Dull most of the day + a few drops of rain after 9. Coldish N.W. wind : but bright + sunny in evening. Saw Mrs Dunn¹ at 9 + then went down to Effie Robertson² to see her wound dressed by Nurse Mann.³ Saw 15 cases walking + cycled to Eastfield, Midlem, Lilliesleaf + Riddell getting back at 3.15. Had to go down to Muthag Street a second time for Mrs Cleghorn.⁴ There wasn’t a single new message today. Got a P.C. [postcard] from Dav.⁵ dated 23^rd.

¹ Assume this refers to Agnes Ralph Dunn née Waldie (1858-1926), of 1 Marion Crescent, Selkirk.

² Effie Robertson is as yet unidentified (though there was a Euphemia Robertson, aged 23, a tweed weaver with R Sim & Co., living with her family at 30 Muthag Street, Selkirk, recorded in the 1921 Census). See also Dr Muir’s diary for 29 June 1923.

³ Nurse Mann (or even Nurse Nurse!) is so far unidentified.

⁴ Elizabeth ‘Lizzie’ Cleghorn née Wallace had given birth on 21st June. See diary entries for 20th and 21st June 1923..

⁵ David Charteris ‘Dav.’ Graham (1889-1963), M.B., Ch.B., medical practitioner and Dr Muir’s business partner.

[Source: Scottish Borders Archives & Local History Service SBA/657/26, Dr J S Muir of Selkirk, medical practitioner, journal for 1923]

Another delightful day sunny + warm but not oppressive. Was called out soon after getting to bed at 12.30 for Effie Robertson, Muthag Street¹ who had some colicky pain. It was a lovely night with full moon. Today I did a town list of 18 walking including Ettrickhaugh Mill + Hospital. No County work. There was no possibility of getting to the Conference of Insurance Societies, Clerks, Committees +c in Edinburgh. Nancy + Helen² walked via Corbie Linn to Traquair³ + motored back. Helen went to the P.H. [Picture House] with Mrs Mack.⁴ Long + interesting letter from Dora.⁵ Paid some accounts.

¹ Effie Robertson is as yet unidentified (though there was a Euphemia Robertson, aged 23, a tweed weaver with R Sim & Co., living with her family at 30 Muthag Street, Selkirk, recorded in the 1921 Census).

² Agnes Amelia ‘Nancy’ Roberts née Muir (1878-1948), Dr Muir’s second daughter and Helen Frances ‘Mousey’ Muir (1880-1963), Dr Muir’s third daughter and sometime housekeeper.

³ Corby Linn, Selkirk, grid reference NGR NT448,294 and Traquair, Tweeddale, area of grid reference NT331,351.

⁴ Agnes Mackintosh née Watson, formerly Harper (1859-1946), of Elm Park, Selkirk.

⁵ Andrina Dorothy ‘Dora’ Muir (1882-1978), nurse and Dr Muir’s youngest daughter, was living and working in Egypt.

[Source: Scottish Borders Archives & Local History Service SBA/657/26, Dr J S Muir of Selkirk, medical practitioner, journal for 1923]

A really fine summer day. Warm + sunny yet not too hot. I had to sign death certs today for Mrs Anderson, Hyndhope¹ + the boy Wilson from E Essenside who died at the Hospital.² Made 16 Town visits + cycled to Ravensheugh + Newarkburn. Was shocked to see in The Scotsman the notice of John Guthrie Smith’s death + later got a wire from Lizzie whom I wrote.³ Mrs Mack⁴ having been in Edinburgh brought me a hankie : pair of gloves : box of chocs + gave me 66/- to get a dozen of sparkling Muscatel from Whiteley!⁵

¹ Christina Anderson née Nichol (1877-1923), wife of John Anderson, farm manager, died 28 June 1923 at Hyndhope, Kirkhope, aged 46, death certified by John S Muir M.B. &c.

² John Sim Wilson (about 1909-1923), assistant shepherd, son of James Wilson, farmer, and Jane Wilson née Pringle, died 28 June 1923, aged 14, at the Infectious Diseases Hospital, Selkirk, usual residence Easter Essenside, Ashkirk, of Scarlatina 14 days, Pleuro pneumonia 8 days, death certified by John S Muir M.B. &c.

³ John Guthrie Smith (1868-1923), husband of Elizabeth Orr ‘Lizzie’ Guthrie Smith née Rennie (1858–1926), daughter of The Reverend James Rennie, Church of Scotland minister and Catherine Stewart Rennie née Muir, thus Dr Muir’s niece.

⁴ Agnes Mackintosh née Watson, formerly Harper (1859-1946), of Elm Park, Selkirk, whose home was sometimes referred to by Dr Muir as “The Magic Cave”.

⁵ Assume Whiteley’s department store, London.

[Source: Scottish Borders Archives & Local History Service SBA/657/26, Dr J S Muir of Selkirk, medical practitioner, journal for 1923]

A dull but pleasant day clear at night. The annual meeting of the Edinburgh Branch was held today at North Berwick¹ but I had made up my mind not to go as it would have taken me away at 1. + it was just as well for a primipara in Buccleuch Road (Mrs Hume’s daughter Brown) came on the scene + I didn’t get her over till 5.30.² I cycled round town making 17 calls. Was at Hospital for boy Wilson from East Essenside³ with Scarlet fever + pleurisy. + had to go on to Jas. Chisholm⁴, So. Port before dinner + Mrs Dunn⁵ after Tina + Bessie left today.⁶

¹ The Edinburgh Branch of the British Medical Association included south east Scotland.

² The Editor cannot as yet identify the baby or the mother.

³ James Wilson was the Inhabitant Occupier of a house at East Essenside, Ashkirk [1923 Valuation Roll].

⁴ James Chisholm’s occupation is not recorded in the Valuation Roll.

⁵ Assume this refers to Agnes Ralph Dunn née Waldie (1858-1926), of 1 Marion Crescent, Selkirk.

⁶ Assume Christina Robertson ‘Tina’ Patrick née Rodger (about 1846-1924) and her daughter Elizabeth Maud ‘Bessie’ Patrick (1881-1945). Both had been staying at Selkirk.

[Source: Scottish Borders Archives & Local History Service SBA/657/26, Dr J S Muir of Selkirk, medical practitioner, journal for 1923]

Delightful day : no wind plenty sun : rather hazy. Had horrible indigestion + sat up in my dressing gown in the Smoke room after a hot bath till between 4 + 5.¹ When I was shaving I had one of my giddy, [illegible] attacks + fell off the chair. However I improved during the day. Cycled in town + motored to Hyndhope + walked to the Back o’ the hill of Howford² where new people Hogg have come.³ He is a brother of John Hogg, Cramalt.⁴ The Patons⁵ were here. I had a meeting of the Cycle Club Comm^ttee at night. Nancy + Jack⁶ went to Cheviot via College Water.⁷

¹ For a man of nearly 80 Dr Muir wasn’t slowing down much.

² Dr Muir drove to Hyndhope, Kirkhope, grid reference NGR NT366,210 from where (not the obvious route) he walked into the area at the back of (south of) Howford Hill and Helmburn Hill, see Ordnance Survey six inch Selkirkshire Sheet XV, published 1863 (later six inch sheets split the area north and south and thus diminish one’s ability to see the area as one).

³ Assume Arthur Hogg, shepherd, who was Inhabitant Occupier not rated at a house at Howford, Kirkhope [1924 Valuation Rolls VR011700009-/475, Selkirk County, page 475 of 605].

⁴ The brothers have not yet been precisely identified, partly because no Hogg is recorded at this time at Cramalt.

⁵ Isabella Clementina ‘Isa’ Paton (1838-1929) and her sister Marion Agnes Paton (about 1841-1940) had lived at Galashiels since moving there from Selkirk in May 1918.

⁶ Agnes Amelia ‘Nancy’ Roberts née Muir (1878-1948), Dr Muir’s second daughter, and her husband John ‘Jack’ Roberts junior (1876-1966), mill owner.

⁷ The College Burn, a linear feature through grid reference NGR NT893,276 and which debouches into the River Glen near Westnewton, Northumberland (south west of Milfield). The couple must have ascended The Cheviot, NT909,205, by its northerly or westerly flank.

[Source: Scottish Borders Archives & Local History Service SBA/657/26, Dr J S Muir of Selkirk, medical practitioner, journal for 1923]

A fine day. In the morning it was absolutely calm : not a leaf stirring and it was the same at night. There had evidently been a good deal of rain. I made 26 calls including Shawpark¹ + Lindean Station.² There were 5 new cases. I was called down to Brownlee, Buccleuch Road after dinner to see a boy with a big rake hook in his hand.³ I had to give Chlor[oform]. Then I had to go to Viewfield to see Jas. Linton⁴ + there was a crowd at Consultation hour.

¹ Dr Muir had been attending Shawpark, Selkirk from time to time to see John Dun Boylan (1850-1924), a civil engineer, who had a heart attack on 11 March 1923.

² Dr Muir had attended Lindean Station two days earlier to see a child of Hugh Waddell Swan, railway passenger guard, and Isabella Swan née Scott, see Dr Muir’s diary entry for 23 June 1923.

³ Presumably one of the children of James Brownlee and Dora Matilda Brownlee née Thomson (1882-1963) who had married, 1911, at Selkirk and lived at 52 Buccleuch Road, Selkirk. The children were Robert Brownlee (1913-1986), William N Thomson Brownlee (1917-), and twins Walter Renwick Brownlee (1919-1943) and Ross Brown Thomson Brownlee (1919-2007).

Walter Brownlee, one of the twins, Service No. 3191704, a Lance Corporal serving with the 5th Battalion the Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders, died 6 April 1943, aged 24, presumably during the fighting as the Axis forces withdrew westwards through Libya and Tunisia “pursued by the Allied Eighth Army” [CWGC], and is buried at Sfax War Cemetery, Tunisia, grave reference II. A. 14. His personal inscription reads “At The Rising And The Going Down Of The Sun We Will Remember” [https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2182544/walter-renwick-brownlee/].

⁴ James Linton is as yet unidentified.

[Source: Scottish Borders Archives & Local History Service SBA/657/26, Dr J S Muir of Selkirk, medical practitioner, journal for 1923]

What a farce! Not a glint of sunshine + the same strong N.W. wind that has prevailed since Friday. [text deleted] It began to rain between 9 + 10 p.m. + the wind went round E. Dressed Edith Graham’s¹ breast : did “Peter” at Viewfield² + cycled to Bridgelands, Hospital, Muthag Street, The Firs, Ettrickhaugh Road, Castle Street +c. Wrote Guy³, Mr D’arcy⁴, report on Nina Purvis⁵, Stevens⁶ (re N Berwick meeting⁷) + Drever.⁸ Went to evening service. After supper message to Mrs Richardson, Ettrick Road⁹ + then to Mrs Smith, Backrow¹⁰

¹ Edith Graham née Scott had a child on 27 May 1923 but appears to have continuing health problems.

² Dr Muir has used this expression previously (see diary entry for 22 January 1923) but the Editor cannot find any information about its usage.

³ The Reverend Gavin Struthers ‘Guy’ Muir (1846-1927), Dr Muir’s brother.

⁴ D’arcy is so far unidentified.

⁵ Nina Macdonnell Purves (1892-1961), living at 141 Forest Road, Selkirk in 1921, the daughter of David Purves, farmer, and Jane Purves née Forrest, married 1887 at Foulden, Berwickshire.

⁶ John Stevens (1859-1930)), M.A., M.D., F.J.C.P.Ed., medical practitioner, born Dunbarney, Perthshire, former Physician to the Edinburgh Western Dispensary and “indefatigable worker in the British Medical Association” of whom his obituary noted that “After joining the British Medical Association in 1892, he devoted a very large share of his time and energy to its various organisations, and the work of the Association may be said to have formed the principal hobby of his life. For many years he served as a member of the Executive Committee of the local Edinburgh Division, becoming its chairman in 1922. He became honorary secretary of the Edinburgh Branch in 1914, an office which he held till 1927, when he became its president. He attended every meeting of the Representative Body of the Association from 1914 till the year before his death, and served as a member of the Central Council from 1926 till his fatal illness rendered attendance at the meetings in London impossible.” [“John Stevens, M.A., M.D., F.R.C.P.Ed., Formerly Physician To The Edinburgh Western Dispensary.” The British Medical Journal, vol. 2, no. 3630, 1930, pp. 196–196. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/25336918. Accessed 10 Oct. 2022.].

⁷ A British Medical Association branch meeting was scheduled for 27 June 1923 (see Dr Muir’s diary for that date).

⁸ James Richan Drever (1873-1956), medical practitioner and administrator, M.A., M.B., F.R.C.P.Ed., born Alexandria, West Dunbartonshire, M.A., 1893, M.B., C.M. (Glasgow), 1906, Scottish Medical Secretary of the B.M.A., 1919- [“J. R. Drever, M.A., M.B., F.R.C.P.Ed. Late Scottish Medical Secretary, British Medical Association.” The British Medical Journal, vol. 1, no. 3772, BMJ, 1933, pp. 725–26, http://www.jstor.org/stable/25351306.%5D

⁹ Mrs Richardson is as yet unidentified.

¹⁰ Mrs Smith is so far unidentified.

[Source: Scottish Borders Archives & Local History Service SBA/657/26, Dr J S Muir of Selkirk, medical practitioner, journal for 1923]

N.W. gale continued with some sunshine + a clear atmosphere. In fact it was a fine day + not too warm. Was called up at 7 for Mrs Todd, Bridgelands (M. C.).¹ Cycled round town + then to Riddell Lodge, Lilliesleaf, Midlem, Eastfield + back by Bridgelands. At 9 was called down to see a child of Swan, Lindean Station who had fallen on the rails.²

¹ Mrs Todd is as yet unidentified.

² The child Swan may well be either Jane Helen Swan (1919-) or Thomas Scott Swan (1917-), both born Edinburgh, the children of Hugh Waddell Swan, railway passenger guard, and Isabella Swan née Scott, married 1910 at Saltoun, East Lothian. They had other children but the youngest two seem the most likely to have fallen onto the line.

[Source: Scottish Borders Archives & Local History Service SBA/657/26, Dr J S Muir of Selkirk, medical practitioner, journal for 1923]

Strong N.W. gale : fair. Saw a dozen cases cycling to Rockville, Muthag Street, Dunsdale, Sund. Hall, Bridgelands + Hospital. Was nearly ready to start for Edinburgh when message came to Campbell¹, Riddell West Lodge.² Knowing there was a Campbell at East Lodge³ I motored there intending to come back via Lindean⁴ but I found there was a Campbell at West Lodge to whom the message was so I had to go there + come back to Selkirk so it was 4.45 before we got away but the old Swift⁵ took me in about 6.50 + I looked in on Jean⁶ too. The dinner of the Residents’ Club⁷ was in the N. Brit. Hotel⁸ + there must have been 100 there. I sat between Bramwell⁹ + a man Howatson¹⁰ from Reigate. Hodsdon¹¹ was in the Chair. Left at 11.30 + got home [illegible] after 1.30. Nothing wanted.

¹ Campbell is so far unidentified.

² Riddell West Lodge, grid reference NGR NT514,243 is visible on Ordnance Survey Six Inch Roxburghshire Sheet XIII.SE, published 1899.

³ Riddell East Lodge, grid reference NT534,257 is visible on Ordnance Survey Six Inch Roxburghshire Sheet XIII.SE, published 1899..

⁴ Travelling from Riddell East Lodge Dr Muir would have driven up to Midlem then Clarilawmuir where he would have done a quick right-and-left down through Lindean thus avoiding Selkirk.

⁵ The Swift Motor Company made Swift Cars in Coventry. Dr Muir (or the medical practice) had run one as a ‘workhorse’ car since he had acquired it some time before August 1914.

⁶ Jane Henderson Logan ‘Jean’ Pike née Muir (1877-1941), Dr Muir’s eldest daughter, widowed in 1921 and living in Newington.

⁷ The Edinburgh Royal Infirmary Residents’, sometimes Old Residents’, Club.

⁸ The North British (Station) Hotel above Waverley Railway Station, Edinburgh, now named The Balmoral.

⁹ Edwin ‘Ed’ Bramwell (1873-1952), Professor, M.B., Ch.B., F.R.C.P.E., Scottish neurologist, specialist in brain injuries and shell-shock and President of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh from 1933 to 1935.

¹⁰ Almost certainly Dr James Hewetson (1859-), M.B., medical practitioner, born Cockermouth, medical registration 9 November 1881 in Scotland and living at Holmfield, Reigate, Surrey, 1923.

¹¹ Sir James William Beeman Hodsdon (1858-1928), KBE, FRCSEd, Scottish surgeon, served as president of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh 1914-1917.

[Source: Scottish Borders Archives & Local History Service SBA/657/26, Dr J S Muir of Selkirk, medical practitioner, journal for 1923]

Dullish day with blinks of sun. [Wind] W.N.W. : strongish : dry : was knocked up at 12.30 a.m. for Mrs Cleghorn.¹ Stayed there + got some sleep in a bed. Very stiff forceps case at 10.30.² Came up for breakfast. I bought Mrs Cleghorn (Lizzie Wallace) into the world at Bridge Street August 22 1895.³ Motored to Clifton Road, Bridgelands (Mrs Todd⁴ + Miss Scott⁵), Hospital, Green Terrace + Braidgarhill. Found kid⁶ no better. Gave Chlor[oform] + found abdominal swelling: possibly … bladder but more like a tumour. Failed to catheterise. Sent it to the Sick Kids.⁷ Came back by Ettrickhaugh Road + Muthag Street.

¹ Dr Muir had attended Elizabeth ‘Lizzie’ Cleghorn née Wallace the day before, see diary entry for 20 June 1923.

² Alexander Cleghorn, born 21 June 1923 at 48 Muthag Street, Selkirk, the son of Tom Cleghorn, dyehouse labourer, and Elizabeth ‘Lizzie’ Cleghorn née Wallace, married 28 July 1922 at Heatherlie Manse, Selkirk, at which time Cleghorn was described as a restaurateur.

³ Elizabeth ‘Lizzie’ Cleghorn née Wallace (1895-1234), born 22 August 1895 at Bridge Street, Philiphaugh, Selkirk, the daughter of Matthew Wallace, yarn dyer, and Elizabeth Wallace née Linton.

⁴ Mrs Todd is as yet unidentified.

⁵ Miss Scott is as yet unidentified.

⁶ Ian George Francis Graham (1923-), son of Edith Graham née Scott and Thomas Newton Graham, political secretary, married 8 June 1916 at Selkirk (see diary entry for 20 June 1923).

⁷ The Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Sciennes Road, Edinburgh, familiarly known as Sick Kinds, and now the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People at Little France, Edinburgh.

[Source: Scottish Borders Archives & Local History Service SBA/657/26, Dr J S Muir of Selkirk, medical practitioner, journal for 1923]