Hail to Priorsford E-Book Final Web Copyrighted

THE JOHN BUCHAN STORY Hail to Priorsford

ISBN: 978-1-8383990-1-6

Published by the John Buchan Story, The Chambers Institution, Peebles EH45 8AG. COPYRIGHTFebruary 2021 2021

Front cover : Anna writing at the desk in her room at Elsfield, JB’s house in Oxfordshire, some time in the 1930s. The bee picture over Anna’s left shoulder was painted for her by her great friend from Glasgow days, Katherine Cameron (1984-1965). She was the sister of the artist Sir David Young Cameron, and like her brother, she also attendedTHE classes at Glasgow JOHN School of Art and later BUCHAN at Académie Colarossi's in Paris. STORY She made frequent study trips to Italy, and is best known for her sensitive flower and landscape paintings, etchings and book illustrations. Katherine was a member of the Royal Scottish Watercolour Society. Katherine’s drawing of Anna’s brother William hangs in the JB Story.

Back cover : Watercolour by A.P.Thompson of Glasgow “Over the Bridge and into Peebles”. It shows Peebles as it would have been in Anna’s youth and also Bank House before part was demolished for road widening. The painting is displayed in the John Buchan Story Museum, Peebles. With contributions by: Deborah Stewartby Dr Andrena Telford Shirley Neilson

“O. Douglas and the Sense of Place” Dr Andrena Telford © The John Buchan Society “Gone but Not Forgotten: O. DouglasCOPYRIGHT and the Great War” Dr Andrena Telford © The John Buchan Society The papers by Dr Telford are reproduced by kind permission of the John Buchan Society

“Because of Bill” – Introduction to Pink Sugar 2009 © Deborah Stewartby “Her Own Beloved Country” – Pink Sugar 2009 © Shirley2021 Neilson “Hail to Priorsford” © Deborah Stewartby & The John Buchan Story

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) withoutTHE the prior written permissionJOHN of the above BUCHAN copyright owners and the publisher STORY of this book.

Printed by Elmbank Print, Peebles www.elmbankprint.co.uk Contents

Foreword 1

Hail to Priorsford 2

Because of Bill 17

O. Douglas and the Sense of Place 19

Gone but not Forgotten: O. Douglas and the Great War 30 Dr AndrenaCOPYRIGHT Telford: Biographical Note 42 “Her Own Beloved Border Country” - Anna Buchan’s Peeblesshire 2021 43 Afterword to the 2019 print ofWintry Years 53

Deborah Stewartby: Biographical Note 59 THEShirley JOHN Neilson – Greyladies BUCHAN Publishing: STORY Biographical Note 59

Anna Buchan’s Works 60 Foreword

Hail to Priorsford is not an autobiography of Anna Buchan but a collection of writings by three people, Deborah Stewartby, Andrena Telford and Shirley Neilson. They each have different styles and the writings overlap and sometimes contradict each other; but the authors share a commonality – a deep interest and delight in Anna’s life and writings. Furthermore, each thinks Anna’s books deserve a wider audience and hope these contributions will bring new readers to Anna’s books and recognise her importance in the life, not only of the town of Peebles, but of her brother, John Buchan.

So, in this short book, there are many aspects of Anna’s life and work.

Deborah gives a personal view of her great-aunt in Hail to Priorsford, and from the introduction to the 2009 edition of Pink Sugar we learn how her father, William Buchan, became portrayed as ‘Bad Bill’. Also, from Pink Sugar we have included “Her Own Beloved Border Country” - Anna Buchan’s Peeblesshire by Shirley - a delightful excursion into Anna Buchan/O. Douglas’s much-loved Borders. We are then treated to two papersCOPYRIGHT by Andrena: O. Douglas and the Sense of Place and Gone but not Forgotten – O. Douglas and the Great War. Both add a new dimension to Anna’s work during the Great War and dedication to her family.

The Wintry Years, Anna Buchan’s 13th book, was left2021 unfinished at her death in 1948 with only a few chapters ever being published. In 2019, Shirley published a “finished” edition of The Wintry Years based on three extra chapters found in the Buchan archive in the National Library of Scotland and a conversation with Deborah, Anna Buchan’s great niece, where together they speculate on what might have happenedTHE next. JOHN BUCHAN STORY Peter Worthington Chairman, The John Buchan Story January 2021

1 HAIL TO PRIORSFORD By Deborah Stewartby

There is a book by Barbara Trapido whose title isBrother of the More Famous Jack. It refers to the poet W B Yeats who, in his lifetime, was less well-known than his artist brother, Jack.

Such was the fate ofAnna Buchan, the second of the children of The Rev John Buchan and his wife, Helen, is in that category and is, inevitably, less well-known than her brother. There were in all five siblings – John, Anna, Willie, Walter and Violet, of whom more later.

Anna Buchan, John Buchan’s sister who came next to him in age, was born in the Manse at Pathhead in Fife in March 1877. Initially she and John had two younger brothers - Willie born inTHE 1880 and Walter JOHN born in 1883. This BUCHAN quartet had a wonderful outdoor STORY childhood, fuelled by their romantic father’s tales. The Inchkeith lighthouse threw its shadow on the night nursery ceiling and convinced the children that it was a giant waving a lantern. They were very naughty and always in mischief. Parishioners used to say “the boys are a’ bad but the girl’s the very de’il”. In 1888 their little sister Violet was born and she became, in particular, Anna’s charge.With three older brothers and a fairly grown-up sister, Violet was cherished and spoiled; she could be a little self-willed and imperious, but the whole family adored her and so it was a huge loss to them all when Violet died agedf ive, probably of tuberculosis of the digestive system. She is buried in the kirkyard in Broughton.