# 1931 in Scotland

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Events from the year 1931 in Scotland.

## Incumbents

* Secretary of State for Scotland and Keeper of the Great Seal – William Adamson until 24 August; then Sir Archibald Sinclair, Bt

### Law officers

* Lord Advocate – Craigie Mason Aitchison
* Solicitor General for Scotland – John Charles Watson until November; then Wilfrid Normand

### Judiciary

* Lord President of the Court of Session and Lord Justice General – Lord Clyde
* Lord Justice Clerk – Lord Alness
* Chairman of the Scottish Land Court – Lord St Vigeans

## Events

* 13 February – Scottish Youth Hostels Association established.
* 1 May – National Trust for Scotland established and acquires its first property, Crookston Castle (donated by Sir John Stirling-Maxwell, 10th Baronet).
* 5 September – Celtic goalkeeper John Thomson dies in hospital after fracturing his skull in a collision with Rangers forward Sam English in the 'Old Firm' League derby at Ibrox Park.
* 15–16 September – Invergordon Mutiny: Sailors in the Royal Navy take strike action over pay cuts.
* 27 October – 1931 United Kingdom general election: The Unionist Party wins a majority of Scottish seats as the National Government retains power with a landslide victory throughout the UK.
* 12 December – work on construction of "Hull 534", the Cunard liner RMS Queen Mary, at John Brown & Company's shipyard at Clydebank is suspended due to the Great Depression.
* 31 December – Ayr Corporation Tramways cease operation, being replaced by bus services operated by Scottish Motor Traction.
* Lord Dumfries purchases the recently deserted islands of St Kilda from Sir Reginald MacLeod of Dunvegan to preserve them as a bird sanctuary; he will bequeath them to the National Trust of Scotland on his death in 1956.

## Births

* 2 January – James D. Murray, mathematician and academic
* 12 January – Bert Ormond, Scottish-born New Zealand footballer (died 2017)
* 26 February – Ally McLeod, football manager (died 2004)
* 13 March
** James Martin, actor
** Helen Renton, Director of the Women's Royal Air Force (died 2016)
* 18 March – John Fraser, actor (died 2020)
* 29 March – James Weatherhead, Church of Scotland minister (died 2017)
* 27 April – Alex Campbell, folk singer (died 1987)
* 29 April – Lonnie Donegan, skiffle musician (died 2002 in England)
* 30 April - William Watson, author, playwright and newspaper editor (died 2005)
* 3 May – Thomas Sutherland, academic and Islamic Jihad hostage (died 2016 in the United States)
* 6 May – Sandy Grant Gordon, whisky distiller (died 2020)
* 9 May
** Jimmy Gauld, footballer involved in match fixing (died 2004 in London)
** Alistair MacFarlane, engineer and academic (died 2021)
* 11 June – Kenneth Cameron, Baron Cameron of Lochbroom, lawyer and judge
* 16 June – John Grant, footballer (died 2021)
* 1 August - Pat Heywood, actress
* 2 August – Karl Miller, literary editor (died 2014 in England)
* 11 September – Bill Simpson, television actor (died 1993)
* 22 September – George Younger, Conservative politician, Secretary of State for Scotland (died 2003)
* 24 September – Elizabeth Blackadder, painter (died 2021)
* September - Arthur Thompson, gangster (died 1986)
* 9 December – Ian McIntyre, journalist and BBC Radio executive (died 2014)
* 16 December - Karl Denver, singer (died 1998 in Manchester)
* 29 December – Bobby Shearer, footballer (died 2006)
* Eric Auld, painter (died 2013)

## Deaths

* 17 March – James Stewart, Labour Party politician, MP for Glasgow St. Rollox 1922–1931 (born 1863)
* 27 May – Norah Neilson Gray, portrait painter (born 1882)
* 5 August – Archibald Barr, mechanical engineer (born 1855)
* 3 December - Frederick Walters, architect, notable for his Roman Catholic churches (born 1849 in London)
* 7 December – Leslie Hunter, painter (born 1877)
* David Hay Fleming, historian and antiquary (born 1849)
* Ronald Campbell Macfie, medical doctor, poet and science writer (born 1867)
* Andrew Seth Pringle-Pattison, philosopher (born 1856)

## The arts

* Jenny Brown's documentary film A Crofter's Life in Scotland is made.
* A. J. Cronin's first novel Hatter's Castle is published.
* Bruce Marshall's novel Father Malachy's Miracle is published.
* Dorothy L. Sayers' detective story The Five Red Herrings, set amongst the Galloway artistic community, is published.
* Approximate date – Ronnie L. Scott makes the first Scottish colour film, Where the Bens Stand Sentinel, and first Scottish sound film, Sunny Days.