Sharpish frost and a nice crisp day. The roads were good where the frost held + terribly muddy elsewhere. After seeing some five cases I cycled via Appletreehall to Denholm + called for Haddon.1 The poor chap has been in bed for a year. He is fuller of fads than ever2 + jawed away for an hour and a half but he was very pleased to see me + gave me a nice cup of tea. I returned via Lilliesleaf + Greenhill. It was 14 miles going + 12 coming Denholm – Newlands 3 – Lillies 2½ – Selkirk 6½. Corn stooks still out on Greenhill. Hounds at Riddell. H3 + N4 went [illegible].
1 John Haddon (1845-1924), M.D., medical practitioner and dietician, a more or less exact contemporary of Dr Muir, recorded at Denholm, Cavers, Roxburghshire in the 1921 Census and at Denholm in the Medical Register from at least 1902 onwards.
2 Haddon became a fruitarian towards the end of his life. He had been a vegetarian since the late 19th Century, promoted a low-fat vegetarian diet and opposed the drinking of water.
3 Helen Frances ‘Mousey’ Muir (1880-1963), Dr Muir’s third daughter and sometime housekeeper.
4 Agnes Amelia ‘Nancy’ Roberts née Muir (1878-1948), Dr Muir’s second daughter.
[Source: Scottish Borders Archives & Local History Service SBA/657/26, Dr J S Muir of Selkirk, medical practitioner, journal for 1923]
It drizzled the whole day from S.W. I had dream again of riding to see Haddon1 but it was out of the question. I had almost nothing to do. Walked down to Ashybank + after lunch to Cannon Street to vaccinate a child Hume.2 Helen3 went with Nancy4 to the meet at Kelso Quarry. Wrote Haddon + Jean5 sending her Dora’s6 letter of yesterday.
1 John Haddon (1845-1924), M.D., medical practitioner and dietician, an exact contemporary of Dr Muir, recorded at Denholm, Cavers, Roxburghshire in the 1921 Census and at Denholm in the Medical Register from at least 1902 onwards.
2 James Yule Hume, labourer, was recorded at Cannon Street in the 1923, 24 and 25 Valuation Rolls but his name has almost certainly been mis-recorded because the only match is David Yule Hume, who married Margaret ‘Maggie’ Brown at the Roman Catholic Church, Selkirk, in 1923 and they had a daughter Mary Yule Hume the same year. The couple divorced in 1942 when he was serving with H.M. Forces.
3 Helen Frances ‘Mousey’ Muir (1880-1963), Dr Muir’s third daughter and sometime housekeeper.
4 Agnes Amelia ‘Nancy’ Roberts née Muir (1878-1948), Dr Muir’s second daughter.
5 Jane Henderson Logan ‘Jean’ Pike née Muir (1877-1941), Dr Muir’s widowed eldest daughter. She had married, 15 June 1920 at Mayfield U.F. Church, Newington, Edinburgh, Frederick Charles Pike (d.1921), theatrical agent.
6 Andrina Dorothy ‘Dora’ Muir (1882-1978), nurse and Dr Muir’s youngest daughter, who was living and working in Egypt at this time.
[Source: Scottish Borders Archives & Local History Service SBA/657/26, Dr J S Muir of Selkirk, medical practitioner, journal for 1923]
Clear sky again + looking like frost. Glass [barometer] rising. River in flood which could not be due to yesterday’s drizzle. Helen1 went off at 9.45 with Nancy2 + Mrs Mack3 to the meet at Marlefield.4 I walked to Goslaw Green, Hospital, Bridge Street, Muthag Street +c. Went to Mrs Farquharson’s funeral.5 I had one of the cords + so had D.C.A.6, Jas. Mathieson7, John Brown8, Alexr Roberts9 [and] George Colledge.10 I had nothing to do afterwards. Nice letter from Dora.11
1 Helen Frances ‘Mousey’ Muir (1880-1963), Dr Muir’s third daughter and sometime housekeeper.
2 Agnes Amelia ‘Nancy’ Roberts née Muir (1878-1948), Dr Muir’s second daughter.
3 Dr Muir’s good friend Agnes Mackintosh née Watson, formerly Harper (1859-1946) of Elm Park, Selkirk.
5 Mrs Martha Farquharson née Hector (about 1838-1923), died 10 December 1923 at Howard Place, Edinburgh, widow of the Reverend James Farquharson, sometime minister of Selkirk.
6 David Carnegie Alexander, ‘Carnegie Alexander’ or ‘D.C.A.’ (1856-1928), solicitor, usual residence Thirladean, Selkirk.
7 Assume James Mathison (1835-1937), retired bank agent, living at Heatherlie Cottage, Selkirk, 1921 Census, aged 85. James was born 8 December 1835 at Selkirk and died 8 December 1937 at Heatherlie Cottage, aged 102, death certified by D Charteris Graham M.B., Ch.B.
8 It has not proved possible to identify John Brown.
9 Perhaps Alexander Fowler ‘Sandie’ (1844-1929), J.P., woollen manufacturer.
10 Assume George Ross ‘G R’ Colledge (1862-1934), L.L.C.M., professional musician and organist, conductor of the Selkirk Orchestral Society, 1883-1909, and founder of Selkirk Operatic Society, 1927.
11 Andrina Dorothy ‘Dora’ Muir (1882-1978), nurse and Dr Muir’s youngest daughter, who was living and working in Egypt at this time.
[Source: Scottish Borders Archives & Local History Service SBA/657/26, Dr J S Muir of Selkirk, medical practitioner, journal for 1923]
Mild dull drizzling S.W. Miss Richards left this morning with the rest of the A.L.S. Company.1 I walked down Forest Road + then cycled to Hospital where there is a case of S.2, a little girl of Martin the baker3 who was in with it in May /22. Then I cycled to Whitmuirhall Toll + Goslawdale. The ice is entirely off the road + there is plenty “glaur”.4 Went to meeting of Nursing Association in Town Hall. Helen5 motored to Hawick with Nancy.6 Wrote Dora7 + sent her a Calendar of Haining in Snow.
1 Susan Richards, who had stayed at Thorncroft for two nights, was one of the performers with The Arts League of Service which had been performing in Selkirk, see Dr Muir’s diary entries for 10 and 11 December 1923.
2 There had been a prolonged outbreak of Scarlatina and Diphtheria in the Selkirk area during 1921 and 1922.
3 Assume Sybil Elliot Drummond Martin (1916-), Hawick-born daughter of William Martin, master baker, and Marion Lumsden Martin née Drummond, married February 1907 in Edinburgh. Her name is completely mangled in the 1921 Census but the family (including an elder brother Gideon) was recorded at 33 Market Place, Selkirk.
4 Soft, sticky mud [Dictionars o the Scots Leid].
5 Helen Frances ‘Mousey’ Muir (1880-1963), Dr Muir’s third daughter and sometime housekeeper.
6 Agnes Amelia ‘Nancy’ Roberts née Muir (1878-1948), Dr Muir’s second daughter.
7 Andrina Dorothy ‘Dora’ Muir (1882-1978), nurse and Dr Muir’s youngest daughter, who was living and working in Egypt at this time.
[Source: Scottish Borders Archives & Local History Service SBA/657/26, Dr J S Muir of Selkirk, medical practitioner, journal for 1923]
Dry mild with S.W. wind [and] very slight drizzle in forenoon but no sunshine. Made altogether 18 town calls. Got on my bike for the first time since November 10th + went to the Linglie – Sunderland March + back by Bridge Street. Roads very muddy : called at Viewfield1 for Erskine Harper.2 Nancy3 took Susan Richards4 + Helen5 for a run to Innerleithen + went with H. + Mrs Mack6 to the A.L.S. performance.7
1 Viewfield, the Muir and Graham medical partnership’s nursing home at the top of Viewfield Park and immediately behind the Victoria Halls.
2 James Erskine Harper (1887-1953), son of Ebenezer Erskine Harper, sheriff substitute, and Agnes Harper née Watson later Mackintosh.
3 Agnes Amelia ‘Nancy’ Roberts née Muir (1878-1948), Dr Muir’s second daughter.
4 Susan Richards was an otherwise unidentified member of The Arts League of Service, see footnote 7.
5 Helen Frances ‘Mousey’ Muir (1880-1963), Dr Muir’s third daughter and sometime housekeeper.
6 Dr Muir’s good friend Agnes Mackintosh née Watson, formerly Harper (1859-1946) of Elm Park, Selkirk.
7 The Arts League of Service was appearing in Selkirk, see Dr Muir’s diary entry for 10 December 1923.
[Source: Scottish Borders Archives & Local History Service SBA/657/26, Dr J S Muir of Selkirk, medical practitioner, journal for 1923]
A mild damp day with only a little rain. Motored first to Riddell Lodge (Morton1) + then for a message (to go myself) to Andrew Linton, Gilmanscleuch2. Found him a bit nervous after slight flue + being confined to the house for a month. Got back about 3. Went to a delightful performance by the Arts League of Service.3 One of the Company Susan Richards4 stayed here.
1 Andrew Morton, forester, was Inhabitant Occupier of a house West Lodge, North Riddell, Lilliesleaf [1922 Valuation Roll, VR011600033-/882, Roxburgh County, page 882 of 993].
2 Andrew Linton (1876-1951), of Gilmanscleuch, Ettrick, farmer, agriculturalist and collector. His papers are catalogued as Scottish Borders Archives SCS10 (GB1097 SCS10).
3 The Arts League of Service was established in 1919 after a meeting in the studio of dancer and choreographer Margaret Morris, wife of Scottish Colourist J D Fergusson. Amongst other activities it ran an repertory company which for “almost twenty years brought theatre to a large number of communities across Britain.” [sources: Hopkinson, Martin. “The Arts League of Service in London, 1919—28.” Print Quarterly, vol. 30, no. 2, 2013, pp. 179–82. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/23766549. and West, Emma, A Brief Introduction to … the Arts League of Service (ALS), at Revolutionary Red Tape https://emmawest.art.blog/ 01/09/2019, both accessed 9 Dec. 2023].
4 Susan Richards is unidentified but may be Eva Mary ‘Susan’ Richards (1898-1986), who was to marry Basil Budgett in 1926 at Lexden, Essex. She is recorded as a member of the 1923 to 1937 A.L.S. touring parties. With Susan on the 1923 tour were Sarah Ellen ‘Sara’ Allgood (1880-1950), Irish actor; Hermione Baddeley (1906-1986), actor; Norah Balfour, R.A.D.A. Diploma graduate 1915; Rupert Bruce; Basil Henry Budgett (1899-1974), motor mechanic and A.L.S. driver, very occasional performer; Dorothy Clouston (? Dorothy Clouston née Bourn, marr. James M Clouston Jun Quarter 1921, Hastings); Kathleen Dillon (1898-1990), dancer and designer, danced for Margaret Morris aet 13, toured with A.L.S. in the early 1920s, but perhaps best known as the model wearing a home-made hat sitting for J D Fergusson’s portrait ‘Rose Rhythm’; Eleanor Mary Elder (1888-1971), actor, dancer, producer, founder and manager of A.L.S., married Hugh Mackay, September 1923; Felix Myles or Miles Patrick Irwin (1893-1950), travelling actor [1939 Register]; Hubert John Leslie (1890-1976), silhouettist, artist, entertainer and teacher; Agnes Lowson, so far unidentified but, according to Eleanor Elder, Hubert Leslie’s sister (they appeared together during the 1923 tour); Joan Luxton; Hugh Mackay (1888-1966), singer, married Eleanor Elder, September 1923; Cyril Nash (1886-1945), performer with A.L.S. and later with B.B.C. Repertory Company; J Cranstoun Nevill; Winifred Nicholson (?), pianist and accompanist; Susan Richmond; Charles ‘Edmund’ Rubbra (1901-1986), British composer, playing piano for A.L.S. at this time; Rita Thom; Anthony Thomas; Charles Thomas; Alan Trotter; Mackenzie Ward may be Mackenzie Ward (1903-1976), stage and film actor; Geoffrey Wincott (1901-1973), actor, BBC announcer and producer, and Judith Helen Hain née Wogan-Brown (1887-1966), ‘Judith Wogan’, actor and manager.
Sources include: Advocates for the Arts #1: Eleanor Elder in West, Emma, ‘Revolutionary Red Tape Bringing Art to the People in Modern Britain’, 2 Sep 2019; The Arts League of Service 1923 in The Shirburnian No. CCCXLII, June 1923, Volume XXXII; and Elder, Eleanor, ‘Travelling Players The Story of the Arts League of Service’, Frederick Muller, London, 1939.
[Source: Scottish Borders Archives & Local History Service SBA/657/26, Dr J S Muir of Selkirk, medical practitioner, journal for 1923]
Had this been June not December it would have [been] a glorious day. There was keen frost, perfect calm + cloudless sky. Roads grand for walking. Before church I walked sharply to Bridge Street + Dunsdale + after service to Hartwoodburn.1 Did some writing in afternoon. Supped at Wellwood2 + when we left it was mild + drizzling.
2 Wellwood, Ettrick Terrace, Selkirk, home of Dr Muir’s daughter Agnes Amelia ‘Nancy’ Roberts née Muir (1878-1948) and her husband John ‘Jack’ Roberts junior (1876-1966), mill owner.
[Source: Scottish Borders Archives & Local History Service SBA/657/26, Dr J S Muir of Selkirk, medical practitioner, journal for 1923]
It was pouring this morning + scarcely a vestige of snow visible except at the back of dykes +c. Some bits of the roads however were very icy, especially so on the Hartwood[burn]1 road on the Brae going down to the keeper’s house. I got down but I couldn’t get up with the care [sic] + had to turn back by the home [illegible text].2 It cleared up by midday + it was a fine afternoon + freezing once more at night. I motored later to Lilliesleaf + Chapel. Papers full of election results. Government have a majority of only 60 over Labour who are over Liberals.3 Went down to Elmpark4 after dinner to talk about Erskine.5
1 Though it is poorly written here, Hartwoodburn is clearly the location written in Dr Muir’s diary for the 9 December 1923 diary.
2 The handwriting is so poor in places that the Editor has no confidence in identifying Dr Muir’s route and this was exacerbated by the lack of names and addresses visited so often provided by Dr Muir’s diaries.
3 The Conservative and Unionist Party took 258 seats (41.95%), a lead of 67 over the Labour Party’s 191 (31.06%). The Liberal Party took 158 (25.69%). A party needed 308 seats for a majority and in the end the Labour Party under Ramsay MacDonald formed a short-lived minority government with informal support from the Liberal Party.
4 Elm Park, Selkirk, the home of Dr Muir’s good friend Agnes Mackintosh née Watson, formerly Harper (1859-1946).
5 James Erskine Harper (1887-1953), son of Ebenezer Erskine Harper, sheriff substitute, and Agnes Harper née Watson later Mackintosh.
[Source: Scottish Borders Archives & Local History Service SBA/657/26, Dr J S Muir of Selkirk, medical practitioner, journal for 1923]
This transcription and editing project is about to enter its eleventh year. It is time for a little reflection. With the 1914 edits we encountered Dr Muir at something like his peak, full of confidence and energy, with the rushed but consistent handwriting of a typical medic. As a sole practitioner he was at the heart of things. At 78 he has slowed down noticeably, with unsteady and variable handwriting. The single biggest change however was Dr Muir’s decision in 1920 to enter into a medical co-partnery, as he called it. Whether David Charteris Graham, the hard-charging young medic who liked spending time at Bowhill and travelled far-and-wide for shooting parties, was the right choice is moot. What is not was its impact on Dr Muir, who was very much playing second fiddle by 1923.
As a result, after much thought and some consultation, it has been decided to shift publication of the transcripts from 100 years ago to 120 years. One hundred years was an obvious decision at the time, as we received the diaries during the week before the start of the commemorations of the First World War. There is no such consideration now.
From reading the later diaries we already know that Dr Muir’s diaries prior to his death in 1938 are a study of someone in deep old age. This is important and interesting but we judge the medical content to be of greater historical significance. What is proposed therefore is to complete the 1923 diary and then shift to the 1904 volume and move forward from there. However, because there were important family and civic events in 1924 and onwards, the Editor proposes to publish occasional edits from the 100 year old diaries alongside the comprehensive publication of the 1 January 1904 to August 1914 series.
Another quick change to the best fresh [?] yet. S.W. to S. wind + the snow pretty well of the streets except where it had become ice. The bowling green still white but the grass beginning to show. Helen1 went to town with Mrs Mack.2 I saw some town cases + motored to Dunsdale, Bridge Street + Beechwood where I met Flo. Alexander3 whom I haven’t see for along time. Paid my Income Tax. Dalkeith4 has been returned for Parliament with 11,258 : Henderson 8,046 : Dallas 6,811.
1 Helen Frances ‘Mousey’ Muir (1880-1963), Dr Muir’s third daughter and sometime housekeeper.
2 Dr Muir’s good friend Agnes Mackintosh née Watson, formerly Harper (1859-1946) of Elm Park, Selkirk.
3 Jane Florence ‘Flo’ Alexander née Turnbull (1877-1962), daughter of James Turnbull, Writer to the Signet, and Jane Scott. Wife of David Carnegie Alexander. Recorded living at Thirladean, Selkirk, 1921 Census.
4 Walter John Montagu Douglas Scott, 8th Duke of Buccleuch from 1935 but at this time Earl of Dalkeith. He was to take Sir Thomas Henderson’s parliamentary seat for Roxburghshire and Selkirkshire on 6 December 1923 when Dalkeith (Unionist) received 11,258 votes (43.1%) with Henderson (Liberal) receiving 8,046 votes (30.8%) and George Dallas (Labour) 6,811 (26.1%).
[Source: Scottish Borders Archives & Local History Service SBA/657/26, Dr J S Muir of Selkirk, medical practitioner, journal for 1923]
Rumbling Clint's Scottish Notes 