The history of the National Trust for Scotland was to the fore when Mrs Caroline Borwick gave an interesting talk on founder members of the NTS at the weekly Wednesday Highlight Talks at Robert Burns Birthplace Museum. Her father Sir Jamie Stormont Darling was one of a quartet of men dedicated to the continued existence and development of the Trust for the benefit of the people of Scotland during the difficult post-war period. As a group, he and Sir John Stirling Maxwell, the Marquess of Bute and lawyer George Russell, clocked up a total of over 90 years of service to ensure the Trust survived on a secure footing.
Caroline illustrated her talk with some fascinating photos from the forties, fifties and sixties. Included was one of the first ceremonies of the handover of a property to the NTS in 1944: the House of the Binns with a kilted, teenage Tam Dalziel in the background. Also acquired during her father’s tenure as Secretary and Director from 1949 to 1983 were 5.6. & 7 Charlotte Square (Edinburgh), Canna, Iona, St Kilda, Inverewe and Staffa.
This postcard was drawn by Caroline Borwick in 2018 in memory of her father Sir Jamie Stormont Darling. It represents Canna, Iona, St Ilda, Interewe and Staffa.
Alison Wilson
Friends of Robert Burns Birthplace Museum 