Kate Bowell

High Court of the Justiciary

 Second World War  No Responses »
Jun 032023
 

12 St Giles’ Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1PT

Site of the High Court of the Justiciary. Photographed from Lawnmarket.

Throughout the war, the Justiciary Building housed the tribunal that decided whether people should be exempt from military service on the grounds of a conscientious objection to war.  People appearing before the tribunal included Christian pacifists, socialists, anarchists, humanitarians and Scottish nationalists.  Notable Scottish conscientious objectors included the writers Robin Jenkins and Edwin Morgan, as well as a later Bishop of Edinburgh and Lord Advocate of Scotland. There were over 60,000 people who sought exemption across Britain between 1939 and 1945. The majority of them were given a conditional exemption so long as they carried out some form of alternative service, such as ambulance or forestry work. An image of the shops and buildings demolished in 1937 for the building of Sherrif’s Court can be seen here: https://www.scran.ac.uk/database/image.php?usi=000-000-126-088-R&cusi=000-000-126-088-C&scache=38i6l3np5x&searchdb=scran

Source: Tobias Kelly, Battles of Conscience: British Pacifists and the Second World War, (2022) p. 141.

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Caledonian Distillery

 Second World War  No Responses »
Jun 032023
 

Duff Street, Edinburgh, EH11 2HU

Site of the former Caledonian Distillery on Duff Street, Dalry. Photographed from Springwell Place.

On 27 September 1940 a 500lb bomb dropped on the Caledonian Distillery (“the Cally”), the largest distillery in Scotland, on the corner of Duff Street and Springwell Place. Gallons of whisky spread down the street causing an enormous fire which spread to tenements in the surrounding streets. Hundreds of residents were made homeless. Overall, however, Edinburgh was fortunate not to experience large-scale air raids during the war and avoided the worst of the Blitz. Tip to see this location: travel out to Dalry to see the site of the former distillery – it is now a residential complex. Looking south-east up Springwell Place shows which tenements were affected by the fire as there is a clear demarcation between the old buildings and the new.

Looking south-east up Springwell Place shows which tenements were affected by the fire.

An image of the Caledonian Distillery taken in 1966 can be seen here:
https://www.scran.ac.uk/database/record.php?usi=000-000-514-759-C&scache=4lhu71bqcj&searchdb=scran 

Sources: Craig Armstrong, Edinburgh at War, (2018), p. 82, Andrew Jeffrey, This Present Emergency: Edinburgh, the River Forth and South-East Scotland and the Second World War, (1992), p. 72, Jeremy A Crang, ‘The Second World War’ in E M Spiers, J A Crang & M J Strickland, A Military History of Scotland (2012), p. 567.

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Talat Yaqoob

 Women in STEM Art Trail  No Responses »
Jun 222021
 

WHALE Arts, EH14 2SA

Large-scale painting of Talat Yaqoob on the side of the Whale Arts building
Talat Yaqoob
artwork by Kerry Wilson

Talat Yaqoob is an award-winning Scottish campaigner, writer, and activist working as an independent consultant in education, workplace equality, women’s rights, race equality and inclusion in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths. With more than twelve years of experience in the third sector, she has extensive knowledge of campaigning, public affairs, political strategy and communications. Talat is the co-founder and chair of Women 5050, a national campaign striving for the equal and fair representation of all women in politics. Talat has also been involved in a wide range of campaigns, including the first national project on mental health and wellbeing for students in 2009, which is still running, and Pass the Mic, the first, and currently only, online list of women of colour commentators for the media, bringing under-represented experts into the spotlight to share their knowledge.

Lorna Prendergast

 Women in STEM Art Trail  No Responses »
Jun 222021
 

The Space/Broomhouse Hub, EH11 3RH

Portrait of Lorna Prendergast in her graduate cap and gown with a background of musical notations
Lorna Prendergast by Kerry Wilson; image by Chris Scott Photography

At 90 years old, Lorna Prendergast graduated from Melbourne University in 2019 with a Master’s Degree in ageing. She dedicated her degree to the memory of her late husband Jim, who she was married to for 64 years. Jim had lived with dementia and when Lorna visited him in his nursing home, she realised that he and the other residents responded well to music they had enjoyed earlier in their lives. This sparked her interest in studying ageing, which she did remotely, learning new technology along the way. She has inspired Australians, many of whom live far from universities, to also continue education. Now Lorna is continuing her investigation into the correlation between music and dementia symptom relief via a music therapy trial which started in July 2020. At 90, she’s proving, “no matter your age, whether young or old, you can make a difference in the world.”

Dr. Helen Senn

 Women in STEM Art Trail  No Responses »
Jun 222021
 

Edinburgh Zoo, EH12 6TS

Portrait of Dr. Helen Senn surrounded by a beaver, wildcat, and wasp displayed near the wildcat enclosure at Edinburgh Zoo
Dr. Helen Senn by Shona Hardie; image by Chris Scott Photography

Dr. Helen Senn is the Head of Conservation and Science at Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS), the charity that leads Edinburgh Zoo and Highland Wildlife Park, and manages the WildGenes conservation genetics lab. Overseeing all 23 wild conversation projects and working as a conservation genetics specialist, Helen supports reintroduction projects for critically endangered species around the world. Many of the species Helen and the team at RZSS support are on the brink of extinction. Their work helps to protect species in the wild and establish captive breeding populations to support species recovery. Using her scientific and planning expertise, Helen is at the forefront of saving critically endangered species both in Scotland and globally.

Natalie Duffield

 Women in STEM Art Trail  No Responses »
Jun 222021
 

North Edinburgh Arts, EH4 4TZ

Portrait of Natalie Duffield with a background referencing binary code, wifi, and circut boards on the wall of North Edinburgh Arts
Natalie Duffield by Shona Hardie; image by Ian Georgeson Photography

When she was just 13, Natalie Duffield decided that she didn’t want to go to university but instead wanted to work. She began her career in IT in temporary, junior roles but convinced her bosses to give her a start in sales, a traditionally male-dominated field. It took time, but Natalie developed a successful career in IT sales and then went on to become the CEO of InTechnology SmartCitie, which provides free WiFi in central Edinburgh. Now Natalie is championing digital innovation whilst inspiring young women to follow non-traditional careers. Natalie wants to see more courses that are attractive to women, a work culture that assumes women can learn technology, and for all women to know that they can train for any role.

Dr. Aline Finger

 Women in STEM Art Trail  No Responses »
Jun 222021
 

The Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh, EH3 5NZ

Portrait of Dr. Aline Finger mounted on the grounds of the Royal Botanic Gardens, surrounded by trees
Dr. Aline Finger by Kerry Wilson; image by Chris Scott Photography

(No longer on display) Dr. Aline Finger is a conservation geneticist and molecular ecologist at the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh. Her work focuses on the genetics and conservation of threatened plant species and supporting viable plant populations in the wild. Aline uses genetic and ecological methods to help maximize the success of conservation translocations, where species are moved into new environments to help their survival. By knowing the genetic make-up of these plants, Aline can reduce the chance for plant species to inbreed or detrimentally compete with each other. As a champion for rare plants in Scotland, Aline’s research identifies the risks for plant biodiversity in the face of environmental threats and helps inform policy to protect wild plants for future generations to enjoy.

Helen Sharman, OBE

 Women in STEM Art Trail  No Responses »
Jun 222021
 

Citadel Youth Centre, EH6 6JE

Black and white portrait of Helen Sharman in her space suit with a sketch of the MIR Space Station in the background painted on the wall of the Citadel Youth Centre
Helen Sharman, OBE, by Shona Hardie. The young people of Citadel Youth Centre prepared the site and created the additional stencil artwork around this portrait. Image by Chris Scott Photography

Helen Sharman was the first British Astronaut. She was chemist from Sheffield working for Mars Confectionery when Project Juno, a partnership between the Soviet Union and the UK to send a British national to space, began. After hearing about the opportunity to go space on the radio, Helen applied and was one of four selected from a group of 13,000 applicants. In 1991, after 18 months of intensive training, Helen flew on a Soyuz rocket up to the Soviet Mir Space Station. During her eight days in space, Helen conducted medical, agricultural, materials, and Earth observation work. She also worked with school children, communicating with them via an amateur radio link and bringing seeds on board to be used for a student-led experiment on the effects of space travel on seeds. Helen now works for the National Physics Laboratory and as a UK Outreach Ambassador for Imperial College London. She has spent many years sharing her experiences and passion for space to inspire the next generation of budding scientists, technologists, engineers, and mathematicians.

Dr. Kathy Sullivan

 Women in STEM Art Trail  No Responses »
Jun 222021
 

Dynamic Earth, EH8 8AS

Portrait of Dr. Kathy Sullivan in her flight suit with a background that merges space and the ocean displayed at the entrance of Dynamic Earth
Dr. Kathy Sullivan by Shona Hardie; image by Chris Scott Photography

Dr. Kathy Sullivan was the first American woman to complete a spacewalk, the first woman to travel to the bottom of the ocean, and the first person to do both. In 1984, Kathy crewed the Space Shuttle Challenger and completed a historic spacewalk that proved it was possible to refuel satellites in orbit. Kathy’s crucial work on satellites continued in 1990 when she was part of the crew that launched the Hubble Space Telescope. In 2020, Kathy travelled to the Challenger Deep, the deepest known part of the ocean in the Marianas Trench, seven miles below the surface. After the dive, Kathy made a phone call to the International Space Station, marking the two extremes of human exploration. Through these landmark milestones, Katy is fulfilling her lifelong passion to understand the world around her and inspiring others to follow their dreams.

Dr. Anne-Marie Imafidon, MBE

 Women in STEM Art Trail  No Responses »
Jun 222021
 

Lothian Street, EH1 1HB

Black and white portrait of Dr. Anne-Marie Imafidon against a colorful background mounted along a brick wall
Dr. Anne-Marie Imafidon by Shona Hardie; image by Chris Scott Photography

(No longer on display) Dr. Anna-Marie Imafidon is the very definition of a prodigy. At just 11 years old, she became the youngest ever girl to complete an A-level in computing and she graduated from Oxford with a Master’s Degree in Mathematics and Computer Science when she was 20. In 2017, Anne-Marie was awarded an MBE for services to young women and Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) sectors. She is the co-founder of Stemettes, an award-winning organisation dedicated to inspiring and supporting young women and non-binary people into STEM careers. Their vision is for women to be proportionately represented in the field and to help all girls make informed decisions about their opportunities. Over the last eight years, Stemettes has delivered free events and workshops to over 45,000 young people across the UK and Ireland.

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