Marjorie Linklater ( MacIntyre; 19 March 1909 – 29 June 1997) was a Scottish campaigner for the arts and environment on the island of

Orkney Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...

. She gave up acting at the

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the Sen ...

to get involved in conservation, education, and health matters as a

county council A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Ireland The county councils created under British rule in 1899 continue to exist in Irela ...

lor for Ross and Cromarty County Council. In 1975, Linklater was elected chairman of the

Orkney Heritage Society The Orkney Heritage Society in Orkney, Scotland, is a nonprofit organisation founded in 1968. It promotes "the beauty, history and character of Orkney" as well as "high standards of architecture and planning" in Orkney. It organizes conferences a ...

, devoting herself to campaigning for the arts environment, local heritage, and politics. She successfully opposed the mining of uranium and the dumping of nuclear waste off Orkney's west coast and was a founding member of the

St Magnus Festival The St Magnus International Festival is an annual, week-long arts festival which takes place at midsummer on the islands of Orkney, off the north coast of mainland Scotland. History and management The festival was founded in 1977 by a group inc ...

. The Orkney Heritage Society named a senior school award in Linklater's honour following her death.

Biography

Early life

Linklater was born to Scottish international rugby player and future Unionist Party MP Ian MacIntyre and his first wife Ida Van der Gucht on 19 March 1909 at 19 Northumberland Street,

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 ...

. She was one of six children in the family. Linklater was educated sparsely at

St George's School, Edinburgh St George's School is an independent girls' school situated in the Ravelston district of Edinburgh, Scotland, which was rated 'Excellent' by Education Scotland in its most recent inspection. In 2018 the school celebrated the 130th anniversary o ...

and

Downe House School Downe House School is a selective independent girls' day and boarding school in Cold Ash, a village near Newbury, Berkshire, for girls aged 11–18. The ''Good Schools Guide'' described Downe House as an "Archetypal traditional girls' full bo ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

, before enrolling at London's

. She played a number of minor roles in the West End theatre scene, but decided she was not suited to be an actress and went back to Edinburgh in 1930.

Career

Back in Edinburgh, Linklater successfully campaigned with the actor Michael MacOwan for the establishment of the

National Theatre of Scotland The National Theatre of Scotland, established in 2006, is the national theatre company of Scotland. The company has no theatre building of its own; instead it tours work to theatres, village halls, schools and site-specific locations, both at h ...

, and had a role in the local community, producing winning plays in drama festivals and played the cello in an orchestra. After moving to

Easter Ross Easter Ross ( gd, Ros an Ear) is a loosely defined area in the east of Ross, Highland, Scotland. The name is used in the constituency name Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, which is the name of both a British House of Commons constituenc ...

in 1947 from living in

since 1933, she became a

lor of Ross and Cromarty County Council in 1953, getting involved conservation, education, and health matters. Linklater helped to found a secondary school in the Gaelic-speaking fishing village of

Plockton Plockton ( gd, Am Ploc/Ploc Loch Aillse) is a village in the Lochalsh, Wester Ross area of the Scottish Highlands with a 2020 population of 468. Plockton settlement is on the shores of Loch Carron. It faces east away from the prevailing winds, a ...

, meaning children did not need to travel long distances for their education. She secured the post of headteacher at the school for the Gaelic poet Sorley MacLean, and was successful in having public lavatories built-in popular tourist locations, earning her the nickname "Ross-shire's lavatory queen". Linklater also served as a member of the

Scottish Arts Council The Scottish Arts Council ( gd, Comhairle Ealain na h-Alba, sco, Scots Airts Cooncil) was a Scottish public body responsible for the funding, development and promotion of the arts in Scotland. The Council primarily distributed funding from the ...

from 1957 to 1963, the Inverness Hospital Board, the Advisory Council of the Highlands and Islands Development Board, and the Council of European Architectural Heritage Year. In 1975, she returned to Orkney, saying in an interview "I have decided to give up sex and take up committees." Linklater was elected chairman of the

in 1976, and immediately got involved in a campaign to counter the duo threats of the nuclear sector's plan to mine uranium on Orkney's mainland and dumping nuclear waste off the island's west coast. She followed up by contesting plans to dump nuclear waste at sea, and later successfully convinced the oil industry to fund an qualified resident archaeologist who supervised Orkney's rich prehistoric heritage full-time. In 1976, Linklater and

Peter Maxwell Davies Sir Peter Maxwell Davies (8 September 1934 – 14 March 2016) was an English composer and conductor, who in 2004 was made Master of the Queen's Music. As a student at both the University of Manchester and the Royal Manchester College of Music ...

among others co-founded the

, and conceived, performed, and produced the Johnsmas Foy as the festival's primary literary event. In the 1970s, she joined the

Scottish National Party The Scottish National Party (SNP; sco, Scots National Pairty, gd, Pàrtaidh Nàiseanta na h-Alba ) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic political party in Scotland. The SNP supports and campaigns for Scottish independence from ...

(SNP), becoming the Orkney and Shetland's branch chairman and was the agent for

Winnie Ewing Winifred Margaret Ewing (' Woodburn; born 10 July 1929) is a Scottish politician, lawyer and figure within the independence movement who served as President of the Scottish National Party from 1987 to 2005. Ewing was a Member of the Scottish P ...

, the MEP for the

Highlands and Islands The Highlands and Islands is an area of Scotland broadly covering the Scottish Highlands, plus Orkney, Shetland and Outer Hebrides (Western Isles). The Highlands and Islands are sometimes defined as the area to which the Crofters' Act of 1886 ...

. At age 80, Linklater confronted a farmer who took sand from a beach, causing him to drive his digger towards her and verbally abused her. She said in response "Well, make up your mind. I can't be both." Linklater distributed pamphlets for the SNP, canvassing for the local candidate at the

1992 United Kingdom general election The 1992 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 9 April 1992, to elect 651 members to the House of Commons. The election resulted in the fourth consecutive victory for the Conservative Party since 1979 and would be the last tim ...

. She worked with

Laura Grimond Laura Miranda Grimond, Baroness Grimond (''née'' Bonham-Carter; 13 October 1918 – 15 February 1994) was a British Liberal Party politician, and the wife of party leader Jo Grimond. Background She was born in Marylebone, London, the daughter o ...

to restore the 8th-century St Boniface Kirk, was a founding trustee and chairperson of the Pier Arts Centre and was a founder member of the Orkney Folk Festival. Linklater also housed the local candidate for the

Natural Law Party The Natural Law Party (NLP) is a transnational party founded in 1992 on "the principles of Transcendental Meditation", the laws of nature, and their application to all levels of government. At its peak, it was active in up to 74 countries; it con ...

during the

1997 United Kingdom general election The 1997 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 1 May 1997. The governing Conservative Party led by Prime Minister John Major was defeated in a landslide by the Labour Party led by Tony Blair, achieving a 179 seat majority. Th ...

Personal life

She was a Christian, went to church, and was a

Scottish nationalist Scottish nationalism promotes the idea that the Scottish people form a cohesive nation and national identity. Scottish nationalism began to shape from 1853 with the National Association for the Vindication of Scottish Rights, progressing into t ...

. Linklater was married to the writer

Eric Linklater Eric Robert Russell Linklater CBE (8 March 1899 – 7 November 1974) was a Welsh-born Scottish poet, fiction writer, military historian, and travel writer. For ''The Wind on the Moon'', a children's fantasy novel, he won the 1944 Carnegie Meda ...

from 1 June 1933 until his death on 7 November 1974. They had four children (two sons and two daughters): including the biographer and journalist

Andro Linklater Andro Ian Robert Linklater (10 December 1944 – 3 November 2013) was a Scottish non-fiction writer and historian. Life He was the youngest son of Eric Linklater, a poet, and Marjorie MacIntyre, an arts campaigner. His brother is journalist, Ma ...

and the newspaper editor and arts administrator

Magnus Linklater Magnus Duncan Linklater, CBE (born 21 February 1942) is a Scottish journalist, writer, and former newspaper editor. Early life and education Linklater was born in Orkney, and is the son of Scottish writer Eric Linklater and arts campaigner Marj ...

. She died of cancer and heart failure on the evening of 29 June 1997 at her home in

Kirkwall Kirkwall ( sco, Kirkwaa, gd, Bàgh na h-Eaglaise, nrn, Kirkavå) is the largest town in Orkney, an archipelago to the north of mainland Scotland. The name Kirkwall comes from the Norse name (''Church Bay''), which later changed to ''Kirkv ...

, Orkney.

Legacy

In 2000, the Orkney Heritage Society established The Marjorie Linklater Writing Award in her memory. The award is presented to senior school pupils in the fifth or sixth year of education and to similarly aged students at Orkney College "for a short piece of creative writing" with judges including members of the Linklater family.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Linklater, Marjorie 1909 births 1997 deaths People from Edinburgh People educated at St George's School, Edinburgh People educated at Downe House School Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art 20th-century Scottish actresses Councillors in Highland (council area) Scottish environmentalists Scottish nationalists Women councillors in Scotland Linklater family