Jock Duncan (1925 – 25 March 2021) was a Scottish singer from Gelliebrae near New Deer in

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the County of Aberdeen which has substantially differe ...

, known for singing many songs and bothy ballads from Aberdeenshire. He had performed at bothy ballad competitions since 1975 and made recordings of his music since 1996. In recognition of his work for furthering Scots singing, Duncan was inducted into the Scottish Traditional Music Hall of Fame in 2006. In 2000, Duncan was given a Herald Angel award from the

Edinburgh Festival __NOTOC__ This is a list of arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the Edinburgh Fe ...

for his long work with ballad singing.

Early life

Duncan was born on the farm of Gelliebrae, New Deer,

in 1925. In 1928, the family moved to South Faddenhill, to a farm owned by Duncan's grandfather that his father had taken over. Duncan left school at 14 years old to work on the farm as an orra loon or apprentice.

Family

He was the husband of Frances Duncan and father of

Gordon Duncan Gordon Duncan (14 May 1964 – 14 December 2005) was a Scottish bagpiper, low whistle player and composer, born in Turriff, Aberdeenshire. Early life Duncan was born in Turriff, Aberdeenshire on 14 May 1964. His parents were tenant farmer and ...

and Ian Duncan, both well known for piping, as well as Moria and Frances Duncan. He learnt bothy ballads from his uncle Charlie Duncan. Jock's mother was a pianist and his sister Marion was a singer. His brother Jimmy was a fiddler. Both of his sons as well as his grandson, Alex Duncan, were pipers.

Work

Duncan joined the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

when he turned 18 in 1943, spending two years in France during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. After the war, he returned to farming. In the 1960s, Duncan worked for the Hydro Board, moving first to

Thurso Thurso (pronounced ; sco, Thursa, gd, Inbhir Theòrsa ) is a town and former burgh on the north coast of the Highland council area of Scotland. Situated in the historical County of Caithness, it is the northernmost town on the island of Great ...

then to Pitlochry.

Music

In 1960, Duncan featured on the

Grampian TV Grampian Television was the original name of the Channel 3 service for the north of Scotland founded in 1961 and now named STV. The northern region's coverage area includes the Northern Isles, Western Isles, Highlands (except Fort William and ...

programme ''Bothy Nichts'', as a member of the Fyvie Loons and Quines. In 1975, Duncan entered and won his first bothy ballad singing contest in

Kinross Kinross (, gd, Ceann Rois) is a burgh in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, around south of Perth and around northwest of Edinburgh. It is the traditional county town of the historic county of Kinross-shire. History Kinross's origins are connect ...

, while in 2004 he came fourth in a contest in

Moray Moray () gd, Moireibh or ') is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with a coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland. Between 1975 ...

. In 2000, he was awarded the

Herald Angel award A herald, or a herald of arms, is an officer of arms, ranking between pursuivant and king of arms. The title is commonly applied more broadly to all officers of arms. Heralds were originally messengers sent by monarchs or noblemen to ...

for services to ballad singing, and was inducted into the Scottish Traditional Music Hall of Fame in 2006. Iona Fyfe credits Duncan as an influence on her own singing, describing him as an "uncle". They met while Duncan was judging the Turra Bothy Ballad competition.

Other

Over fifty years, from the 1930s, Duncan interviewed Scottish soldiers that fought in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, recording all they could remember about country life in the Northeast of Scotland before the war. The 59 soldiers were mostly Scots speakers and Duncan transcribed the soldiers' stories in Scots. After giving all his recordings and transcripts to the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

, an edited book ''Jock's Jocks: Voices of Scottish Soldiers from the First World War'' was published in 2019. In April 2019, ''Jock's Jocks'' was made into a single-act play and a Scots-language radio programme.

Death

Duncan died on 25 March 2021 in

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

at the age of 95.

Discography

1996: ''Ye Shine Whaur Ye Stan!''
2001: ''Tae The Green Woods Gaen''

External links

Audio-only version of Jock's Jocks, the play based on Duncan's work with soldiers from World War 2

BBC interview with Jock Duncan

References

1925 births 2021 deaths Scots-language culture Scottish folk musicians People from New Deer 20th-century Scottish male singers {{DEFAULTSORT:Duncan, Jock