Mary was born in Derry in 1923, the eldest of three children. At 17, at the outbreak of war, she travelled to Manchester alone where she worked as a nurse for the duration of the war. She was the only woman on a boat full of soldiers on the way over. The boat had to stop…
Tag: Scotland
Guest Post: Violet Mary Craig Roberton (1888-1954)
Hope you’re all having a good January so far, if not never fear, there are eleven more months to make it up. Today we are chuffed to present another lovely Guest Post, this time about a personal history rediscovered by an intrepid researcher, take it away Clare. Clare Thomson is a librarian in Special collections…
Period Chats: Dr Valerie Wright
For our Christmas Period Chats Special, we are delighted to present an uplifting and heartfelt interview with the amazing Dr Valerie Wright. Valerie is a huge supporter of what we do, she’s an academic, an advocate for women’s rights, and is an all-around excellent human being. We think she’s super cool, and so will you…
Christmas Lowdown: What to do over the festive period
It’s that time of year again when everyone drinks and eats more than any human should, CHRISTMAS!!! I am one of those intolerable people who believes the festive season starts on the 5th of November. I just adore the whole run-up to Christmas, the proliferation of period dramas on the BBC, the fact that everything…
Dr Elsie Inglis & the Scottish Women’s Hospitals Movement
On behalf of WW100 Scotland, we have been asked to share this short video marking 100 years on from the death and the funeral of a remarkable, inspiring, and astoundingly determined woman, Dr Elsie Inglis. After being told by the War Office ‘my good lady go home and sit still’ as women doctors and surgeons…
Celebrating Scottish Women, a Paisley Workshop
Yesterday was one of those days which leaves you glowing with contentment for hours afterwards. We were delighted to be asked to host a workshop at the Paisley Arts Centre for the Conservation Area Regeneration Scheme (TH.CARS2) by the chap running the scheme, Colin Begg. The aim of the TH.CARS2 scheme is to “improve historic…
‘Mon Paisley’s Wummin
On Friday we shall be holding a wee get-together to discuss how we should celebrate Paisley’s Women as part of Paisley 2021. If you haven’t heard of the 2021 bid the main aim is to make Paisley the UK City of Culture in 2021 and it is part of a wider push to use the town’s…
Building Scotland – Margaret Brodie
The Architect, Margaret Brodie, has much to be recognised for and it is only over the last ten years her achievements are being discussed in a similar manner to her male counterparts. Born in 1907 in Largs, she was one of three daughters of John and Jane Brodie. Her father was a civil engineer with…
The Glasgow Guild: Restoring Glasgow one seat at a time
The Glasgow Guild are a company everyone should know, not only in Glasgow but world-wide. This bustling busy workshop which is situated above Singl-End in the Garnethill area of Glasgow is a wonderland of fabrics, furniture and beautifully eccentric chit-chat. Run by Jonathan Cokey and John Cowie, the Glasgow Guild is only four years old…
Winnie Drinkwater: Action Hero
Winifred Joyce “Winnie” Drinkwater (11 April 1913 – 6 October 1996) from Cardonald was an exceptional Scot, and in my view, something of an action hero, as she was the first woman in the world to hold a commercial pilots license. Drinkwater joined the Scottish Flying Club near Renfrew in June 1930 when she was just 17, and amazingly she…
Period Chats: Jenny Knotts
Jenny is a playwright and PhD student from Glasgow. She is currently undertaking an AHRC funded Practice-as-Research PhD in the department of Theatre Studies at the University of Glasgow titled Play/writing histories: Navigating the Personal, Public & Institutional stories of Theatre Space. An Architextual study of the Citizens Theatre. Previously she gained an MSc with…
Pollokshields Business Women – Maude Webster
Maude Caroline Murdoch Cochrane (1883-1959) was born in Glasgow’s Southside in 1883. Little is known about her life before her marriage to the renowned Scottish stained glass artist, Alfred Alexander Webster (1883-1915) including how the couple met. It is most likely that Maude and Alf may have known each other from the living in the…
History. Heritage. Hilarity. 