A History of the Caledonian Society of London

A History of the Caledonian Society of London A History of the Caledonian Society of London i A History of the Caledonian Society of London 175 Years of Charity and Fellowship EDITED BY HUGH COWAN Honorary Historian of the Society 2005-2017 Version 3 ii INTRODUCTION The Caledonian Society of London is an association of Scotsmen, and men with close connection with Scotland or Scottish institutions, which has as its objects the advancement of Scottish national philanthropic interests and the promotion of good fellowship among Scotsmen in London. There is no contemporary record of the Society’s formation and only three Society documents are known to survive from the nineteenth century. The earliest is a minute book and register of members from the start of 1841 until mid-1843 that was out of the Society’s possession for long periods but finally recovered in 2007. It is followed by a published set of the Society’s Rules dated 1845 that was retrieved electronically from the National Library of Australia in 2015. Later, we have the 1890 edition of the Chronicles of the Caledonian Society of London, written by David Hepburn from a family with links to the early days of the Society, which covers the years from its formation until 1890. There had been a major loss of records about 1875 and his main sources for the first forty years were restricted to the minute book already mentioned and Hepburn family papers. These papers no longer exist but seem to have included press cuttings concerning Society events and the manuscript of an address given in 1853 in which the formation of the Society was described, and these are reproduced verbatim in the 1890 volume. It is clear that he also made notes based on family memories and those of other long serving members. There have been two alternative sets of dates accepted for the formation. Until early in the twentieth century the quoted date seems to have been 1839, with 1839-1840 as the first session, but the 1853 address stated that the first dinner had occurred in early 1838 after preliminary activity starting some twelve months before in 1837. The claims in the address seem to have had no effect on Society opinion for many years but, after David Hepburn drew attention to them in the late 1880s, they gradually gathered favour and seem to have been accepted without question by the mid-1910s, until the re-assessment reflected in this account. More recently, various external sources have emerged. These include online newspaper archives, the archives of the Royal Caledonian Education Trust and the record of a court case against the Society in 1844, but such material becomes minimal after the mid-1890s. Minute books from 1875 until 1924 have also been lost but those after the latter date remain extant and are supplemented by an initially sparse but gradually increasing range of other documents including year books, menu cards, records of speeches and office bearers’ papers. The sequence of published Chronicles was resumed in 1923 and continued until 1967, with two further volumes available only online. However, it must be stressed that while the Chronicles contain much historic information, they are not rigorous histories. There was a lack of source material in the early years, they were written for entertainment - tending to accentuate the positive, dealing only lightly, if at all, with less happy episodes and avoiding much routine detail - and they perpetuate some factual errors. The Chronicles for 1837-1905, published in 1923, included an abridged version of the content of the 1890 Chronicles in addition to new material mainly covering the years from 1890 until 1905. The aim of this editing seems to have been to condense the 1890 text, largely by replacing the verbatim press reports of the original with short abstracts. One result was to remove much useful historic detail and records of speeches. For these reasons, any person wishing to address the pre-1890 iii history of the Society from its Chronicles is recommended to use the original 1890 edition and not that of 1923. The Society’s archive material is now lodged in the London Metropolitan Archives. Several short histories have been published but this is the first full history of the Society to be produced. The volume seeks to harness all known sources to create a history of the Society’s first one hundred and seventy-five years. In doing so, it is inevitable that the content for the final few years is less objective than that for earlier periods, and a future historian may wish to edit further. In preparing this history, the editor has been indebted to earlier historians of the Society, to all other members who have assisted in recording or collecting information on our heritage and to various online avenues. Sources used in the text of this volume are acknowledged as appropriate in that content or in footnotes. Outwith the Society, John Horsefield, then Chief Executive of the Royal Caledonian Schools Trust, returned the 1841-1843 minute book and subsequently enabled the editor to examine the Trust’s archives, Willie Docherty of ScotsCare and the London Metropolitan Archives both returned Society documents that had been held among those of ScotsCare and David Balden of the Caledonian Club drew attention to the photograph of the glass goblet presented to an earlier Caledonian Society in 1821. Most illustrations were taken from previously published Society documents but grateful acknowledgement is due in respect a number of additions. The page from the 1845 Rules was recovered from the National Library of Australia, Neil McNair and James Scrymgeour provided the photographs of the member’s badge and the 2013 Little Dinner respectively and photographs taken for the Society by James Finlay (James Finlay Photography) were the source of the illustrations of Michie Forbes Gray, Dr Guthrie Rankin’s Gold Badge, the three pipe banners, William Will, the drum major’s mace, the London Ayrshire Cup and the Society’s grant of arms, cuff links and tie. Edinburgh November 2017 iv CONTENTS Page Number Introduction iii Contents v List of Illustrations vi Chapter 1 Formation 1 Chapter 2 Early Growth – Formation to 1848 5 Chapter 3 Rebuilding – 1848 to 1855 15 Chapter 4 The Mid-Victorian Society – 1855 to 1890 19 Chapter 5 Pre-World War One – 1890 to 1914 35 Chapter 6 Wartime – 1914 to 1918 48 Chapter 7 The Inter-war Years – 1918 to 1939 52 Chapter 8 Wartime Again – 1939 to 1945 65 Chapter 9 Austerity and Resurgence – 1945 to 1967 72 Chapter 10 Changing Times – 1967 to 1992 80 Chapter 11 A Long Decline – 1992 to 2008 86 Chapter 12 Later Years – 2008 to 2014 93 Chapter 13 Postscript 99 Appendix 1 Chairmen and Presidents 109 Appendix 2 Non-presidential Gold Badge Awards 112 Main Sources 113 Index 114 v LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Page Number The Society’s Arms i A page from the 1845 Rules showing Institution date 1 Michie Forbes Gray 4 Society Festival Dinner, London Tavern, 19th June 1847 5 Robert Hepburn 15 David Hepburn 19 Early Gold Badges 23 Snuff Burr presented by J Nisbet Blyth 29 Little Dinner Menu about 1887 30 The original Member’s Badge 1888 31 John Douglas 35 Saluting the President - Ceremony of the Dirks 25th January 1906 42 The 1906 (Tait) Pipe Banner 43 The Society’s Banner 44 An early photograph of the President’s Chain 45 George William Paton 48 William Will 52 The Paton Cup 54 Depiction of George William Paton’s Gold Badge with Five Bars 55 Little Dinner Programme 11th November 1919 56 Ceremony of the Dirks – From the Chronicles for Session 1922-1923 58 Programme for Ladies’ Festival April 1925 59 vi Calling Notice for Meetings and Little Dinner 12th January 1928 61 Lord Alness 65 A wartime application for Membership 68 Honorary Secretary’s letter to a new Member in December 1945 71 William McCallum Miller 72 Little Dinner Programme November 1964 74 The 1961 (Thomson) Pipe Banner 76 The President with the Fiery Cross 11th August 1947 78 Drum Major’s Mace presented to the London Scottish Regiment 1959 78 The President welcomes Brother Caledonian the Lord Mayor 18th March 1965 79 George Deans 80 The London Ayrshire Cup 83 The Society’s Grant of Arms 1992 86 Little Dinner Programme October 2007 90 The 2002 (King) Pipe Banner 92 A convivial Little Dinner 2013 93 Member’s Badge, Cuff Links and Tie 2014 98 Arms and Emblems used by the Society 99 Society Website 2016 108 vii A page from the 1845 Rules showing the Institution date 1 CHAPTER 1 Formation The minutes for 1841 until 1843 throw much interesting light on these early years of the Society’s existence but unfortunately make no reference to its date of formation. However, the title page of the 1845 Rules carries the inscription ‘Instituted February 1839’ which seems compatible with a membership that was still only eighteen at the start of 1841, as recorded in the register of members at the back of the minute book, and with a first formal session in 1839-1840. Here the matter might have rested were it not for the 1853 address quoted in the 1890 Chronicles1 in which Michie Forbes Gray, a pre-1841 member although apparently not a founder2 despite his early involvement described below, and then a former Honorary Secretary of the Society, stated that the first dinner had been held in early 1838 but that the initial informal gathering of those who later formed the Society had been the year before, in early 1837.

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