Ruby Isabel Grierson (24 November 1903 – 17 September 1940) was a Scottish documentary film-maker and leading authority in the early documentary movement. Her brother

John Grierson John Grierson (26 April 1898 – 19 February 1972) was a pioneering Scottish documentary maker, often considered the father of British and Canadian documentary film. In 1926, Grierson coined the term "documentary" in a review of Robert J. Fla ...

and her younger sister Marion Grierson also made films.

Early life

Grierson was born in

Cambusbarron Cambusbarron is a village in Stirling, Scotland. In the 2001 census, it had a population of 3,224. There is evidence of settlement at the site since the Bronze Age, and several forts dating from the Iron Age have been found near the village. One ...

Stirlingshire Stirlingshire or the County of Stirling, gd, Siorrachd Sruighlea) is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration countyRegisters of Scotland. Publications, leaflets, Land Register Counties. of Scotland. Its county town is Stirli ...

, to Jane Anthony, a teacher from

Ayrshire Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Àir, ) is a historic county and registration county in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine and it borders the counties of Re ...

, a Labour Party activist who frequently took the chair at Tom Johnston's election meetings and a

suffragette A suffragette was a member of an activist women's organisation in the early 20th century who, under the banner "Votes for Women", fought for the right to vote in public elections in the United Kingdom. The term refers in particular to members ...

, and schoolmaster Robert Morrison Grierson from Boddam, near

Peterhead Peterhead (; gd, Ceann Phàdraig, sco, Peterheid ) is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is Aberdeenshire's biggest settlement (the city of Aberdeen itself not being a part of the district), with a population of 18,537 at the 2011 Census. ...

. She had seven siblings: Agnes, Janet, Margaret,

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

, Anthony, Dorothy, and Marion. In 1906, Margaret passed away. Her family frequently held lively debates on social issues and it is said that Ruby inherited her passion for causes from her mother. All of the children were educated at a local school where their father was headmaster and all except for Margaret attended the University of Glasgow.

Career

For a time, Grierson worked as a teacher in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

at an all-girls school and in the summer she worked for the GPO film unit. She then left her job as a teach to work on documentary film making full-time at the

Empire Marketing Board The Empire Marketing Board was formed in May 1926 by the Colonial Secretary Leo Amery to promote intra-Empire trade and to persuade consumers to 'Buy Empire'. It was established as a substitute for tariff reform and protectionist legislation and ...

film unit. Her brother, John, and her younger sister Marion also worked at the unit and she would go on make her own films. Grierson’s commitment to pacifism and her political views informed her work in film and they typically focused on daily hardships.

Death and legacy

In 1940 she was making a film on the evacuation of British children to Canada under the commission of the

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; french: Office national du film du Canada (ONF)) is Canada's public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary f ...

. She was on the liner SS ''City of Benares'' when it was torpedoed mid-Atlantic. She was among those lost. Grierson's death greatly affect her family, including her older brother, the "Father of Documentary",

. After her death, he emphasized her contribution to film in a several episodes of his television program, ''This Wonderful World'' and his book, ''Grierson on Documentary''. In November 2022 Ruby and her sister Marian's work featured in the GLEAN exhibition at Edinburgh's City Art Centre of 14 early women photographers working in Scotland. The photographs and films also

Helen Biggar Helen Biggar (25 May 1909 – 28 March 1953) was a Scottish sculptor, filmmaker and theatre designer. She was politically active in the 1930s, she joined the Communist Party of Great Britain and was one of the filmmakers behind ''Hell UnLtd'', ...

, Violet Banks,

Christina Broom Christina Broom (''née'' Livingston; 28 December 1862 – 5 June 1939) was a Scottish photographer, credited as "the UK's first female press photographer". History Broom's parents were Scottish though she was born at 8 King's Road, Chelsea, Lo ...

Mary Ethel Muir Donaldson Mary Ethel Muir Donaldson known as M.E.M. Donaldson (19 May 1876 - 17 January 1958), was an early 20th century British author and photography pioneer, and described as an 'unconventional ethnographer'. Life Her father, Alexander Murray Donalds ...

Isobel Wylie Hutchison Isobel Wylie Hutchison (30 May 1889–20 February 1982) was a Scottish people, Scottish Arctic traveller, filmmaker and Botany, botanist. Hutchison published poetry, books describing her travels to Iceland, Greenland, Alaska, and the Aleut ...

Johanna Kissling Werner Friedrich Theodor Kissling (or Kißling) (11 April 1895, Breslau, Germany – 3 February 1988, Dumfries, Scotland) was an ethnographer and photographer. His mother, Johanna, was a photographer and she was a central figure in his life ...

Margaret Fay Shaw Margaret Fay Shaw (9 November 1903 – 11 December 2004) was a pioneering Scottish-American ethnomusicologist, photographer, and folklorist. She is best known for her work among Scottish Gaelic-speakers in the Hebrides and among Canadian Gaelic ...

and Margaret Watkins

Filmography

* ''Housing Problems'' (Arthur Elton, Edgar Anstey, John Taylor, 1935), Ruby Grierson, uncredited assistants * ''People of Britain'' (Ruby Grierson, 1936) * ''London Wakes Up'' (Ruby Grierson, 1936) * ''Today and Tomorrow'' (Ruby Grierson, 1936) * ''To-day We Live'' (Ruby Grierson and Ralph Bond, 1937) * ''Animal Kingdom - The Zoo and You'' (Ruby Grierson, 1938) * ''Animals on Guard'' (Ruby Grierson, 1938) * ''Cargo for Ardrossan'' (Ruby Grierson, 1939) * ''Choose Cheese'' (Ruby Grierson, 1940) * ''Green Food for Health'' (Ruby Grierson, 1940) * ''Six Foods for Fitness'' (Ruby Grierson, 1940) * ''What’s for Dinner?'' (Ruby Grierson, 1940) * ''They Also Serve'' (Ruby Grierson, 1940)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grierson, Ruby 1903 births 1940 deaths Scottish filmmakers Scottish documentary filmmakers Scottish film people Scottish people Alumni of the University of Glasgow British civilians killed in World War II