Reports of the meetings can be found in the Features section
I am most grateful to members for their continued support of the Society and especially to the committee for their efforts in bringing the annual programme of lectures to fruition. Our wonderful, long-serving, Secretary Helen Bowick has continued to guide the Society with a steady and competent hand in what will be her last year in post. We are greatly indebted to Helen for all her efforts over the years and hope she will stay actively involved with the Society’s activities. The club remains in a healthy financial position thanks to the diligence of Treasurer Donald Cowell. Thanks also to David Collin for producing the striking posters, to Ron McHugh for helping to provide an audio system and to David Devereux for running the magazine library.
Over the past year, the Society has been involved in several projects. One particularly successful one was ‘Britain from Above’ project which featured aerial photographs of Kirkcudbright taken in the 1930 and 1947. The end product was a book entitled ‘Flying Over the Past’ which recorded the comments made by participants on the various parts of the town shown in the images. This was complemented by aerial photographs taken, from the same viewpoint in 2014, by local cameraman Sam Kelly.
A second project, being led by the Digital Design Studio of the Glasgow School of Art, is the Archaeology Community Co-Production of Research Data (ACCORD) project. It seeks to examine the opportunities and implications of digital visualisation technologies for community engagement and research through the co-creation of three-dimensional (3D) models of historic monuments and places. A very successful workshop was run during the first weekend of October. Jointly organised by the ACCORD Project and the Society several members were trained in the use of 3D imaging. The focus is on the Kirkyard and its gravestones.
The third project ‘Scotland’s Urban Past’ is a new five-year nationwide project about the history of Scotland’s towns and cities. Kirkcudbright has been nominated as one of the participating towns. Groups and individuals will investigate how their urban environments have changed over time by capturing memories, surveying buildings, gathering information and exploring sources of local knowledge. Funding for projects is going to be available for the next five years and it might be a way for the History Society to fund publications on research being undertaken by society members.
David Devereux’s initial research into the Kirkcudbright graveyard was much appreciated by the people who came on the tours conducted by members of the Society during the summer. The interpretation boards, combined with these conducted tours, highlighted the rich history of the Kirkyard site and offered visitors an interesting and informative trail through Kirkcudbright’s past. Based on the popularity of the Kirkyard tours last year we have decided to lay on the same number of evening and afternoon tours this coming year. Research by Donald Cowell, David Devereux and others continues to expand the information available about the kirkyard and enhance the visitor experience. Donald’s research into the Kirkcudbright prison records was presented to a larger audience at the Scottish Local History Forum’s autumn conference in Perth. Some members were involved in archaeology digs last year and a further opportunity for participation will be available on the Newbarns Training Dig on 24th August to 2nd October 2015.
We have had a most enjoyable and informative series of lectures and I am very grateful to Donald Cowell for writing up articles for the Galloway News and other publications, such as History Scotland, which gives us national coverage. We are achieving international coverage through our website which is now up and running (www.kirkcudbrighthistorysociety.org.uk). Any suggestions for improvement would be welcome.
Several members of the Society responded the European Ethnology Research Project based at Edinburgh University by conducting interviews with local worthies. The second stage of transcribing the interviews has taken longer than expected but is being given more urgency. Members are encouraged to continue with interviews in order to broaden the scope of topics covered.
I thank you again for your continued support and look forward to another informative and enjoyable session after the summer break.