1943 in Scotland explained

Events from the year 1943 in Scotland.

Incumbents

• Secretary of State for Scotland and Keeper of the Great Seal – Tom Johnston

Law officers

• Lord Advocate – James Reid
• Solicitor General for Scotland – Sir David King Murray

Judiciary

• Lord President of the Court of Session and Lord Justice General – Lord Normand
• Lord Justice Clerk – Lord Cooper
• Chairman of the Scottish Land Court – Lord Gibson

Events

• 11 February – At the Midlothian and Peebles Northern by-election, the radical socialist Common Wealth Party candidate Tom Wintringham comes close to winning the seat (which is held for the Unionist Party by Sir David King Murray).
• 24 February – Royal Navy submarine is lost with all 37 crew on sea trials in the Sound of Bute; she would not be located until 1994.^{[1] [2]}
• 27 March – Royal Navy escort carrier is destroyed by an accidental explosion in the Firth of Clyde, killing 379 of the crew of 528.
• 21 April – "Big Blitz" bombing of Aberdeen.^[3]
• 30 May – Royal Navy submarine is lost with all hands on a training exercise in the Firth of Clyde.
• 19 June – Jackie Paterson wins the world flyweight boxing title by a knockout in the first minute at Hampden Park in Glasgow.^[4]
• 5 August – North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board established by Act of Parliament^[5] (with headquarters in Edinburgh).
• 11 November – Total evacuation of an area near Portmahomack in Easter Ross begins, to make way for rehearsal of the Normandy Landings.^[6]
• 2 December – Broughty Ferry pigeon Winkie, serving with the Royal Air Force, is among the first recipients of the Dickin Medal, instituted to honour the work of animals in war.^[7]
• The last crofting family leaves the island of South Rona.
• Ferranti open a plant at Crewe Toll in Edinburgh, originally to manufacture gyro gunsights for aircraft.

Births

• 23 January – Ernie Hannigan, footballer (died 2015 in Australia)
• 31 January – Peter McRobbie, screen actor in the United States
• 18 February – Graeme Garden, author, actor, comedian, artist and television presenter, one of The Goodies
• 1 March – Witold Rybczynski, Canadian American architect, born in Edinburgh
• 3 April – John Hughes, footballer (died 2022))
• 16 April – Morris Stevenson, footballer (died 2014)
• 19 April – Margo MacDonald, politician (died 2014)^[8]
• 1 May – Ian Dunn, gay and paedophile rights activist, founder of the Scottish Minorities Group (died 1998)^[9]
• 5 May – Kay Ullrich, politician (died 2021)
• 10 May – Jack Bruce, rock musician (died 2014)
• 22 June – J. Michael Kosterlitz, Scottish-born condensed matter physicist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics
• 16 July – Ian Donald Cochrane Hopkins, comedy writer
• 18 July – Robin MacDonald, pop guitarist (died 2015)
• 20 August – Sylvester McCoy, born Percy James Patrick Kent-Smith, actor
• 16 October – Tommy Gemmell, footballer (died 2017)
• 24 November – Robin Williamson, acoustic musician
• 28 November – George T. Miller, film director (died 2023 in Australia)
• Alan Bold, poet and biographer (died 1998)
• G. C. Peden, historian
• D. R. Thorpe, biographer

Deaths

• 17 June – Annie S. Swan, novelist (born 1859)
• 8 September - Anderson Gray McKendrick, military physician and epidemiologist, (born 1876)
• 15 October – William Soutar, poet (born 1898)
• 23 December – George Henry, painter (born 1858)
• Ann Scott-Moncrieff, author (born 1914)

The arts

• November – Sorley MacLean's first collection of Gaelic poems, Dàin do Eimhir agus Dàin Eile, is published.
• Glasgow Citizens Theatre founded.
• Poetry Scotland magazine founded in Glasgow by Maurice Lindsay.

See also

• Timeline of Scottish history
• 1943 in Northern Ireland

Notes and References

1. Web site: The Loss of HM Submarine Vandal (P64) off the Isle of Arran in 1943. ClydeMaritime. Angus. MacKinnon. 2010. 2018-02-24.
2. Web site: HMS/M Vandal: Inchmarnock Water, Sound Of Bute, Firth Of Clyde. Canmore. Historic Environment Scotland. Edinburgh. 2011. 2018-02-24.
3. Web site: The Aberdeen Mittwoch Blitz - Wednesday 21st April 1943. The Doric Columns. 2013-09-01. 2018-02-24.
4. Web site: Jackie Paterson: World Champion 1943. A Sporting Nation. BBC. November 2005. 2014-07-18.
5. Web site: Power From the Glens. 2010-06-18. PDF. Perth. Scottish and Southern Energy. 2005. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20071018233304/http://www.scottish-southern.co.uk/sseinternet/assets/569CABFE-1165-4ED8-9419-CF3B5A64BC98.pdf. 2007-10-18.
6. Web site: Notable Dates in History. The Flag in the Wind. The Scots Independent. 2014-07-17. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20140523225830/http://www.scotsindependent.org/dates1-g.htm. 2014-05-23.
7. Web site: Dickin medal pigeons. PDSA. 2010-03-01. https://web.archive.org/web/20100213211708/http://www.pdsa.org.uk/about-us/animal-bravery-awards/dickin-medal-pigeons. 2010-02-13. dead.
8. Web site: Margo MacDonald obituary . The Guardian. London. 23 November 2020 . en . 4 April 2014.
9. News: Obituary: Ian Dunn. https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220501/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/obituary-ian-dunn-1151494.html . 1 May 2022 . subscription . live. The Independent. London.