Former pupil and student societies

Societies for former pupils are not uncommon. In 1891, Robert Lindsay (Number 8) in his voluntary role of Secretary of High School Club for former pupils, was in charge of running the Club’s Annual meeting and Dinner for which tickets cost 7/6d. Yet the former High School Pupils Club to which Archibald Lundie (Number 19) belonged was singular. As this newspaper article reports. while it too drew its membership from ex-pupils at the High School, membership was limited to those who had attended Mr French’s class in the four years between 1759 and 1763. The re-union was first held in 1783 and included forty men, but by 1809 only thirteen of the group remained alive. What is not known is how long the club continued to meet after 1809. Was the last event just two men and their wives? In 1900, Sewell Simmons (Number 24), a recently qualified dentist who practised at the Edinburgh Dental Hospital, attended the 10th Annual meeting of the Edinburgh Dental Student Society. Sewell was being elected President for the next year. As well as the official business, the evening included a dinner with many toasts and entertainment: ‘The guests vied with each other in their efforts to entertain the company, and it would be invidious to single out any individual performances where all were excellent. Humorous recitations were given by Mr W, Stevenson, Dr Macdonald Brown and Mr Imrie, who gave an original experience of a visit to the Dental Hospital, followed by banjo solos and songs by Messrs. Glen and Watt, and selections on the bagpipes by Pipe-Major Macdonald, the janitor of the Dental Hospital.’ One rather imagines that the Ministers’ Sons’ Club did not run to banjo performances. Launched in 1832 by Charles Nairne, a solicitor (Number 22), and son of the Reverend James Nairne, Minister of Pittenweem, the club was open to ‘sons, sons-in-law and grandsons by blood of Ministers of the Established Church of Scotland’. Its objects were to promote a ‘kindly and convivial union’ and ‘forward the interests of such sons as may require assistance.’ Soon after its launch it had over 100 members. The club met annually and the third meeting was advertised to take place in the Hopetoun Rooms of the British Hotel at 9.45pm, with ‘supper on the table at 10pm precisely’. Tickets for the evening were priced at 5/6d.

In December 1884, Helen Masson, who had attended Edinburgh Ladies College (photo c. 1900) in Queen Street, invited a small number of her ex-classmates to her parents’ house at Number 57, to explore her idea of establishing a support group to help them overcome the barriers that still existed to women wanting to undertake further education. The young women thought the idea excellent, and established a guild, with the aim of supporting each other to pursue some form of higher education. Having arranged the meeting, Helen agreed to be the first Guild President. In 1891, the infant Guild found that ‘it was in danger of dying of exclusiveness’ and so, in spite of misgivings from some members, it extended its membership to all ex-students of the Edinburgh Ladies College. The original Guild evolved into the Mary Erskine School Former Pupils' Guild, which has today over 3,000 members throughout the world.