Mrs Bonfield was Secretary of the Women’s Student Union at Edinburgh University and had brought together Edinburgh’s Professors of Philosophy and Humanity with two of her own contacts in Spring 1936 in hope of establishing a society to promote interest in Scottish culture, inspired by Andrew Dewar-Gibb, one of the founders of the SNP. Dewar-Gibb did not consider it would be appropriate to convene the meeting himself, given the aim was for the society to be unaffiliated with any political party.
A ‘sort of manifesto’
Mrs Bonfield was not to be dissuaded. She drew up a ‘sort of manifesto’. ‘The Saltire Society has been formed with the object of restoring Scotland to its proper position as a cultural unit,’ she wrote. Today we might question whether Scotland had ever been culturally unified, but the document did the trick. Mrs Bonfield arranged another meeting to discuss the manifesto, this time in Glasgow. She brought along her brother-in-law, the writer Eric Linklater, and journalist and literary editor William Power, President of the PEN Club (later Scottish PEN). Feeling was more positive and the ‘Saltoun Society’ was born. Dissent immediately followed over the name and there was a brief trial of the ‘Montrose Society’ before the founding members hit on the name we still use today. The Saltire Society was born.
The ruined typewriter
In its early years, the Society was much indebted to the indefatigable Mrs Bonneville – later Mrs Sheppard – who continued to serve as its Secretary. In summer 1936, she decamped to Orkney where Linklater complained she wore out his typewriter dashing off letters to potential recruits. Members of the establishment were key targets and soon she had signed up the Chair of the Royal Fine Arts Commission and the Ancient Monuments Board, the Rector of Glasgow University and the Lord High Commissioner of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. Artists and creatives included Hugh MacDiarmid, Edwin and Willa Muir, Stanley Cursiter and Compton Mackenzie. They all paid their 5/- annual subscription.
Early initiatives included an exhibition of contemporary art in Glasgow which secured an ally in J. D. Fergusson, the Scottish Colourist, and the Society supported the setting up of the New Art Club. Alison Sheppard was invited to open the Club on 1 December 1940, and was described by Fergusson as having ‘devoted herself to Scottish art.’
Famous names
Many members of the Society sought to educate themselves in Scottish culture and, to this end, established branches meeting regularly in communities across Scotland and further afield. Then and now, members have been able to access enriching social contact and connection with Scottish and local heritage and arts. Many iconic individuals contributed to branch programmes: Nan Shepherd, Norman McCaig and Sorley MacLean, to name just three.
From the earliest days of the Society, there was a strong focus on architecture and literature. Housing Design Awards recognised the importance of housing policy and practice in society. Many Scots grew up in housing schemes and single buildings boasting a Saltire plaque. As well as a Book Award – first won by Neil Gunn in 1937 for Highland River, when the panel was made up of Edwin Muir, Eric Linklater and Compton Mackenzie – the Society worked with the publisher Oliver and Boyd and through its own Publications Committee to support the reissue of major works of literature in the Scottish canon. Its magazine and pamphlet publishing began shortly thereafter, offering a platform to thinkers on subjects as diverse as silverwork, public health and European relations. Work both in and about Scots and Gaelic followed.
In the post-War years, the Society was heavily involved in campaigning and advising on a range of matters. The National Library of Scotland says it ‘responded to and shaped some of the major social and cultural trends in post-war Scotland.’
