1969 in Scotland explained

Events from the year 1969 in Scotland.

Incumbents

• Secretary of State for Scotland and Keeper of the Great Seal – Willie Ross

Law officers

• Lord Advocate – Henry Wilson
• Solicitor General for Scotland – Ewan Stewart

Judiciary

• Lord President of the Court of Session and Lord Justice General – Lord Clyde
• Lord Justice Clerk – Lord Grant
• Chairman of the Scottish Land Court – Lord Birsay

Events

• 6 January – closure of the Waverley Line (the Edinburgh–Galashiels–Hawick–Carlisle railway) and The St. Andrews Railway (the branch line from Leuchars).
• 8 February – unusual aurora borealis seen over Scotland.
• 17 March – the Longhope life-boat in Orkney is lost; the entire crew of 8 dies.
• 27 March – first ordination of a woman in the Church of Scotland, Catherine McConnachie by the Presbytery of Aberdeen.^[1]
• 28 April – Gordon Gray, Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh, is elevated to cardinal of the Catholic Church; the first resident cardinal in Scotland for almost 400 years.
• 9 May – formation in Glasgow of the Scottish Minorities Group to campaign for the decriminalisation of gay sexual practices in Scotland.
• 17 May – Scotland beats Cyprus 8–0 in a World Cup Qualifier at Hampden Park.^[2]
• May – Ross Pit at Brora is closed by a fire.^[3]
• 1 July – John Lennon, Yoko Ono and their children are hospitalised at Golspie following a car accident while on holiday.^[4]
• September – the Royal Commission on Local Government in Scotland (chaired by Lord Wheatley) reports, recommending a major reorganisation of local government in Scotland substantially as carried out in 1975 under terms of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973.
• 9 October – Backwater Reservoir opened to supply the Dundee area.
• 30 October – Glasgow Gorbals by-election: Labour retains the seat but the SNP takes second place from the Conservatives.
• 30 December – the Linwood bank robbery occurs in Linwood, Renfrewshire and three police officers are shot in the aftermath, two fatally.^[5]
• The policies of Culzean Castle become Scotland's first country park.

Births

• 1 January
  • Paul Lawrie, golfer and journalist
  • Tom Urie, actor
• 13 January – Stephen Hendry, snooker player
• 6 March – Neil Findlay, Labour Party Member of the Scottish Parliament
• 28 March – Laurie Brett, actress
• April – Kenny Alexander, businessman
• 24 April
  • Donna Robertson, judoka and wrestler^[6]
  • Fiona Robertson, judoka and wrestler^[7]
  • Eilidh Whiteford, Scottish National Party Member of Parliament
• 11 August – Ashley Jensen, actress
• 25 August – Catriona Matthew, golfer
• 28 September – Angus Robertson, Scottish National Party Member of Parliament
• 13 November – Gerard Butler, actor^[8]
• 5 December – Lynne Ramsay film director, writer, producer, and cinematographer best known for the films Ratcatcher, Morvern Callar and We Need to Talk about Kevin
• 7 December – James Murray, boxer (died 1995)
• 18 December – Irvin Duguid, keyboard player (Stiltskin)
• 24 December – Mark Millar, comic book writer
• 31 December – Dominik Diamond, presenter and newspaper columnist

Deaths

• 8 May – Sir Sydney Smith, forensic pathologist (born 1883 in New Zealand)
• 10 May – John Bannerman, Baron Bannerman of Kildonan, international rugby player and Liberal politician (born 1901)
• 7 September – Gavin Maxwell, naturalist and author (born 1914)
• 6 December – Florence Horsbrugh, Baroness Horsbrugh, Scottish Unionist Party and Conservative Party politician (born 1889)

The arts

• George Mackay Brown's short stories A Time to Keep and collected writings An Orkney Tapestry are published.
• Jenny Gilbertson's documentary film Shetland Pony is made.
• Tom Leonard's Six Glasgow Poems are published.
• The cultural magazine New Edinburgh Review begins publication.
• Antonia Fraser's biography Mary Queen of Scots is published.

See also

• 1969 in Northern Ireland

Notes and References

1. Book: Mayland, Jean. https://books.google.com/books?id=xBCH2wXyjmsC&dq=Catherine+McConnachie+Presbytery+of+Aberdeen&pg=PA33. In Good Company: Women in the Ministry. MacLeod, Iain Orr . Pilgrimage to Priesthood and Beyond. Glasgow. Wild Goose. 1-901557-15-4. 1999. 33. 1 February 2011 .
2. http://www.scottishfa.co.uk/international_fixture_details.cfm?page=1921&matchID=57691 Results
3. Web site: Brora Coalfield. Northern Mine Research Society. 2016-08-20.
4. Web site: John Lennon crashes his car in Scotland. The Beatles Bible. 1969-07-01. 2013-10-24.
5. http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/spl/aberdeen/killer-s-fatal-trip-to-aladdin-s-cave-1.701897 Herald article.
6. Web site: Glasgow 2014 - Donna Robertson Profile . g2014results.thecgf.com . 12 March 2023.
7. Web site: Glasgow 2014 - Fiona Robertson Profile . g2014results.thecgf.com . 12 March 2023.
8. Web site: Gerard Butler . https://web.archive.org/web/20160810093723/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2bbda95d0c . dead . 10 August 2016 . BFI . 11 February 2022 . en.