1946 in Scotland explained

Events from the year 1946 in Scotland.

Incumbents

• Secretary of State for Scotland and Keeper of the Great Seal – Joseph Westwood

Law officers

• Lord Advocate – George Reid Thomson
• Solicitor General for Scotland – Daniel Blades

Judiciary

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

Events

• 16 March – American Liberty ship Byron Darnton runs aground off Sanda Island; all 54 aboard are rescued.^[1]
• 13 April – a crowd of 139,468 at Hampden Park, Glasgow, watch the Scotland national football team defeat England 1-0 in a Victory International series Association football match.^[2]
• 3 May — The Hoover Company opens a factory at Cambuslang.^[3]
• 10 July – a crowd of 45,000 at Hampden Park watch Jackie Paterson defend his world flyweight boxing title.^[2]
• 25 July – a train collides with a bus which has crashed through level crossing gates at Balmuckety near Kirriemuir, killing 10.^[4]
• 27 August –, the first roll-on/roll-off ferry built for service in British waters (the Stranraer–Larne crossing), is launched at William Denny and Brothers' shipyard in Dumbarton.
• 22–27 November – the last election for a university constituency in the United Kingdom is held when the Combined Scottish Universities by-election is held. Walter Elliot (Unionist) wins decisively.
  • • 5 December A Kilmarnock by-election results in Willie Ross holding the seat for Labour.
  • Scottish edition of the Daily Mail begins publication in Edinburgh.
• Drift mine opened in Machrihanish Coalfield.
• Naturalist Gavin Maxwell purchases the island of Soay, Skye, and attempts to start a commercial shark fishing enterprise there.^[5]

Births

• 6 January – John Duignan, economist and writer (died 2019)
• 16 January – Graham Masterton, horror author
• 30 January – Donald Mackay, Baron Mackay of Drumadoon, Lord Advocate
• 28 February – Robin Cook, Labour MP and Foreign Secretary (died 2005)
• 12 April – George Robertson, politician, Secretary General of NATO
• May – Jock Brown, solicitor and football commentator
• 10 May – Donovan, singer, songwriter and guitarist
• 13 May – Bill Torrance, broadcaster
• 1 June – Brian Cox, actor
• 15 June – Michael Lynch), historian
• 9 June – James Kelman, novelist
• 9 July – Bon Scott, hard rock musician (AC/DC) in Australia (died 1980 in London)
• 10 July – Stuart Christie, anarchist (died 2020)
• 16 July – Charles McKean, Professor of Scottish Architectural History (died 2013)
• 29 July – Bill Forsyth, film director
• 19 August – Christopher Malcolm, television and film actor (died 2014 in London)
• 25 August – Gavin Clydesdale Reid, economist
• 27 August – Peter Tobin, serial killer and sex offender
• 14 September – Pete Agnew, rock bassist and backing vocalist
• 14 October – Dan McCafferty, rock singer-songwriter (died 2022)
• 27 October – Margaret Bennett, ethnologist
• 6 November – George Young, rock musician in Australia (died 2017)
• 18 November
  • Andrea Allan, actress
  • Chris Rainbow (born Christopher James Harley), pop rock singer and musician (died 2015)
• 14 December – Peter Lorimer, international footballer (died 2021)
• Louise Martin, sports administrator^[6]
• Gordeanna McCulloch, folk singer with The Clutha
• Ronald Rae, sculptor

Deaths

• 17 February – Sir George Pirie, painter (born 1863)
• 18 February – Catherine Carswell, biographer and journalist (born 1879)
• 20 May – Jane Findlater, novelist (born 1866)
• 5 June – James Craig Annan, photographer (born 1864)
• 14 June – John Logie Baird, television pioneer (born 1888; died in England)
• 15 July – Binnie Dunlop, editor and advocate of eugenics (born 1874)
• 23 July – James Maxton, MP and leader of the Independent Labour Party (born 1885)
• 6 August – Benny Lynch, flyweight boxer (born 1913)
• 18 August – Marion Angus, Scots language poet (born 1865 in England)
• 9 September – Violet Jacob, historical novelist (born 1863)

Arts and literature

• 22 May – English writer George Orwell leaves London to spend much of the next 18 months at Barnhill, Jura, working on his dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four.
• Summer – Robert McLeish's The Gorbals Story is premiered by Glasgow Unity Theatre at the Queens Theatre.
• Oriel Malet's fictionalised biography of Marjory Fleming is published.
• Janet Adam Smith's Life Among the Scots is published.
• The Central Office of Information short film The Glen is Ours is released.

See also

• 1946 in Northern Ireland
• 1946 in Wales

Notes and References

1. Web site: Bryon Darnton [''sic.'']]. Canmore. Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. Edinburgh. 2012-04-19. 2014-07-17.
2. Web site: Notable Dates in History . The Flag in the Wind . . 2014-07-18 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140523225830/http://www.scotsindependent.org/dates1-g.htm . 23 May 2014 .
3. 'New industry tries vainly to "Buy Scottish"', Daily Record, 4 May 1946, p.5.
4. Web site: Report on the Collision which occurred on 25th July, 1946, at Balmuckety Level Crossing on the London, Midland and Scottish Railway. Railways Archive. 2014-07-17.
5. Book: Maxwell, Gavin. Harpoon at a Venture. London. Hart-Davis. 1952.
6. Web site: Louise Martin pivotal in smoothing the way for the Glasgow Commonwealth Games . HeraldScotland . 29 December 2007 . 30 January 2023 . en.