15 March 1921 diary of Dr John Stewart Muir (1845-1938) of Selkirk

Fair in forenoon but followed by a stiff Sou’ Wester + heavy rain + much milder. Walked to Elmrow, Curror Street, Sime & Co. + Glebe Terrace + then was at Viewfield¹ from 11 till 1.45 for 3 operations. Was not out after till 6.30 when I had to go to Drummond², Kirkwynd. Dined at Forest Club³ with Charles Dunlop⁴ who was Croupier. Duke⁵ in Chair + at [dinner] between Dunlop + Mark Sprot⁶. Pollok⁷ was there with Alex Roberts⁸ (who had also invited me⁹), [? Smoky] Younger¹⁰, Gen. Jardine¹¹, Scott Plummer¹² + a man Gillon¹³. Slept in Smoke Room till 4 a.m.

¹ Viewfield was the Muir and Graham medical partnership’s new (opened 4 June 1920) surgery and cottage hospital; now the Andrew Lang Unit, its previous tenant had been Alexina Margaret Buist (1853-1936)

² Robert Heston Drummond (1234-1234), engineer was Tenant Occupier at 4 Kirkwynd, Selkirk [1921 Valuation Roll, VR007900012-/160, Selkirk Burgh, page 160 of 644]

³ The dinner of the Forest Club held 15 March 1921 at Selkirk, was attended by (as they are recorded in the minute) C H Scott Plummer, C W Dunlop, Duke of Buccleuch, A T Roberts, Mark Sprot, William Younger and J B Jardine with guests S Gillon, J S Muir and John Pollok [The Forest Club, minutes 1874-1956, Scottish Borders Archives & Local History Service SBA/584/4]

⁴ Charles Walter Dunlop (1846-1922), merchant, of Whitmuirhall, Selkirk

⁵ John Charles Montagu Douglas Scott (1864-1935), 7th Duke of Buccleuch

⁶ Mark Sprot (1881-1946), landowner and army officer, of Riddell, Lilliesleaf

⁷ John Pollok (1858-1938), Town Clerk and Procurator Fiscal, Selkirk

⁸ Alexander Thomas ‘Alec’ Roberts (1885-1972)

⁹ On reflection the Editor assumes that this means that Dr Muir had been invited as his guest already by Charles Dunlop (as recorded by the minute of the meeting) and that Alec Roberts had then proceeded to invite Pollok instead

¹⁰ William Younger (1857-1925), of Ravenswood, Melrose whose membership of the Forest Club since 1911 is recorded in a list of members of March 1921 [The Forest Club, minutes 1874-1956, Scottish Borders Archives & Local History Service SBA/584/4]

¹¹ Brigadier General James Bruce Jardine (1870-1955), CMG DSO DL, of Chesterknowes, Lilliesleaf

¹² Charles Henry Scott Plummer (1859-1948), J.P.; Lord-Lieutenant, of Middlestead, and Sunderland Hall

¹³ S Gillon was C H Scott Plummer’s guest but is otherwise unidentified

[Source: Scottish Borders Archives & Local History Service SBA/657/24, Dr J S Muir of Selkirk, medical practitioner, journal for 1921]