in Celtic
at the University. She went on to transcribe countless Gaelic tapes for the School
of Scottish Studies and spent her life ensuring that the language would prosper.
She did teacher training at Jordanhill College, Glasgow and after WWII she taught
58 University of Edinburgh Journal 46: 1 (June 2013)
Gaelic and French at Oban High School. Later, she married and moved to the
Highlands and Islands where she taught on the Isle of Harris, later at Lochaline
in Morven. She moved to Edinburgh and taught at both South Morningside and
Oxgangs primary schools while giving one-to-one tuition in Gaelic to pupils from
the city’s private schools. She taught Gaelic at the University of Edinburgh’s
Gaelic Summer School and became a dedicated volunteer transcriber of old
Gaelic tapes.
Mary Edith Mackenzie MA 1950 DipEd: 17 October 2012, aged 87, attended George
Watson’s Ladies College and Edinburgh University. During WWII she worked
at a munitions factory and became a temporary member of the Amalgamated
Engineering Union before teaching at Forrester Park High School and
Boroughmuir Academy. After retirement she moved from Edinburgh to Peebles
in 1990. She had a passion for the arts and endowed a scholarship in memory
of Ian Whyte, founder of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. She was also an
avid backer of Scottish Opera, the Scottish Ballet and was a member of both the
National Museum and National Library of Scotland, of which she was one of the
earliest patrons of the John Murray Archive. In 2009, she co-founded campaign
group In Trust for Scotland. She was well-known by officials at local authorities,
MPs, MSPs and the University undertaking lengthy correspondence with them
for fairness and justice in big business and public bodies.
Sybil Laurie McKillop MA 1934: 27 November 2012.
Catherine Margaret Una Mackintosh (née Maclean) (Mrs Cockshott) MB 1949
PhD MD DPH FFCM: in Glasgow, 1 September 2012, aged 87, was educated at
Dingwall Academy. After graduating she moved to the Aden Protectorate with
her first husband (Dr Peter Cockshott) where she was allowed to treat Muslim
women in the harems. The family moved to Ibadan where she worked with
traditional witch doctors. After returning to Edinburgh she married John P
Mackintosh, a well-known Labour politician, and taught in the Department of
Community Medicine at the University for more than two decades becoming
reader and acting head of department. She published five books on aspects
of medical care while also looking after a family of seven children. She was a
founder member of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society.
Colin Malcolm Macleod LLB 1977: in Edinburgh, 12 September 2012, aged 57, was
educated at Inverness Academy before studying at the University, and after
serving his apprenticeship with Dundas & Wilson, he became a partner in their
court department in January 1983. He was a ‘lawyers’ lawyer’ — where other
lawyers went to for guidance and help. He was on various boards of Dundas &
Wilson, most recently retiring as a non-executive board member earlier in 2012.
Ann Hutchison Langlands McPhee (née McGlashan) MA 1956: 12 November 2012.
Alfred William Carol Macqueen BSc 1952: 1 February 2012.
Michael Henderson McTaggart BSc 1955: 2 December 2011.
Iain Coutts MacWilliam BSc 1946 PhD DSc CChem FRSC: in Edinburgh, December
2012, aged 86, was educated at Chapelton School, Port Glasgow and Trinity
Academy, Leith, before studying at the University. In 1950, he joined the
Brewing Industry Research Foundation, Nuffield, Surrey. There he established
an international reputation for his work on carbohydrates. Concurrently, he was
an External Examiner for postgraduate studies at the University. He published
extensively, notably as a reviser of Heilbron & Bunbury’s Dictionary of Organic
Compounds. He retired from the Foundation in 1986 and continued to write.
University of Edinburgh Journal 46: 1 (June 2013) 59
Susan Manning (staff) BA 1976 PhD 1986 FRSE FRSA: in Edinburgh, 15 January 2013,
aged 59. Grierson Professor of English Literature and Director of the Institute for
Advanced Studies in the Humanities (IASH) at the University of Edinburgh. (See
Appreciation on p. 51)
Ian Andrew Marsh BVMS 1961: 1 November 2012.
Donald Mackenzie Marshall MA 1951: 10 June 2012.
John Bannatyne Marshall MA 1947: 28 October 2012.
Michael James Mellor MB 1959 DObsRCOG: 15 April 2012, practised in
Bournemouth.
Wallace Dewar Melvin MBChB 1964: 28 December 2012.
Margaret Landale Mercer (née Forsyth) MA 1939: 23 September 2012.
Duncan Macintyre Miller MA 1948 LLB SSC: in Kingussie, 13 January 2013, aged
89, attended Daniel Stewart’s College. He played rugby for the school’s 1st XV as
well as the cricket 1st XI. In 1940, he joined the RAF serving in both 77 Squadron
and 35 Squadron. His plane was shot down and he was taken prisoner, and in
1944 having been certified as a non-combatant by the Red Cross, was fortunate
to be transported west as part of a prisoner exchange. Back in Edinburgh he did
his legal apprenticeship with Brotherston & Bee before moving to Stirling as
an assistant at Hill & Whyte before becoming a partner of Hill & Robb. He was
made an honorary sheriff for Stirling Sheriff Court, retiring in 1989.
Zelda Harrod Millward (née Walding) MA 1953: 7 November 2012.
Gavin Mooney MA 1969: in Australia, 19 December 2012, aged 69, was one of the
founding fathers of health economics and a global academic. He studied at the
University after spending four years training as an actuary at the Standard
Life Assurance Company. From university, he headed into the Government
Economic Service in London and proceeded to the University of Aberdeen in
1974. The Aberdeen project led to one of the world’s first research centres — the
Health Economics Research Unit (HERU), funded by the Chief Scientist Office
of the Scottish Executive. He was inaugural director, becoming Scotland’s first
Professor of Health Economics in 1984. He wrote extensively and also found time
to write, Economics, Medicine and Health Care. In 1986 he moved to the University
of Copenhagen. He also held a part-time position at the University of Tromso. He
returned to Aberdeen in the early 1990s as director to HERU, commuting between
there and Denmark. He returned to Australia and took up the Foundation Chair
in Health Economics at Sydney University and then a professorial position at
Curtin University in Perth, which he held until his retirement in 2008.
Patrick Terence Monard MB 1950 MSc (Occup-Med) MFOMRCP (Lond): January
2012, specialised in occupational medicine and, after holding a research fellowship
at the TWC Institute of Occupational Health at the London School of Hygiene
and Tropical Medicine, became a medical officer with the ICI (Paints Division) in
Stowmarket. Later he served as part-time medical officer in occupational health
for the West Suffolk Health Authority.
Michael John Dennison Mowat BSc 1954: 2 October 2012.
Keith Stronach Mowatt OBE MB 1945 BS FCRA FFR: 14 November 2012, aged 91,
joined Scotland’s Black Airborne Division during WWII, serving in India as a
paratroop medical officer. On his return he began his career in radiotherapy
becoming a senior radiotherapist at the Queensland Radium Institute, becoming
director. When he retired from the institute in 1986, he began a second career
as the first medical director for the Queensland Ambulance Transport Brigade
60 University of Edinburgh Journal 46: 1 (June 2013)
and introduced better training for Queensland ambulance officers. He fought
for the acceptance of sunscreen in the Queesland Cancer Fund, now Cancer
Council Queensland. He was president of the Australian Cancer Society and was
caught up in a political storm involving then Queensland premier Sir Joh Bjelke
Petersen.
Norman Muir BSc 1954: 31 December 2012.
Katherine Isabelle Muirhead (née Maclaren) MA 1948: 12 October 2012.
Megan Catherine Munro MA 1949: 16 June 2012.
Ian Galbraith Murdoch BSc 1957: 12 July 2012.
Margaret (Paddy) Newton (née MacDonald) MB 1943: in Strathpeffer, 2012, held a
house post in the Sick Children’s Hospital before joining the RAMC where she
served in AA units in the South of England with the rank of Captain. Married
to a civil engineer, she and her husband moved to the Kariba Dam project in
Southern Rhodesia, returning to the UK in 1961. Thereafter she worked as a parttime GP, finally settling in Strathpeffer.
John Donald Nisbet OBE MA 1945 MEd PhD Hon DEd: in Banchory, 5 October
2012, aged 89, was a former wartime intelligence officer with the RAF during
WWII. He was educated at Canmore School and then Dunfermline High before
studying at the University, where in 1940, he joined the Home Guard unit. In
1946, back in Edinburgh, he taught at Dunfermline High, studying in his spare
time before moving to Aberdeen as an assistant lecturer. In 1957, he was elected
a Fellow of the British Psychological Society becoming acting head of the
university’s education department and later was appointed to the first Chair of
Education where he helped write Educational Research Methods. Between 1965-75,
he was involved in writing six books and numerous articles, spending summers
teaching all over the world and researching in Norway and the Netherlands. He
edited the British Journal of Educational Psychology. He was on various committees
and the University awarded him an honorary doctorate in recognition of his
international research reputation.
Frederick O’Brien QC MA LLB: in Edinburgh, 29 December 2012, aged 95, was
educated at the Royal High School, Edinburgh and in 1975 was president of
the former pupils club. He joined the Friends’ Ambulance Unit and served in
London’s Blitz and then with the transfusion unit in the RAMC in Egypt and
Sicily. After the war, he spent two years working with Edinburgh solicitors,
Davidson & Syme. He was called to the bar in 1947 and became a QC in 1960.
He was Sheriff Principal for Caithness, Sutherland, Orkney and Shetland then
South Strathclyde. He returned to Edinburgh as Sheriff Principal where he was
involved in the campaign for the building of the new courts in Chambers Street.
On retirement, he joined Bruntsfield Golf Course becoming an honorary member
and played until he was 90 and retook his Advanced Driving Test, and passed, in
his mid-nineties. He was knighted in 1984.
David Ian Olive MA 1958: 13 December 2012.
Anne Hyslop Owen (née Gemmell) MA 1945: 1 November 2012.
David Neil Paterson BSc 1952 PhD: in Edinburgh, 10 October 2012, aged 82, was
educated at Strathallan School in Perthshire before studying at Edinburgh
University. He was made an associate of the Institute of Wood Science, given an
honorary diploma from British Columbia and in 1967 was given a PhD from the
University of East Africa in Nairobi. Latterly he had spent time at Keble College,
Oxford. After National Service, he found work in British Columbia. He moved
to Kenya working for the British Government as regional forest officer becoming
University of Edinburgh Journal 46: 1 (June 2013) 61
fluent in Swahili and Kikuyu. He moved to Malawi to run a research station
in forestry genetics and workers’ training school. On returning to Scotland, he
settled in Thornhill, Dumfriesshire and built a leading sawmill business exporting
to the USA and Holland. He developed Queensbury furniture, reproducing
Charles Rennie Macintosh items. He sold Queensbury Rooms to the village as
the community centre and renovated the historic Thornhill Parish Hall, now an
art gallery and retail outlet. He also founded the Abbeyfield home in Thornhill.
George Philp MB 1959 BSc: in Edinburgh, 3 November 2012. Scholar, collecter and
publisher of the Scots language. He founded the Scots Language Society and the
Robert Henryson Society, and created the Scotsoun series of sound recordings of
Scots language, literature, stories and songs. He chaired the campaign committee
for the creation and installation of the statue of the Edinburgh poet Robert
Fergusson that strides down the Canongate in front of the Canongate Kirk. In
1995 the Saltire Society awarded him the Andrew Fletcher of Saltoun Award, and
in 1999 he was made an honorary member of the Association of Scottish Literary
Studies.
Ian Geoffrey Robinson MB 1961: 29 August 2012.
Morag Robinson (née Macgillivray) MA 1960: 17 January 2013.
Anthony John Alexander Rochmankowski MA 1989: in Edinburgh, 10 January
2013, aged 47, studied at the University where he turned out for the first XV
and for the Scottish Universities rugby team. In 1989 he became an architectural
assistant with Hives Partnership in Reading, involved on a project for Reading
University before joining Campbell and Arnott in Edinburgh working on the
Saltire Court office block in Castle Terrace. Later, he set up his own general
practice, Rochmankowski Associates, specialising in domestic, residential and
green oak architecture in 2001, now known as Rochmankowski Architecture
Design (RAD).
Alan Ferguson Rodger Hon LLD 2001: 10 February 2012.
Colin McDonald Rorrison MA 2006: in Buenos Aires, 8 September 2012, aged 28.
Michael William Rose BSc 1969: 16 September 2012.
G Ross Roy DLitt: 19 February 2013. (See Appreciation on p. 52)
William Sinclair Ryrie KBE MA 1951: in Chislehurst, 6 July 2012, aged 83, an
influential figure in the UK Treasury for 20 years who worked with five prime
ministers. From 1984-93, he was executive vice-president and chief executive of
the International Finance Corporation (IFC). Directly responsible to the World
Bank president, his job was to advise on private sector investment in developing
nations. He found himself doing for the IFC in Washington DC what he had
done as a civil servant in Whitehall, promoting economic development through
private investment but dealing with more than 150 ‘shareholder’ nations rather
than just one. After retiring from the World Bank he became a major player in
the City of London. From 1994-2002, he served as vice-chairman of ING Barings
Holding Company and chairman of Baring Emerging Europe Trust plc.
Rajshankar Tony Sarma BVMS 2001: 4 August 2012, aged 35, after graduating from
the University, he did his masters at Cambridge. He travelled across the country
performing complex surgeries and started to specialise in small animals. He
worked in the North of England.
Graham Scott BSc: in Edinburgh, 7 December 2012, aged 58, after graduating, he
worked in the library service. A keen musician, he was introduced to Edinburgh’s
jazz scene in 1971, when replying to an advert for a ‘bluesy piano player’ by one
of Edinburgh’s jazz band leaders, Bill Salmond. The group quickly established
62 University of Edinburgh Journal 46: 1 (June 2013)
itself as the Louisiana Ragtime Band and stayed with them for over 40 years. He
also performed with several marching and parade bands including Jim Young’s
Auld Reekie Parade Band and Kenny Milne’s Criteria Brass Band. With the
Louisiana Band, he toured the Continent during the 1980s. Developing a name
for himself in the Edinburgh jazz scene, he performed at the Edinburgh Jazz and
Jive club and continued to play with his long-time band partner Bill with the
Forth River Ragtimers and their leader Brian Robertson. Several recordings are
held in the Edinburgh Jazz Archive at the Central Library.
Moyra Carrie Robertson Scott MA 1949: 3 August 2012.
Murray Garson Scott MA 1950: 2 November 2012.
Reverend Alexander Slorach BD 1970: 20 December 2012.
John Andrew May Sloss BSc 1967 PhD MBA: in Edinburgh, 29 September 2012,
aged 67.
Graeme Richard Smith BCom 1968: 14 July 2012.
John Lister Smith MB 1954: in Edinburgh, October 2012.
Janice Wendy Sposi MSc 1996: 8 December 2012.
Henry John Steven BSc 1946: 16 November 2012.
John Anderson Strong CBE MBE MA MD FRCPE FRSE: in Edinburgh, 15 December
2012, aged 97, studied medicine at Trinity College, Dublin. During WWII he
joined the Royal Army Medical Corps. He was responsible for setting up two
hospitals in Assam, India which treated refugees fleeing the Japanese advance.
Afterwards, he trained in London before becoming a senior lecturer in medicine
at the University in 1949, the start of a 60-year involvement. He became honorary
consultant physician at the Western General Hospital. He was given a personal
chair as professor of medicine in 1966. He specialised in endocrinology and
helped discover chromosomal abnormalities. He was also an expert in nuclear
medicine, involving the application of radioactive substances and was president
of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, hosting the Queen when she
visited and was the driving force behind the creation of the Queen Mother
Conference Centre.
Alasdair Patrick Graham Stuart BVSM 2004 MRCVS: in Edinburgh, 11 March 2012,
joined the Minster veterinary practice, York, in 2011, where he worked in the
small animal department.
Ian Hutchison Sutherland BSc 1951 MRCVS: in North Berwick, 6 November
2012, aged 81, was educated at George Heriot’s School before studying at the
University. He held a long list of academic and professional honours as well
as being a member of the editorial board of the British Veterinary Journal and a
member of the board of Moredun Research Institute. From 1956-68, he was a
veterinary and remount officer for the Animal Transport Troop, King’s African
Rifles in Kenya. He also represented the regiment at polo, eventing and showjumping. As captain of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps in Somaliland, he was in
charge of the procurement of animal transport for Special Air Services Regiment.
He returned to Scotland to work as a veterinary practitioner in Haddington,
and from 1965-73, he worked for Merck Sharp and Dohme Ltd., Animal Health
Division, Hoddesdon, becoming manager of the laboratory and farm. From 197381, he was regional director of field operations in Europe and Africa.
John Paul Triseliotis OBE PhD 1969 APSW: in Edinburgh, 29 September 2012, aged
83, was educated in Cyprus and after teacher training, joined the Cyprus Welfare
Department. In 1956 he joined the Cyprus High Commission in London and
University of Edinburgh Journal 46: 1 (June 2013) 63
studied at London University before spending a year in Edinburgh undertaking
a psychiatric study course. Other appointments followed both in London and
Cyprus before, in 1965, he was appointed a lecturer, later a professor, in social
welfare at the University of Edinburgh and a visiting professor and senior
research fellow at Strathclyde University. His writings and teaching at the
university gained him an international reputation. He was part of a team that
carried out research into adopted people searching for their records in Scotland,
playing a prominent role in the influential Houghton Committee, and later,
in 2001, campaigning against the Adoption Act, which he welcomed, but had
reservations regarding certain clauses. Of his many publications Teenagers and the
Social Work Services (1995) had the most influence on welfare treatment. He also
published on adoption and fostering.
Peter James Walker MB 1947: 10 June 2012.
Gavin Alistair Wallace MA 1981 PhD: in Burntisland, 4 February 2013, aged 53.
Passionate about Scottish literature. He served as associate lecturer with the
University of Edinburgh and from 1988-90, lectured at Japan’s Shinwa Women’s
University. His work was rooted in literary magazine Cencrastus (1991-94) and
as co-editor of the Edinburgh Review with Robert Alan Jamieson between 1994
and 1997. He served as deputy and, in 2002, as head of the Scottish Arts Council
(SAC) and subsequently Creative Scotland. His most influential publications,
co-edited with Professor Randall Stevenson, include The Scottish Novel Since the
Seventies (1993) and Scottish Theatre Since the Seventies (1996).
John Walsh MSc 2005: 1 February 2013.
Patrick (Peter) Gerard Walsh (staff) FRSE: in Glasgow, 16 January 2013, aged 89.
Humanities Professor and key figure in Scottish Catholic circles. He attended
Liverpool University studying the Classics. After war service in the RAF and the
Intelligence Corps in Palestine and Italy during WWII, he became a lecturer at
University College, Dublin. At Edinburgh University he published two books:
Livy (1961) and The Roman Novel (1970). He was awarded a personal professorship
at Edinburgh University, which led to him becoming professor of humanity at the
University of Glasgow. He dedicated himself to medieval authors, particularly
religious texts for which he received a papal decoration.
Henry John Walton PhD 1966: 21 July 2012.
Scott Ward (staff): in Edinburgh, February 2013, taught cinematography for both
documentary and drama in Edinburgh College of Art’s Film and Television
Department for nearly 10 years. The whole film department at Edinburgh College
of Art mourns his sudden loss.
Jean Stewart Watson MA 1950: 26 January 2013.
Violet Enid Elizabeth Whittick (née Mason) BSc 1936: 10 December 2012.
Joyce Elizabeth Janet Wilson (née Yule) (formerly Joyce Town) MA 1947: in
Ljubljana, Slovenia, 29 May 2012. Wife of Ian, member and former president of
the Edinburgh University Graduates’ Association.
Robert Edward Gilmour Younger LLB 1967: 23 December 2012, aged 72, attended
Cargilfield School in Edinburgh and then Winchester College. He read modern
history at New College, Oxford before studying at Edinburgh and Glasgow
universities and was called to the Bar in 1968. He was appointed sheriff of
Glasgow and Strathkelvin in 1979, aged 39. He also filled the post of sheriff at
Tayside, Central and Fife at Stirling and Falkirk. Due to ill-health, he retired in
2004.
64 University of Edinburgh Journal 46: 1 (June 2013)
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NOTES FOR CONTRIBUTORS
Articles, book, CD and DVD reviews, and notes for obituaries are
invited from Edinburgh University alumni and from present members
of the University. Serious articles on aspects of Edinburgh University
are invited from other authors.
Articles should be 2,000 words maximum in length, but longer
submissions will be discussed with authors. Short notes of up to
500 words will also be considered. Reviews should be no more than
250 words. Notes for obituaries should be no more than 150 words.
Authors are asked to include autobiographical notes of not more than
75 words.
Contributions should conform to the current Modern Humanities
Research Association Style Book, and should preferably be submitted
in digital form as emails or as .doc or .docx attachments. Exceptionally,
typescripts or manuscripts will be considered. The editorial email
address is gradassoc@ed.ac.uk.
Books, CDs and DVDs for review should be sent to the Journal Office.
Copy for the June issue of the Journal should be sent to the Editor by
31 March, and for the December issue, by 30 September.
Copyright © in the Journal is held jointly by The University of
Edinburgh Graduates’ Association and by individual contributors.
Authors of articles are sent three free copies of the issues that include
their work. Reviewers receive one copy.
The Editor of the University of Edinburgh Journal
University of Edinburgh Graduates’ Association
18 Buccleuch Place
Edinburgh, EH8 9LN
Telephone: +44 (0)131 650 4292
Email: gradassoc@ed.ac.uk
Website: www.dev.ed.ac.uk/gradassoc
Journals Received
The Editor greatly acknowledges the receipt of the following Journals:
Bulletin, The Univesity of Edinburgh Staff Magazine
CAM, Cambridge Alumni Magazine
Edit, The University of Edinburgh Alumni Magazine
Journal of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh
The Newsletter of the ESRC Genomics Network
Proceedings of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh
The above may be consulted at the Association offices by prior arrangement.
Published by the University of Edinburgh Graduates’ Association, 18 Buccleuch Place, Edinburgh,
EH8 9LN. Printed by Paramount Printers Ltd, 199 Causewayside, Edinburgh EH9 1PH.
Welcome to the
University of Edinburgh Graduates’ Association
The University of Edinburgh Graduates’ Association was founded in 1924 as
The University of Edinburgh Alumnus Association, changing to its present
name after a very few years. It is made up of former students (not only
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the University academic and related staff. Relatives of members, and others
with an interest in the University of Edinburgh, are also welcome to join.
The Graduates’ Association:
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The Graduates’ Association is quite distinct and separate from the General
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