On 3 March 1979, one of the speakers on the programme for a John Buchan Day, organised by the Extra-Mural Department of Edinburgh University, was Eileen Stewart. It was thanks to her enthusiasm and formidable energy, backed up by many other Buchan devotees, that the day also saw the inaugural meeting of the John Buchan Society. The Rt Hon The second Lord Tweedsmuir, John Buchan's eldest son, presided over the proceedings when the first Council was elected. The First Annual Dinner was held on 1 March 1980, when the second son of John Buchan, the Hon William Buchan, (the present third Lord Tweedsmuir) was the principal guest and speaker. The first Annual General Meeting was also held in Edinburgh on 15 May 1980. Since then the Society has grown to nearly 500 members, many residing in the USA and Canada and other parts of the world. The Society's main objective is 'to promote a wider understanding and appreciation of the life and works of John Buchan'. It does this through holding its AGM and Annual Dinner, now on the same weekend, alternately in Scotland and England: recent venues have been Peebles, Glasgow, London, Warwick and Chipping Norton. Three weekend seminars have also been held since 1990, all based in Oxford. Although the Society has no building as its headquarters it is committed to supporting The John Buchan Centre at Broughton, near Peebles in the Scottish Borders.
Correspondence should be addressed to Glennis McClemont, The Toft, 37 Waterloo Road, Lanark ML11 7QH, Tel +44 (0)1555 662103 or email glennismac2000@yahoo.co.uk
