2021

Our President in 2021/2 was:

Professor Murray Pittock

He was also President in 2019/20 and expected to propose the Toast to Sir Walter at our Annual Dinner on 7th May 2020 but due to the impact of COVID-19 that event was cancelled.  He was re-elected as President and spoke at our 112th Annual Dinner on 5th May 2022. 

Summary of the Speech:

Prof. Pittock explores Sir Walter Scott’s overlooked legacy as a figure not of nostalgic medievalism but of technological progress, global influence, and cultural modernity. Scott’s name was widely adopted for locomotives, steamers, clippers, hotels, and even suburban streets across the world, indicating his immense international influence.



His work connected Scots at home and abroad, shaping tourism, national identity, and even dog breeding (the Scottish Deerhound and the revived Irish Wolfhound). The speech reframes Scott as a dynamic force who helped fuse past and future, tradition and innovation.


Interesting Points Worth Highlighting:

  1. Global Transport Legacy: Dozens of 19th- and 20th-century trains and steamships were named after Scott’s characters, showing how he was a symbol of progress and modern travel.
  2. Diaspora Symbolism: Events in Shanghai and North China using Scott’s characters show his novels were a cultural glue for Scots abroad.
  3. Scott and Technology: He chaired a gas company and installed modern lighting at Abbotsford—an unusual move for a Romantic writer, embracing innovation.
  4. Tourism & The Deerhound: Scott helped invent the romantic tourism of the Trossachs and influenced the conservation and cultural symbolism of Scottish dogs.
  5. Cultural Export: Places as far apart as Sydney, New York, and Palo Alto adopted Scott-themed names, reflecting his deep imprint on the Anglophone imagination.

  • List of Members Present

    On Thursday 5th May 2022, the Annual Dinner of the Club took place in the New Club, Edinburgh. Very Rev Prof. Iain R. Torrance presided over a company of 40+ members: 

    William Agnew, Dr. Patricia Andrews, Çiğdem Balim, Astrid Balodis, Iain G. Brown, Simon Burton, Lady Caplan, Ian Chisholm, Alan Cran, Ian Davitt, Sir Tom Devine, Jane Ferrier, Prof. Penny Fielding, Louise Gardiner, Brigadier Ian Gardiner, Gillian Garside, Professor Peter Garside, Kath Hardie, Anne Irons, Norman Irons, Prof. Catherine Jones, Stuart Leckie, Hugh Lockhart, Pippa Lockhart, Lady Lucinda Mackay, Madeleine MacKenzie, Very Rev. Allan MacLean of Dochgarroch, Helen MacPherson, David McClay, Anna Millar, Nan Mitchell, Tom Murison, Stephen O'Rourke, Dr. Anne Pittock, Hugh Salvesen, Astrid Silins, Lee Simpson, Anthea Sinclair, Cllr Peter Smaill, William Staempfli, Rhoddie Stewart-Meiklejohn, Krystyna Szumelukowa, Lady Torrance,  Michael Turpie, Eric Wishart, Dr. Michael Wood, Dr. Lucy Wood, Irene Young, Hugh Andrew.

Murray Pittock MAE FRSE is Bradley Professor and has been in senior leadership roles at the University of Glasgow since 2008: currently he is Pro Vice-Principal. He also serves as Chair of the Governance Board of the Scottish Council on Global Affairs, is co-Chair of the Scottish Arts and Humanities Alliance, Chair of Trustees of the International Association for the Study of Scottish Literatures, a Trustee of the National Trust for Scotland and a board member of NISE.eu which brings together research on national identity from 50 research institutes across Europe. He regularly gives advice to government and evidence to select committees and was a member of the UK-Canada intergovernmental colloquium in 2021. In 2022 he was Scotland’s national Knowledge Exchange Champion and in 2023 a senior member of the team from the Centre for Robert Burns Studies who won the Queen’s Anniversary Prize for the University of Glasgow. He has held visiting appointments at Yale, New York University, Notre Dame, Trinity College, Dublin, Charles University, Prague, South Carolina and other institutions, and has held some 20 grants as Principal Investigator; currently he is co-Investigator of the £5.6M Museums in the Metaverse project. He is general editor of the Edinburgh Edition of the Works of Allan Ramsay (6 volumes) and his recent books include Scotland: the Global History (2022, Spectator History Book of the Year choice, CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title of the Year), Enlightenment in a Smart City (2018, one Book of the Year award) and Culloden (2016, 2017, 2021, 2022, History Today Book of the Year Choice, House of Commons reading list, Warfare History Network Choice).