1941 in Scotland explained

Events from the year 1941 in Scotland.

Incumbents

• Secretary of State for Scotland and Keeper of the Great Seal – Ernest Brown until 8 February; then Tom Johnston

Law officers

• Lord Advocate – Thomas Mackay Cooper until June; then James Reid
• Solicitor General for Scotland – James Reid until June; Sir David King Murray

Judiciary

• Lord President of the Court of Session and Lord Justice General – Lord Normand
• Lord Justice Clerk – Lord Aitchison, then Lord Cooper
• Chairman of the Scottish Land Court – Lord Murray, then Lord Gibson

Events

• 17 January – a German Heinkel He 111 meteorological aircraft is crash-landed on Fair Isle.
• 5 February – the cargo ship runs aground on Eriskay.
• 12 February – Tom Johnston is appointed Secretary of State for Scotland, a post which he holds until the end of the wartime coalition.^[1]
• 24 February – SS Jonathan Holt is torpedoed in a convoy off Cape Wrath by German submarine U-97 with the loss of 51 of her 57 crew, including English travel writer Robert Byron.
• 13–14 March – Clydebank Blitz: bombing of Clydebank.
• 6–7 May – Greenock Blitz: Greenock is intensively bombed.
• 10 May – Rudolf Hess parachutes into Scotland claiming to be on a peace mission.
• 12 May – the Honours of Scotland are secretly buried within Edinburgh Castle as a precaution against invasion.^[2]
• 2 June – 2 adults and 8 children are killed at Buckhaven when a naval mine explodes on the foreshore.^[3]
• 30 August – first official 'Shetland bus' clandestine mission using Norwegian fishing boats between Shetland and German-occupied Norway.
• 5 November – the Commercial Bar in Fraserburgh receives a direct hit from a German bomb, killing over 30.^[3]
• Loudoun Castle is gutted by fire.
• The Polish School of Medicine at the University of Edinburgh founded

Births

• 15 January – Colin Matthew, historian and academic (died 1999 in Oxford)
• 7 March – Stewart McLean, actor and businessman (died 2006)
• 8 March – Norman Stone, historian (died 2019 in Budapest)
• 9 March – Andy Lochhead, footballer (died 2022)
• 14 March – Ishbel MacAskill, Scottish Gaelic singer and teacher (died 2011)
• 9 April – Hannah Gordon, actress^[4]
• 10 April – John Kurila, footballer (died 2018)
• 9 May – John Wheatley, Lord Wheatley, lawyer and judge
• 18 May – Malcolm Longair, astrophysicist
• 22 May – Menzies Campbell, leader of the Liberal Democrats (UK)
• 22 May – Alec Monteath, actor and television announcer
• 19 June – Duncan Forbes, footballer (died 2019 in Norwich)
• 25 June – Eddie Large, born Edward McGinnis, comedian (died 2020 in Bristol)
• 30 June – Vincent Logan, Roman Catholic Bishop of Dunkeld (died 2021)
• 4 August – David R. Morrison, author, editor and painter (died 2012)
• 19 August – Tony Roper, actor
• 10 November – David Ashton, actor and writer
• 22 November – Tom Conti, actor
• 25 December – Kenneth Calman, medical researcher and academic
• 31 December – Alex Ferguson, footballer and manager^[5]
• Jenni Calder, née Daiches, literary historian (born in the United States)
• Frances M Hendry, writer of children's historical fiction
• Anthony Miller, murderer, second-last criminal to be executed in Scotland (died 1960)
• Andrew Robertson, actor

Deaths

• 3 January – William Mustart Lockhart, watercolour painter (born 1855)
• 6 April – Kenneth Campbell, airman, posthumous Victoria Cross recipient (born 1917; killed in action over Brest, France)
• 12 April – Charles Murray, Doric dialect poet and civil engineer (born 1864)
• 19 June – William James Cullen, Lord Cullen, judge (born 1859)
• 29 June – Sir Alexander MacEwen, solicitor, Provost of Inverness and first Scottish National Party leader (born 1875 in British India)
• 17 July – Charles Melvin, soldier, Victoria Cross recipient (born 1885)
• 3 December – Neil Harris, footballer and manager (born 1894)

The arts

• A. J. Cronin's novel The Keys of the Kingdom is published.
• Compton Mackenzie's comic novel The Monarch of the Glen is published.
• Sydney Goodsir Smith's first collection Skail Wind - Poems is published in Edinburgh.

See also

• Timeline of Scottish history
• 1941 in Northern Ireland

Notes and References

1. Book: Devine, T. M.. Johnson was a giant figure in Scottish politics and is revered to this day as the greatest Scottish Secretary of the century.. Tom Devine. The Scottish Nation, 1700-2000. London. Allen Lane. 1999. 0713993510. 551–2.
2. News: How the Honours of Scotland were hidden in the castle to thwart Hitler's invading troops. Christopher. Reekie. 1993-04-05. The Herald. 2014-05-09.
3. Web site: Notable Dates in History . The Flag in the Wind . . 2014-07-17 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140523225830/http://www.scotsindependent.org/dates1-g.htm . 23 May 2014 .
4. Web site: Hannah goes back to roots with River City role . www.scotsman.com . 13 October 2020 . en.
5. Web site: Sir Alex Ferguson Biography & Facts Britannica . www.britannica.com . 28 January 2023 . en.