1950 in Scotland explained

Events from the year 1950 in Scotland.

Incumbents

• Secretary of State for Scotland and Keeper of the Great Seal – Arthur Woodburn until 28 February; then Hector McNeil

Law officers

• Lord Advocate – John Thomas Wheatley
• Solicitor General for Scotland – Douglas Johnston

Judiciary

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

Events

• 14 February – First shipment of coal from Argyll Colliery (drift mining) in the reopened Machrihanish Coalfield to Belfast.^[1]
• 21 February – Clydebank-built Cunard liner arrives at the scrapyard in Faslane at the end of a 36-year career.
• August – first official Edinburgh Military Tattoo staged at Edinburgh Castle as part of the Edinburgh Festival.
• 22 August – 54-year-old William "Ned" Barnie becomes the first Scot to swim the English Channel, going on to complete 3 crossings.^[2]
• 8 September – 116 miners trapped underground in a landslide at Knockshinnoch Castle colliery at New Cumnock in Ayrshire.^[3]
• 9 September – first miners are rescued from Knockshinnoch Castle colliery.^[3]
• 11 September – rescue operation from Knockshinnoch Castle colliery is completed, with all 116 miners saved.^[3]
• 18 October – the North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board's Loch Sloy Hydro-Electric Scheme is inaugurated.^[4]
• 25 December – the Stone of Scone, the traditional coronation stone of Scottish monarchs, English monarchs and more recently British monarchs, is removed from London's Westminster Abbey by a group of four Scottish students.
• St. Margaret's Hospice in Clydebank, the first modern hospice in Scotland, is begun by the Sisters of Charity.^[5]

Births

• 21 January – Seona Reid, arts administrator
• 10 March – Ted McKenna, rock drummer (The Sensational Alex Harvey Band) (died 2019)
• 22 March – Jocky Wilson, darts player (died 2012)
• 30 March – Robbie Coltrane, actor and comedian (died 2022)^[6]
• 31 March – William Blair, judge and financial lawyer
• 1 May – Malcolm James Mackenzie, footballer
• 6 May – Robbie McIntosh, funk drummer (Average White Band) (died 1974)
• 9 May – Murray Elder, politician (died 2023)
• 12 May – Helena Kennedy, lawyer
• 27 May – Alex Gray, crime novelist
• 20 June – Rita Rae, Lady Rae, judge
• 21 June – Enn Reitel, actor
• 18 September – Jock McFadyen, painter
• 29 October – James Dillon, composer
• 7 November – Lindsay Duncan, actress
• 3 December – Angus Glennie, Lord Glennie, judge

Deaths

• 15 January – George Livingstone, footballer (born 1876)
• 26 February – Harry Lauder, entertainer (born 1870)
• 17 March – Adam McKinlay, Labour politician (born 1887)
• 30 March – Joe Yule, comedian and actor (born 1892)
• 9 May – Charles Alexander Stevenson, lighthouse engineer (born 1855)
• 10 August – James Drever, psychologist (born 1873)^[7]
• 14 September – Alexander Livingstone, Liberal politician (born 1880)

See also

• 1950 in Northern Ireland

Notes and References

1. Cambeltown Courier 1950-02-16.
2. Web site: Notable Dates in History . The Flag in the Wind. . 2014-07-11 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140523225830/http://www.scotsindependent.org/dates1-g.htm . 23 May 2014 .
3. Web site: Miners trapped underground by landslide. BBC News. 2008-01-29. 8 September 1950. https://web.archive.org/web/20080307121117/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/september/8/newsid_2995000/2995048.stm. 7 March 2008. live.
4. http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=34450 Newsreel footage of opening ceremony.
5. Web site: History. St Margaret of Scotland Hospice. 2014-09-04.
6. Web site: Robbie Coltrane obituary . the Guardian . 15 October 2022 . en . 14 October 2022.
7. Book: The Scottish Educational Journal. 1950. Educational Institute of Scotland. 536.