Arbroath pageant, 1954

Other names

  • Arbroath Abbey Illuminated Pageant of the Declaration of Scottish Independence
  • The Eighth Annual Arbroath Abbey Illuminated Pageant of the Declaration of Scottish Independence

Pageant type

Notes

The organisation formally in charge of the pageant was the Arbroath Abbey Pageant Society; however, the burgh council also took a keen interest in the pageant even if they were not its official organisers and many members of the Society's committee were also elected councillors.

Jump to Summary

Performances

Place: Arbroath Abbey (Arbroath) (Arbroath, Angus, Scotland)

Year: 1954

Indoors/outdoors: Outdoors

Number of performances: 7

Notes

18–22 August 1954

Wednesday 18 August 1954, 10pm; Thursday 19 August 1954, 10pm; Friday 20 August 1954, 6.30pm and 10pm; Saturday 21 August 1954, 2.45pm and 10pm; Sunday 22 August 1954, 10pm1

Full dress rehearsal, Wednesday 18 August, 6.30pm, to which schoolchildren were admitted at the price of 1s. per ticket.2

The pageant took place within the ruins of the medieval Arbroath Abbey, which has long been roofless and open to the elements.

Name of pageant master and other named staff

  • Pageant Producer [Pageant Master]: Shepherd, George S.
  • Art Director: William Reid
  • Wardrobe Mistress: Miss C.J. Hendry
  • Electrical and Sound Engineers: TV and Radio Service, Arbroath3

Notes

Frank Thornton, the Pageant Producer for all the performances given since 1947, was ill in 1954 and unable to take charge of the pageant. His co-producer, George Shepherd, took sole control because of this; he also took over from Thornton as commentator for the main Declaration scene, although Thornton's recitation of the Declaration of Arbroath had been pre-recorded and was still used during the performances.4

Names of executive committee or equivalent

Notes

The names of the committee are not recorded in pageant literature for this year; however, it is unlikely that these had altered much from those listed in the 1953 programme. Tom Matheson was still Chair.

Names of script-writer(s) and other credited author(s)

  • Kemp, Robert
  • Thornton, F.W.A.
  • Thornton, Donald
  • Mackenzie, Agnes Mure

Notes

The playwright Robert Kemp adapted a scene from his play King of Scots for use in the pageant. There is no note of which script was used for the Prologue and Epilogue in this particular year, but it is assumed, given Frank Thornton's recital of these in the guise of a soldier, that it was the versions written by his brother, Donald Thornton, previously used in the 1952 and 1953 pageants (delivered by different performers). Frank Thornton's usual script for the commentary in the Declaration scene was again used, as was the translation of the Declaration from the original Latin done by the historian Agnes Mure Mackenzie that was recited during this scene.

Names of composers

  • Moodie, James
  • Irvine, Jessie Seymour

Original music was composed by James Moodie for use during the performance of kemp's play, King of Scots.

The tune 'Crimond' is generally attributed to Jessie Seymour Irvine. This psalm was sung during the pageant using this tune.

Numbers of performers

200

A large number of horses.The figure of 200 persons is difficult to substantiate and this estimate is offered based on numbers recorded in previous pageant years. However, this is likely to have included persons involved in ancillary elements of the pageant such as the procession. The ideal figure stated for the Declaration scene, typically, was 80 performers although in most years there was a shortfall.

Financial information

Income and expenditure to/from the Society:

Income from street procession: £93. 8s. 9d.

Donations: £43. 14s.

Transferred to the production account: £126.

Production account income and expenditure:

Income:

Donations to the production account: £63.

Sale of tickets: £657. 17s. 6d.

Expenditure:

Printing and advertising: £257.

Hire of horses: £132.

Hire of grandstand: £257.

Hire of costumes: £108.

Floodlighting and sound equipment: £316.5

Object of any funds raised

The Arbroath Abbey Pageant Society

Notes

There was little reporting of the financial situation following the 1954 pageant, but it is assumed that a substantial loss was made. Comparative figures of expenditure were included in reporting of the 1955 pageant, which also made a loss, and the figures included here have been extracted from comparisons made in that specific report. These present a somewhat confusing picture but do demonstrate that expenditure exceeded income. Indeed, spending on the pageant was cut in1955 in order to alleviate some of the losses made in 1954, although in the end this does not seemed to have helped due to successive years of poor ticket sales.

Linked occasion

n/a

Audience information

  • Grandstand: Yes
  • Grandstand capacity: Approx. 1200
  • Total audience: n/a

Notes

There is no note of the size of the grandstand used in 1954 but it was usual for publicity to state that there was seating available for 1200, although, since a clear description of seating arrangements has not been recovered, not all of this might have been grandstand accommodation.

Prices of admission and seats: highest–lowest

5s.–1s.

  • Wednesday 18 August, 1954, 10pm:
  • 5s. (reserved), 3s. 6d., 2s. 6d, and 1s. (standing).
  • Thursday 19 August, 1954, 10pm:
  • 5s. (reserved), 3s. 6d., 2s. 6d, and 1s. (standing).
  • Friday 20 August, 1954, 6.30pm:
  • 5s. (reserved), 3s. 6d., 2s. 6d, and 1s. (standing).
  • Friday 20 August, 1954, 10pm:
  • 5s. (reserved), 3s. 6d., 2s. 6d, and 1s. (standing).
  • Saturday 21 August, 1954, 2.45pm:
  • 5s. (reserved), 4s. 6d., 3s. 6d., and 2s. (standing).
  • Saturday 21 August, 1954, 10pm:
  • 5s. (reserved), 4s. 6d., 3s. 6d., and 2s. (standing).
  • Sunday 22nd August, 1954 at 10 pm:
  • 5s. (reserved), 3s. 6d., 2s. 6d, and 1s. (standing).6

Associated events

Saturday 21 August 1954: Grand Historical Procession through the town at 5pm, including the following:
  • British Legion Pipe Band
  • Robert the Bruce, King of Scots
  • King's Herald
  • The Barons of the Realm of Scotland
  • Footsoldiers [sic]
  • Bernard de Linton, Lord Abbot of Aberbrothock, with the Declaration of Independence
  • Acolytes
  • Bishops of St Andrews, Dunkeld and Aberdeen followed by the bearers of their standards
  • Canons
  • Bearer of the Banner of St Columba
  • Monks
  • The Cast of ‘the Coronation of Robert Bruce'
  • The Aberbrothnock Pipe Band

Tableaux:
  • Queen Margaret Attending the Sick and the Poor by Arbroath Branch British Red Cross
  • The Queen and her Four Maries by Arbroath Herald Ltd.
  • Bonnie Prince Charlie by Arbroath Merchants' Association
  • The Raising of the Standard at Glenfinnan by 2nd Arbroath Company Boys' Brigade
  • Arbroath Instrumental Band
  • The Stone of Destiny at Arbroath Abbey, 11th April, 1951, by Arbroath Covenant Association
  • Fisherwomen at Work by Messrs Swankie Co. Ltd.
  • Braemar Knitwear by Braemar Knitwear Ltd.
  • Arbroath for Gracious Holiday Living by Arbroath Publicity Council
  • Boy Scouts
  • Healthy Bodies and Minds by Arbroath YMCA
  • Town Council Parks Department
  • Highland Jinks by Arbroath Follies of 1954
  • Angus Accordion Band.

  • Sunday 22 August 1954: Pageant Thanksgiving Service. Service conducted by Rev. D. Dewar Duncan, MA, Forfar. Sermon by Rev. James Oswald, Dundee

Pageant outline

National Anthem

Opening Ceremony (Saturday afternoon only)

Introduction and Chair: Provost James K. Moir, Arbroath

Address: Cameron of Lochiel

Act of Worship

Conducted by Rev. W.E. Gladstone-Millar, MC, BD. This included prayers and ended with singing of Psalm 23 to the tune of 'Crimond'.

Fanfare

Prologue

This monologue was delivered by Frank Thornton who had sufficiently recovered from illness to perform the part of the Scottish warrior who gave a short monologue that recalled the wars of independence and the peril in which Scotland found itself then. The soldier described knowing the Abbey in times gone by, exhorted the audience 'to honour the men who choose Freedom', and bade them recall 'Scotland's darkest hour' during the wars of independence.

The Scene of the Coronation of Robert the Bruce [1306]

This scene was an extract from a longer play, King of Scots, by the writer Robert Kemp. The drama covers the crowning of Bruce as King at Scone Palace in 1306. It opened with a song performed by a 'blind singer' in which the scene is set 'for the arrival of personages about to perform the ceremony'. Before proceeding with the coronation, one of the characters, Bishop Lamberton, addressed all assembled and spoke 'in impassioned terms in support of Scotland's right to have a ‘King o' their ain,’ who will carry on the fight against suppression by an avaricious enemy'.9 The culmination of the scene was the sudden appearance of the Countess of Buchan, who had become estranged from her husband on account of his support for Edward I. She proceeds to claim the hereditary right to place the crown on the Bruce's head. The scene had around fifty players and was notable for having a woman in a speaking role for the first time ever at the Arbroath pageants. The main roles and their performers were as follows:

A Blind Singer (played by Conway Stuart)

The singer's companion (John Eddie)

Hugh (William Morris)

Bishop Wishart of Glasgow (J.B. Crockatt)

Bishop Lamberton of St Andrews (William Robertson)

Robert Bruce (Wilfred E. Forrester)

Countess of Buchan (Ruby Melvin)

Edward Bruce (George Greig)

James Douglas (Arthur McConnell)

A Cleric of Rome (Dick Phillips)

Ladies (Kathleen Hebenton and Shelagh White)

Noblemen and Clergy (D.L. Gardiner, Frank Connacher, Alex Keith, William Shaw, Joe Johnston, Kenneth Roberts, Kenneth Meekison, Douglas B. Lowe and Douglas Keith)

Monks (Alasdair Ogg and Neil Alexander)

Foot soldiers (Brian Ford, David Dear, Randolph Nichol and Robert Cargill).

Local choirs also made up a 'chorus of townspeople'.10

Fanfare

Main scene: The Signing of the Declaration of Scottish Independence [1320]

This scene altered little over time in terms of the drama presented and followed a pattern of:

1. Entrance of the Lord High Abbot, Bernard de Linton, in Ceremonial Procession with Bishops, Canons and Monks.

2. Arrival of King Robert the Bruce, accompanied by Cavalcade of Barons and Squires, with retinue of Foot Soldiers.

3. The Signing of the Declaration.

4. Departure of King and retinue.

5. The Lord High Abbot, Bishops and Monks seen in Ceremonial Procession.

It had a cast of around 80 main and supporting players; this included the Arbroath Male Voice Choir who played the parts of a choir of monks (around 18 choir members) and many others playing the roles of foot soldiers (number not known). The pageant producer, George Shepherd, delivered the commentary in place of Frank Thornton who was recovering from illness and took the smaller part of the 'soldier' who delivered the Prologue and Epilogue. Shepherd had previously also played the part of the Abbot and was substituted in this role for this year by another regular pageant performer, Ian Spalding. The main players were as follows:

King Robert the Bruce (played by A. Linton Robertson)

Bernard, Abbot of Aberbrothnock (Ian Spalding)

Lord Douglas (S.E.S. Burnett)

Lord Randolph (Walter S. Burnett)

Bishop of St Andrews (A.B. Mitchell)

Bishop of Aberdeen (Thomas Matheson)

Bishop of Dunkeld (David Goodwillie)

Herald (Alexander Rintoul)

Cross Bearer (Tom Sutter)

Acolytes (Douglas Keith and William Shaw)

Canons (Robert, William and Kenneth Meekison, and Alasdair Ogg)

Bearer of the Banner of St Columba (Frank Conacher)

Bearers of the Bishops' Standards (George Greig, Alex Keith and Murray Kinnear)11

Epilogue

This reprised the role of the soldier who appeared in the monologue and was again performed by Frank Thornton from a high point on the Abbey's walls. It is a short monologue extolling the gift of freedom.

Key historical figures mentioned

  • Buchan [née Macduff], Isabel, countess of Buchan (b. c.1270, d. after 1313) noblewoman [also known as Isabella]
  • Wishart, Robert (c.1240–1316) bishop of Glasgow
  • Lamberton, William (d. 1328) administrator and bishop of St Andrews
  • Douglas, Sir James [called the Black Douglas] (d. 1330) soldier
  • Robert I [Robert Bruce] (1274–1329) king of Scots
  • Bernard (d. 1330/31) administrator and bishop of Sodor
  • Douglas, Sir James [called the Black Douglas] (d. 1330) soldier
  • Randolph, Thomas, first earl of Moray (d. 1332) soldier and guardian of Scotland

Musical production

There was a male voice choir (who performed as monks) during the signing of the Declaration scene. There was organ music for the religious service relayed from the nearby Hopemount Church. There were fanfares played but this may have been recorded music.
The choir performed singing the ‘Ave Verum’ (specific arrangement unknown).
The tune 'Crimond' is usually attributed to Jessie Seymour Irvine (1836-1887). Composed in 1872, this is commonly used for singing Psalm 23, 'The Lord Is My Shepherd', in Scotland and elsewhere.
Original music accompanied the scene from the play, King of Scots, composed by James Moodie (Master of Song at Dunfermline Abbey where this play had first been performed in 1951).

Newspaper coverage of pageant

Arbroath Herald

Arbroath Guide

Aberdeen Evening Express

Dundee Courier

Book of words

n/a

No book of words produced.

Other primary published materials

  • Arbroath Abbey Illuminated Pageant of the Declaration of Scottish Independence, Souvenir Programme—One Shilling (Arbroath, 1954) Arbroath Public Library holds two copies. Shelfmark: 394.5.

References in secondary literature

  • There is a brief mention in The Third Statistical Account of Scotland, see Gladstone-Millar, Rev. W.E. 'The Abbey Pageant'. In The County of Angus, edited by William Allen Illsley. Arbroath, 1977. At 525.
  • Ritchie, J. N. Graham. 'Images of the Declaration: The Arbroath Pageant.' In The Declaration of Arbroath: History, Significance, Setting, edited by Geoffrey Barrow. Edinburgh, 2003. At 86–107.

Archival holdings connected to pageant

  • Angus Archives near Forfar holds a large number of undated photographs of the pageant which probably includes some taken in 1954. See, for example, shelfmark: MS781.
  • The National Library of Scotland holds a copy of the play by Robert Kemp, from which the Coronation scene was taken. Shelfmark: HP2.204.4238.
  • Arbroath Public Library holds two copies of the souvenir programme.

Sources used in preparation of pageant

  • Mackenzie, Agnes Mure. Translation of the Declaration.
  • John of Fordun. Chronicle of the Scottish Nation.

The Translation of the Declaration by Agnes Mure Mackenzie was first published in the 1949 souvenir pamphlet and was read in performance of the signing of the document. This was reproduced in the 1954 souvenir programme and in many subsequent programmes.

The epilogue quotes or paraphrases a well-known passage from John of Fordun's Chronica Gentis Scotorum [Chronicle of the Scottish Nation]. The passage extols the virtues of freedom and states that it is to be cherished 'above gold and topaze'.14

Summary

In July 1954, the Aberdeen Evening Express carried an advertisement placed by the city's branch of the Scottish Covenant Association; this promoted a bus tour to the Arbroath Pageant to be held the following month.15 Perhaps Aberdeen's Covenant Association hoped to rekindle some of the earlier enthusiasm that had been shown for home rule via the stirring words of the Declaration of Independence. By mid-decade, this Association's fortunes were at low ebb. For despite the petition organised in 1949 which collected a large number of signatures from those members of the Scottish public in favour of home rule, this well supported appeal had fostered very little progress on home rule demands and no constitutional change. Yet what had proved to be a temporary resurgence of home rule demands after the war may well have influenced the instigation of the Arbroath Pageant as an annual affair; the Church of Scotland certainly thought so, with the Church and Nation Committee remarking in 1951 that many theatrical events demonstrated a rise in 'Scottish national sentiment'.16 However, by 1954 enthusiasm for the Arbroath event somewhat mirrored the waning fortunes of the home rule movement: both had a core of diehards, but initial support for the work of these had given way to decided apathy.

Nonetheless, undimmed by a lack of local support, the Arbroath pageant organisers carried on and even tried to address some of the criticisms previously made about the pageant: that its content was stale, that it promoted anti-English sentiment and that it was not financially viable. In 1954, some of the auxiliary elements were changed and new blood brought in. For example, the well-known and prolific playwright, Robert Kemp, who had been responsible for writing some other pageants in Scotland, granted permission for a key scene from his play King of Scots to be used as the curtain-raiser element of the Arbroath pageant, which introduced the main declaration scene.17 Rather than covering the martyrdom of Wallace or the cruelty of Edward I, as previous introductory pageant plays had done, Kemp's scene covered the 'Coronation of the Bruce', which, as is well known, took place hurriedly and in unusual circumstances. This undertaking meant that for the first time there were female roles, including one woman in a speaking role playing the lead character of Isabella, Countess of Buchan. Although there were still very few female as compared to male parts, this was quite a change as in all previous years women had been almost entirely confined to backroom tasks such as knitting the chain mail for Bruce's barons!18 It might be supposed too that this scene was less open to accusations of anti-Englishness than previous plays performed in this slot, were it not for the fact that it was well known that Edward I later treated the Countess with great cruelty for her adherence to Bruce's cause. However, it seems probable that some sort of conciliatory gesture was being made to ring the changes within the pageant. These were welcome innovations and, in their planning, they carried hope that the 1954 event would make good the financial losses of the previous year.

A further small but doubtless welcome addition was the introduction of catering facilities at the late-night events so that hot drinks could be sold.19 Unfortunately, the one factor that could not be planned for was, as usual, the weather. As with 1953, this tuned out to be wet and unseasonably cold. Although no attendance figures have been recovered for the pageant as a whole, it is clear that audience numbers were poor—with the usually busy gala Saturday afternoon show achieving only 25 per cent of the usual turnout for this particular performance.20 The weather was so bad on the Saturday afternoon that the electrical supply was cut and the loudspeakers failed. Sound was lost during Kemp's play, and in the main scene, the soundtrack recording of the words of the Arbroath Declaration was similarly inaudible. The scene's writer, Frank Thornton, was said to have saved the day, however, when he left the audience and recited 'the 11000 word declaration' live and without the aid of a script.21 Thornton, who had narrated the main scene and co-produced the pageant every year from 1947 onwards, had been forced by illness to take something of a backseat in 1954, giving over its production to the sole responsibility of his long-time co-producer George Shepherd.22 He had also previously recorded his usual narration of the declaration. By the time of the actual performances, however, he was well enough to take on the role of the narrator for the short monologues within the pageant Prologue and Epilogue; and in the emergency that ensued at the gala show, when he had to deliver further commentary live and without preparation, his skill and experience in the pageant certainly proved itself.

Yet despite disappointments in 1954, and these on the back of the financial losses of 1953, there appears to have been no question of the pageant being discontinued as an annual event, as there had been in previous years. Bad luck seems to have been blamed for the failures of 1954; and some admiration for the stalwartness of the pageant organisers in the face of adversity was evident. The local press stated that for its eighth annual performance the pageant had:

[O]nce again... moved hundreds of spectators to admiration of its stately dignity and beauty. Once again we say how well did its original producers and participants lay its foundations and rear its fabric. Never in the slightest degree has it sunk into the commonplace or failed to appeal to the finer senses of the mind. At the same time it has been pleasing and colourful to ear and eye, and so has left an impression that has been all to the good. To the Pageant Society and all who have assisted... the community of Arbroath owe a big debt of gratitude... Yet we venture to say that the community as such could show their appreciation of what has been done for the town by the zealous efforts of a comparatively small numbers of the citizens. This year it is inevitable that there will be an adverse balance, and it would be a helpful gesture if the town could be persuaded to prove its interest in the Pageant—which we take for granted it feels—by offering some financial help... For the pageant must go on. We must remember it is Scotland's pageant although Arbroath has the onus of presenting it.23

The Pageant Society appears to have remained fairly close-lipped about the extent of their financial loss, but in March 1955 they announced that the damage had not been ‘as bad as expected’.24 It was added, however, that during 1954, only 24 members of the Pageant Society had paid their annual subscription; and the local press, in order to hammer home this shameful fact, reminded its readers that Arbroath had a population of 19000.25

Local indifference was also reflected in the pageant procession, which year-on-year shrank in size: in 1954, even the women's organisations seem to have tired of it. There was one notable addition, however; the Arbroath branch of the Covenant Association provided a tableau of the discovery of the stone of destiny in Arbroath Abbey in 1951, following its theft from Westminster. This was surely a piece of very recent history for a pageant! Yet it is clear that the theme of Scottish independence, which had always underpinned the Arbroath pageant, no longer had the power to incite a high level of controversy. In his opening speech, the invited guest, Colonel Cameron (the hereditary chief of Clan Cameron), cleverly managed to advance sentiments about how loyalty to the Union had kept Scots safe and was not incompatible with Scottish national patriotism, nor, indeed, with any desire for greater self-determination. Moreover, Cameron made sure that the constancy of Scots as freedom fighters, pre and post Union, received due accolade:

To-day as we all know, there is still a sad lack of individual freedom over a large part of the world... from the days we are now remembering Scotsmen have always recognised that the cause of freedom calls for the highest loyalty and the greatest sacrifices... It has been said that the Union has brought us nothing but disaster because it has, for example, involved us in three great wars. But does anyone here feel anything but pride that we in 1939 to 1945 shared to the full with England and other nations of the commonwealth in the fight for freedom? The War of Independence lasted 42 years, but thanks to Robert the Bruce and his faithful followers Scotland triumphed in the end and became once more an independent nation. Much has happened in Scotland since then, but we are still a nation and will remain one. Fifteen years ago we willingly fought in defence of our liberty now we must ensure that we must never run the risk again of having our liberty threatened by any foreign power or evil system of government. This creative force should inspire us to work in the wider world for peace consistent with freedom for all, and in our own sphere of Scotland for the preservation of freedom at all costs and even for a greater measure of freedom in the conduct of our own affairs by our own people....

Cameron's speech demonstrates something of what the pageant organisers were themselves beginning to realise—that the pageant had to be a commemoration with the widest possible resonance. In the post-war world, the pageant's selling point of Scotland's historical struggle for independence was increasingly promoted as having a global message as well as a national one. The example of one small nation's fight for self-determination was, from around this time, the main significance attributed to the pageant as the organisers tried to show that this history contained an example for the rest of the world. As the home-rule campaign foundered and the town of Arbroath grew more and more uninterested in their pageant, this more expansive message about freedom would be reiterated many times as a reason why the Arbroath Abbey Pageant simply had to keep going!

Footnotes

  1. ^ Arbroath Abbey Illuminated Pageant of the Declaration of Scottish Independence, Souvenir Programme—One Shilling (Arbroath, 1954), np.
  2. ^ Advertisement, Arbroath Herald, 6 August 1954, 10.
  3. ^ Arbroath Abbey Illuminated Pageant of the Declaration of Scottish Independence, Souvenir Programme—One Shilling (Arbroath, 1954), np.
  4. ^ 'New Features in 1954 Pageant', Arbroath Herald, 20 August 1954, 3.
  5. ^ 'Does Arbroath Want its Pageant?' Arbroath Herald, 23 September 1955, 7.
  6. ^ Arbroath Herald, 6 August 1954, 10.
  7. ^ Arbroath Abbey Illuminated Pageant of the Declaration of Scottish Independence, Souvenir Programme—One Shilling (Arbroath, 1954), np.
  8. ^ Arbroath Herald, 6 August 1954, 10.
  9. ^ Arbroath Herald, 20 August 1954, 3.
  10. ^ Arbroath Abbey Illuminated Pageant of the Declaration of Scottish Independence, Souvenir Programme—One Shilling (Arbroath, 1954), np.
  11. ^ Arbroath Abbey Illuminated Pageant of the Declaration of Scottish Independence, Souvenir Programme—One Shilling (Arbroath, 1954), np.
  12. ^ See entry by Richard Watson in The Biographical Dictionary of Scottish Women, eds. Elizabeth Ewan et al. (Edinburgh, 2006), 180.
  13. ^ 'Arbroath Pageant Preparations’, Dundee Courier, 21 May 1954, 4.
  14. ^ This famous text has been translated from the original Latin and reproduced several times; see, for example, 'John of Fordun's Chronicle of the Scottish Nation’, trans. Felix J.H. Skene, in The Historians of Scotland, Vol. IV, ed. William F. Skene (Edinburgh, 1872), 45.
  15. ^ See, for example, advertisement, Aberdeen Evening Express, 27 July 1954, 11; the cost of tickets was 12s. 6d., with 'light refreshments' extra. The bus left Aberdeen at 7pm and returned to the city at 2am.
  16. ^ James Mitchell, The Scottish Question (Oxford, 2014), 110.
  17. ^ For a list of Kemp's work, see his entry on the Playwrights' database, http://www.doollee.com/PlaywrightsK/kemp-robert.html#95975. Accessed 14/1/16. The play had first been performed at Dunfermline Abbey in 1951 as part of local celebrations in Fife for the Festival of Britain.
  18. ^ 'Portrait Gallery: The Lady Provost', Arbroath Herald, 14 January 1955, 4. This article featured Mrs A.B. Mitchell who was the sister of Arbroath's Provost A.K. Moir and acted as his 'lady' since he was unmarried. She was also chair of the local branch of the Housewives' association who were responsible for the making of chain mail and regularly took part in the pageant procession.
  19. ^ 'Pageant Prepares', Dundee Courier, 16 August 1954, 4.
  20. ^ 'The Pageant', editorial, Arbroath Herald, 27 August 1954, 4.
  21. ^ 'Lochiel Speaks for Freedom', Dundee Courier, 23 August 1954, 4
  22. ^ 'Producer of Abbey Pageant Resigns', Dundee Courier, 26 February 1954, 3; Thornton also resigned his seat on the town council.
  23. ^ Arbroath Herald, 27 August 1954, 4.
  24. ^ 'Prospects for 1955 Pageant', Arbroath Herald, 11 March 1955, 6.
  25. ^ 'Prospects for 1955 Pageant', Arbroath Herald, 11 March 1955, 6.

How to cite this entry

Angela Bartie, Linda Fleming, Mark Freeman, Tom Hulme, Alex Hutton, Paul Readman, ‘Arbroath pageant, 1954’, The Redress of the Past, http://www.historicalpageants.ac.uk/pageants/962/