Doric Herts an Heids

On 10th December, Dr Tom McKean, descended from Thomas McKean, who signed the American Declaration of Independence, and Director of Aberdeen University’s Elphinstone Institute, gave a splendid talk, illustrated by maps and music, on the origins of and influences on Doric and the many activities undertaken by the Institute to help ensure that the language of the North-East not only survives but flourishes.

The Forests of Glen Tanar

On 20 February, Irvine Ross kindly stepped in at very short notice to give a fascinating, illustrated talk on the history of the forests of Glen Tanar and Deeside with particular reference to the roles played in the development of these lands by Lord Aboyne, William Cunliffe-Brooks and George Coats.

Henry Grey

Henry Grey, Surgeon of the Great War

On 21st November, Tom Scotland gave a splendid talk on the surgical innovations pioneered in WW1 by the Aberdeen surgeon Henry Grey- made all the more poignant by the inclusion of poems from the war.

Wilfred Owen

On 19 November 2020, Neil McLennan of Aberdeen University gave a most informative and engaging talk on the Scottish influences on the famous WW1 poet, Wilfred Owen, based on new and original research and challenging a number of assumptions about Owen’s poetry and life.