1931 in Scotland explained

Events from the year 1931 in Scotland.

Incumbents

• Secretary of State for Scotland and Keeper of the Great Seal – William Adamson until 24 August; then Sir Archibald Sinclair, Bt

Law officers

• Lord Advocate – Craigie Mason Aitchison
• Solicitor General for Scotland – John Charles Watson until November; then Wilfrid Normand

Judiciary

• Lord President of the Court of Session and Lord Justice General – Lord Clyde
• Lord Justice Clerk – Lord Alness
• Chairman of the Scottish Land Court – Lord St Vigeans

Events

• 13 February – Scottish Youth Hostels Association established.^[1]
• 1 May – National Trust for Scotland established and acquires its first property, Crookston Castle (donated by Sir John Stirling-Maxwell, 10th Baronet).
• 5 September – Celtic goalkeeper John Thomson dies in hospital after fracturing his skull in a collision with Rangers forward Sam English in the 'Old Firm' League derby at Ibrox Park.^[2]
• 15–16 September – Invergordon Mutiny: Sailors in the Royal Navy take strike action over pay cuts.^[3]
• 27 October – 1931 United Kingdom general election: The Unionist Party wins a majority of Scottish seats as the National Government retains power with a landslide victory throughout the UK.
• 12 December – work on construction of "Hull 534", the Cunard liner, at John Brown & Company's shipyard at Clydebank is suspended due to the Great Depression.
• 31 December – Ayr Corporation Tramways cease operation, being replaced by bus services operated by Scottish Motor Traction.
• Lord Dumfries purchases the recently deserted islands of St Kilda from Sir Reginald MacLeod of Dunvegan to preserve them as a bird sanctuary; he will bequeath them to the National Trust of Scotland on his death in 1956.

Births

• 2 January – James D. Murray, mathematician and academic
• 12 January – Bert Ormond, Scottish-born New Zealand footballer (died 2017)
• 26 February – Ally McLeod, football manager (died 2004)
• 13 March
  • James Martin, actor
  • Helen Renton, Director of the Women's Royal Air Force (died 2016)
• 18 March – John Fraser, actor (died 2020)
• 29 March – James Weatherhead, Church of Scotland minister (died 2017)
• 27 April – Alex Campbell, folk singer (died 1987)
• 29 April – Lonnie Donegan, skiffle musician (died 2002 in England)
• 30 April - William Watson, author, playwright and newspaper editor (died 2005)
• 3 May – Thomas Sutherland, academic and Islamic Jihad hostage (died 2016 in the United States)
• 6 May – Sandy Grant Gordon, whisky distiller (died 2020)^[4]
• 9 May
  • Jimmy Gauld, footballer involved in match fixing (died 2004 in London)
  • Alistair MacFarlane, engineer and academic (died 2021)
• 11 June – Kenneth Cameron, Baron Cameron of Lochbroom, lawyer and judge
• 16 June – John Grant, footballer (died 2021)
• 1 August - Pat Heywood, actress
• 2 August – Karl Miller, literary editor (died 2014 in England)
• 11 September – Bill Simpson, television actor (died 1993)
• 22 September – George Younger, Conservative politician, Secretary of State for Scotland (died 2003)
• 24 September – Elizabeth Blackadder, painter (died 2021)^[5]
• September - Arthur Thompson, gangster (died 1986)
• 9 December – Ian McIntyre, journalist and BBC Radio executive (died 2014)
• 16 December - Karl Denver, singer (died 1998 in Manchester)
• 29 December – Bobby Shearer, footballer (died 2006)
• Eric Auld, painter (died 2013)

Deaths

• 17 March – James Stewart, Labour Party politician, MP for Glasgow St. Rollox 1922–1931 (born 1863)
• 27 May – Norah Neilson Gray, portrait painter (born 1882)
• 5 August – Archibald Barr, mechanical engineer (born 1855)
• 3 December - Frederick Walters, architect, notable for his Roman Catholic churches (born 1849 in London)
• 7 December – Leslie Hunter, painter (born 1877)
• David Hay Fleming, historian and antiquary (born 1849)
• Ronald Campbell Macfie, medical doctor, poet and science writer (born 1867)
• Andrew Seth Pringle-Pattison, philosopher (born 1856)

The arts

• Jenny Brown's documentary film A Crofter's Life in Scotland is made.
• A. J. Cronin's first novel Hatter's Castle is published.
• Bruce Marshall's novel Father Malachy's Miracle is published.
• Dorothy L. Sayers' detective story The Five Red Herrings, set amongst the Galloway artistic community, is published.
• Approximate date – Ronnie L. Scott makes the first Scottish colour film, Where the Bens Stand Sentinel, and first Scottish sound film, Sunny Days.

See also

• Timeline of Scottish history
• 1931 in Northern Ireland

Notes and References

1. Web site: Chronology of Scottish History. A Timeline of Scottish History. Rampant Scotland. 2014-07-20.
2. Web site: Paul. Divers. John Thompson (1909–1931) – The Prince of Goalkeepers. Irish Light and Colour. 2013-05-16. https://web.archive.org/web/20120331034729/http://www.irishlightandcolour.com/John-Thompson.php. 31 March 2012. dead. dmy-all.
3. Book: Ereira, Alan. Alan Ereira. The Invergordon Mutiny. London. Routledge. 1981.
4. Web site: Obituary: Alexander (Sandy) Grant Gordon CBE - The founding father of Single Malt . DRAM Scotland . 20 January 2021 . 8 January 2021.
5. Web site: Dame Elizabeth Blackadder obituary . The Guardian . 25 August 2021 . en . 25 August 2021.