Angus Graham J G Dunbar*
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Proc Soc Antiq Scot, 111, 19816 1- , Angus Graham J G Dunbar* Angus Graham (pi 1) was born at Skipness, Kintyre, on 3 April 1892 and died in Edinburgh Novembeo5 n2 r 1979 fathers GrahaHi .C R , Skipnessf mo scholarla , y laird best knowe th s na Carvedauthoe Th f o r Stones y (1895) oMa f sais ,i havo dt e laid whe n dow s newpe e ns hi th nf hi so youngest child's birtbrough s and m returninn hwa hi o , o t t g some time later havo t , e found that lase th twritted wor ha 'Angus's e dnh wa . Thus named, Angus Graham consistently carried for- war same dth e literar antiquariad witnesseye an h x si f father's o n dhi e traditionag se excavath t A . - tions in and around the old castle of Skipness; 81 years later he was still actively considering related problems. Educate t Wincheste a dCollege w Ne d , an rOxford , wher reae eh d Literae Humaniores, Angus went on to complete five years of active military service (1914-19) in France, Gallipoli and Palestine, collecting a bullet in the spine as well as a severe bout of dysentery from which his health never fully recovered returnee H . Oxforo dt Diploma reao dt r dfo Forestrn i a thed yan n served for two years as a District Officer in Argyll before Geddes axed him out of the Forestry Commis- sion in 1922. For the next 12 years Angus worked as a forester in Canada, at first as a scientific adviser to Price Bros & Co Ltd, Quebec, and then as Secretary-Treasurer of the Quebec Forest Industries Association Ltdroughese worke e buse th H . th n hi n di t conditions t alsbu o, found tim writo et enumbea paperf o r forestrn o s y operations, while stories publishe Blackwood'sn di Magazine, followed by his best-known book The Golden Grindstone and the more specialised nove French-Canadiaf o l n Life Napoleon Tremblay, show that Angus observed Canad keenls aa y and appreciatively as he did any archaeological drama. The depression damaged his career pro- spects, causing him to resign and return to Britain in 1934, ill and unemployed (and with a Canadian accent, fortunately only in French). News of the impending vacancy of the Secretaryship of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland was given him, his diary relates, by his brother-in- CollingwoodlaG wR , with alread d whoha e myh paperantis collaboratee hi th f -n o s o o tw n di quitie f Skipneso s s publishe Proceedings.e th n di Takin posp gu Augusn i t t 1935, Angus left almost at once for fieldwork in Shetland, postponing the search for permanent accommodation in Edinburgh unti returntemporars e lhi on n I . y lodgin Walken gi ghosta n ri w t Streesa bu , e h t Nelson Street, wher finalle eh y settled, ghosts wer t seeonld eno nan y very occasionally heard. Angus Graham joine Commissioe dth criticaa t na l staghistorys it n ei . With only three field officersspecialiso n d an , t photographer draughtsmenr so executive th , e staff wer equippet eno do t meet the increasingly high standards demanded by the growing number of professional archaeolo- gistarchitecturad an s l historian whoo st Inventore mth y volumes were indispensable reference works. Thus, the Orkney and Shetland Inventory, largely completed before his appointment but t publisheno d until 1946 severels wa , y criticise grounde th n do s that, althouge bule th hth f ko monuments recorded in both groups of islands were prehistoric, the discussion of their significance in the introductory volume showed a lack of awareness of the results of prehistoric research else- * Royal Commission on the Ancient & Historical Monuments of Scotland, 54 Melville Street, Edinburgh 2 | PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, 1981 where in Britain and the Continent. The City of Edinburgh, which followed, also disappointed some reviewers becaus comparative th f eo e absenc planf eo elevations d san inadequate th , e treat- Toww Ne n e (evementh f no t allowin face th t r tha glimitinfo e th t g date prescribe Royay db l Warrant was at that time no later than 1815), and the dismal quality of most of the photographs. Angus accordingly found himself faced wit tase hmodernisinf th k o Commissioe gth gettiny nb g authorit recruio yt t additiona improviny l b staff d an , standarde gth botf so h recordin interd gan - pretation measure uniformle success Th .th hi s f eo swa y favourable reception accordee th o dt Roxburghshire Inventory (1956), to which he personally contributed important sections on items suc cultivatios ha n terraceroadsd ol d . san t himselno s innovatorn a fwa e H apard an , t from editing t whica , excellede hh mais hi , n strength as Secretary was his readiness to entertain new ideas, and to act promptly to put them int convinceos effecwa sooe s h a t s nda that they were sound employmene .Th photographr ai f o t s deteco t t remains which were invisibl observee groundth e o th et n introductioe ro th , officiaf no l four-wheel-drive car cross-countrr sfo creatioye workth photographia d f n,an o c departmenl al t- thes othed ean r developments, which greatly increase efficience d th Commissio e th f yo speedy nb - productioe th in p gInventorieu e th f makinno y b d sgan them more authoritative, were only made possible by his ability to extract the necessary resources from a reluctant Treasury. Angus also sa neee w th exten o dt Commission'e dth s work beyon limite dth s impose county db y Inventories durind an Secone g th Professo d an d e Worlh r r GordodWa n Childe (the nCommissionera ) under- too kdemandina g programm rescuf eo e survey throughout Scotland tasa , k whic resumes hwa d durin 1950se gth , when staff were employe nationaa n do l surve marginaf yo l land. Angus retired fro Secretaryshie mth Royae th f po l Commissio 1957n i thret ,bu e years later accepte invitan da - tio returo nt Commissionera s na appointmenn a , t whic hele hh d until 1974. Angus Graham's principal contributions to Scottish archaeological studies, however, are to foune b publicationde lesth n si Royae th f so l Commission Proceedings e thath n i thif o s Society, to which he had been elected a Fellow in 1913 at the early age of 20. He held office as joint- Secretary from 193 Vice-Presidens a 196o 7 t d 6an t from 196 1969o 6t , whil 197n e i services 7hi s to the Society were recognised by his election as an Honorary Fellow, a distinction which he greatly appreciated. Durin earls ghi y year Felloa s sa w Angus mad enumbea e th f gift o ro t s Society's Museum (now the National Museum of Antiquities), while the Society is at present benefiting from a most generous bequest. appendee Asth d bibliography demonstrates, Angus contribute dremarkabla e varietf yo papers to the Proceedings during the 65 years of his Fellowship. Although invariably disclaiming specialised knowledge of any of the topics that he tackled, he had a happy knack both of opening subjectw ne enquirr p castinf u sfo o d yan g fresh ligh familian o t r problems. Thus earls ,hi y papers on the antiquities of Skipness contained accounts not only of prehistoric cairns and hill-forts, but als f shielingso , charcoal-burning platforms, bloomerie whisky-stillsd an s , whil s studehi f yo Skipness Castlclassia s ewa c piec f architecturaeo l analysis which completely overturnee dth theories of such acknowledged authorities as MacGibbon and Ross. Following his return from Canada, papers bega appeao nt subjectn o r diverss sa brochss ea , cultivation terraces, clearance cairns, Border 'peles', post-Reformation tombstones, roads, harbours and canals, while latterly he mad edetailea d histore studth f yf Scottiso y o h antiquarian thought, producing several well- documented survey thin so s topic. Man thesf yo e papers wer resule eth f originao t l fieldwork, some of it carried out in difficult conditions during the Second World War, and all were models f expositiono , lucidl economicalld yan y written. To some, at least, of his younger colleagues of the post-war era Angus Graham appeared at firs somewhaa t sighe b o t t remote figure, whose reserve formad dan l manner might perhape sb ANGUS GRAHAM | 3 though refleco t t t disapprova contemporarf o l y attitudes. Closer acquaintance disclosen ma da who certainl t greayse told-fashionee storth y eb d alss virtuesowa t possessebu , f warmthdo , generosit humourd yan . Invitation drot o Nelsost a pn i n Stree glasa r sherrf stfo o whitr yo e port provided a welcome opportunity for the novice to meet the established figures of the Edinburgh archaeological world and revealed Angus as an entertaining host and lively conversationalist. Even more to be savoured, at least in retrospect, was the experience of joining him for a few days' fieldwork, for whatever the task in hand it was bound to furnish Angus with some occasion to exercise his characteristic sense of humour, the essence of which lay in the creation of a manifestly ridiculous situation to whose absurdity he himself chose to appear oblivious. Tuition in photo- graphy provided endless opportunitie r thisfo s kin f diversiondo , which e mighth n i t finm hi d residents' lounge of a crowded Highland hotel, groping with the mechanism of a plate camera while enveloped in a large black cloth, or in some historic mansion, igniting trails of flash powder disposed in such a way as to convince the owner that the house was deliberately being set on fire.