1954 in Scotland explained

Events from the year 1954 in Scotland.

Incumbents

• Secretary of State for Scotland and Keeper of the Great Seal – James Stuart

Law officers

• Lord Advocate – James Latham Clyde
• Solicitor General for Scotland – William Rankine Milligan

Judiciary

• Lord President of the Court of Session and Lord Justice General – Lord Cooper until 23 December; then Lord Clyde
• Lord Justice Clerk – Lord Thomson
• Chairman of the Scottish Land Court – Lord Gibson

Events

• 28 January – John Thomas Wheatley appointed as a Senator of the College of Justice.
• 12 February – United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority founded; the body in this same year will decide on Dounreay as a 'safe' site for its fast breeder reactor tests.^{[1] [2]}
• 17 February – RMS Saxonia is launched at John Brown & Company's shipyard on Clydebank for the Cunard Line's Canadian service.
• March – Scottish Journal of Political Economy first published.
• 16 March – major fire damages Skerryvore lighthouse.
• 27 April – Clyde F.C. beat Celtic 1 – 0 in the replayed final of the Scottish Cup.
• 12 May – work on construction of Seafield Colliery at Kirkcaldy begins.
• 4 July – fourteen years of rationing during and following World War II comes to an end when meat officially comes off ration.^[3]
• July – work on construction of Ravenscraig steelworks is authorized.^[4]
• 19 July – United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority established by the Atomic Energy Act "to produce, use and dispose of atomic energy and carry out research into any matters therewith".^[5]
• 3 September – the National Trust for Scotland acquires Fair Isle from George Waterston.^[6]
• 23 October – Heart of Midlothian F.C. beats Motherwell 4–2 to win the Scottish League Cup.
• 23 November – opening of Walsh trial, to determine whether Douglas Walsh of Dumbarton, a Jehovah's Witness pioneer, has the same right as an ordained religious minister in Scotland to be exempted from conscripted military service.^[7]
• 25 December – 1954 Prestwick air disaster: BOAC Boeing 377 Stratocruiser G-ALSA crashes on landing at Prestwick Airport from London in poor visibility, killing 28.
• Asymmetric footbridge over Gala Water in Galashiels opened.
• Osprey recolonize Scotland.

Births

• 5 January – Myra Nimmo, long jumper
• 27 January - Iain McColl, actor (died 2013)
• 15 February – John McAslan, architect
• 16 February – Iain Banks, novelist (died 2013)
• 22 February - Ian Stark, equestrian
• 8 March – David Wilkie, swimmer (born in Colombo; died 2024)
• 9 March – Jim Stewart, footballer
• 14 March – David Taylor, football administrator, joint General Secretary of UEFA
• 23 March – Mary Fee, Labour Party politician^[8]
• 9 April – Iain Duncan Smith, Conservative Party leader, MP and government minister
• 28 April – Tom McCabe, Labour Party politician, MSP (1999–2011) and government minister (died 2015)
• 5 May – Brian Souter, businessman and founder of Stagecoach Group
• 11 May - Judith Weir, composer
• 28 June – A. A. Gill, newspaper critic (died 2016 in London)
• 25 July - Sheena McDonal]], journalist and broadcaster
• 2 August – Ken MacLeod, science fiction writer
• 5 August – Allan Wilson, Labour Party politician, MSP (1999–2007)
• 16 August – George Galloway, politician, former MP and founder of the Respect Party
• 26 August – David Martin, Labour Party politician, Member of the European Parliament for Scotland
• 11 September – Ian Anderson, footballer (died 2008)
• 28 September – Mike McCartney, footballer
• 16 October – Michael Forsyth, Baron Forsyth of Drumlean, Conservative Secretary of State for Scotland
• 19 October – Ken Stott, actor
• 16 November – Donald Runnicles, orchestral conductor
• 25 December – Annie Lennox, singer-songwriter, political activist and philanthropist
• 27 December – Joanna Strathdee, Scottish National Party politician (died 2015)
• 31 December – Alex Salmond, Scottish National Party First Minister of Scotland (2007–14)^[9]
• George McGavin, entomologist
• Gordon Murray, architect

Deaths

• 11 February – Alexander Anderson, Labour Party politician and Member of Parliament 1947–54 (born 1888)
• 18 April – Helen Crawfurd, suffragette and communist activist (born 1877)
• 6 May – B. C. Forbes, financial journalist and author who founded Forbes Magazine in the United States (born 1880)
• 18 July – Thomas S. Tait, architect (born 1882)
• 12 November – Alex Smith, international footballer (born 1876)
• 22 November – Jimmy Gordon, footballer (born 1888)

The arts

• George Mackay Brown's first book of poetry, The Storm, is published.
• Sorley MacLean's Scottish Gaelic poetry Hallaig is published in Gairm.^[10]
• Roddy McMillan's play All in Good Faith is presented at the Citizens Theatre, Glasgow.
• American photographer Paul Strand works in the Outer Hebrides.
• Alexander Trocchi's novel Young Adam is published.

See also

• 1954 in Northern Ireland

Notes and References

1. Web site: UKAEA – The First Fifty Years. Andy. Munn. Caithness.Org. 2011-02-05.
2. Web site: New authority for atomic energy. On This Day. BBC News. 2008-02-06. 12 February 1954. https://web.archive.org/web/20080307130459/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/february/12/newsid_2540000/2540781.stm. 7 March 2008. live.
3. Web site: Housewives celebrate end of rationing. On This Day. BBC News. 2008-02-06. 4 July 1954. https://web.archive.org/web/20080307130512/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/july/4/newsid_3818000/3818563.stm. 7 March 2008. live.
4. News: Steel Firm's £20M. Scheme. The Times. London. 1954-07-09. 4. 52979.
5. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Eliz2/2-3/32/section/10 Act of 1954
6. Web site: National Trust buys remote island. On This Day. BBC News. 2008-02-06. 3 September 1954. https://web.archive.org/web/20080307130502/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/september/3/newsid_3020000/3020298.stm. 7 March 2008. live.
7. Web site: Walsh Trial Transcript. 2014-06-11. Decided on appeal in the House of Lords 19 July 1956 (Walsh v. Lord Advocate).
8. Web site: Mary Fee . www.parliament.scot . 22 October 2020 . 5 September 2016.
9. Web site: Alex Salmond Biography & Facts Britannica . www.britannica.com . 9 January 2023 . en.
10. 8. Web site: Poetry in Periodicals and Anthologies. Sorley MacLean. 2011-04-01.