Local Characters

Those of us of a certain generation can remember one of our prominent local artists. Charles Oppenheimer, moved to Kirkcudbright from Manchester in 1909. Accompanied by his wife Connie, he initially resided at 14 High Street before relocating to Woodlea on the outskirts of town.

Charles Oppenheimer spent over half a century recording the local natural and built

environment, including a number of large canvases depicting the construction of the dams for the Galloway Power scheme in the early 1930s.

He was frequently observed painting at various locations in the area. His railway posters also brought his work to the attention of the public at large

He contributed significantly to the local community, serving as a town councillor and acting as the figurehead during the appeal to preserve the Harbour Cottage and convert it into an art gallery.

Although he is sometimes credited with the design of the Scottish Police cap badge this is not the case. In fact this was created in 1931 by the art master at Dumfries Academy, Robert Carnie.  He can however be credited with helping to devise the chequerboard that became their hat band.

E.A. Hornel: Painter of Galloway’s Enchanted Landscapes

Edward Atkinson Hornel, born in Australia in 1864 to Scottish parents, was brought to Kirkcudbright as a toddler in 1866 and never truly left. A leading member of the Glasgow Boys, he trained in Edinburgh and Antwerp before settling back in the Stewartry to paint its woods, burns, and shores in a uniquely rich, decorative style.

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John McTaggart, from Borgue, was a typical “lad o’ pairts” who had a distinguished international career as an engineer and author. Notably, he contributed to the construction of the Rideau Canal and wrote the “Galloway Encyclopaedia,” achievements that stand out among his many talents.

In his presentation, Mike Duguid outlines the key events in John McTaggart’s life, including his association with the poet William Nicholson.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbhP_NKwXvE&t=1657s

‘Oot o the warld and inta …’is used in several places in Scotland, Langholm for one – Hugh Macdiarmid (Christopher Murray Grieve) used it of his birthplace, e.g. in one of his prose articles, ‘The Muckle Toon’; and it was appropriately used for Neil Armstrong when he visited his ancestral home in 1972.

Alan James

Over the years we have posted information about these locals who fought in World War 2 and eventually came home safely. Their families were good enough to share their stories. These stories can be found in our “Local Character” section. https://www.kirkcudbrighthistorysociety.org.uk/category/featured-article/local-characters/

George Davidson: Drew Ferguson: Tom Gibson: Haig Gordon: Jimmy Gordon: Lewis Pope

During his talk about Malcolm Caldwell which he gave in our December meeting Graham Finch showed a photo of a group of men which included Malcolm’s Father. Unfortunately, he could give us no further information about the image. Since the meeting David Devereux has identified the occasion as being when Sir John Erskine presented the Deacon Convener’s chain to the Trades and through further detective work we have managed to name all but one of the men in the group. To find out more about Sir John Erskine and the men in the group click on this link Sir John Erskine

The short life of Malcolm Caldwell was the subject of our December meeting. A Dux at the Academy he became a consistent critic of American foreign policy, a campaigner for Asian communist socialist movements and a supporter of the Khmer Rouge. He was murdered a few hours after meeting Pol Pot in Cambodia, though who was responsible for the murder remains unknown. Graham Finch and Gerry Hassan ably took us through the various aspects of his fascinating life and death. For those who missed the meeting the link to the presentation is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6F015jPuiuo&t=27s