At the recent AGM of the Society the following Annual report and accounts were presented
GULLANE AND DIRLETON HISTORY SOCIETY
ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JANUARY 2026
Scottish Charity Number SC037547
Current Committee Members
Mrs Margaret McSorley (Chair)
Mr Tom Drysdale (Treasurer),
Mrs Anne McCarthy (Consultant Archivist and Publications Officer)
Dr Neil Jones (Sales Officer)
Mrs Mhairi Hastie (Membership).
Mr Bill Nimmo
Mr George Simpson
Mr Eric Thomson
Dr Michael Thomson
Contact address: Mrs Margaret McSorley, Lessudden, Main Street, Gullane. EH31 2HD
Recruitment and appointment of Committee Members
The Society’s Committee and Office-bearers are appointed or re-appointed at the Annual General Meeting held at the last meeting of the winter season. The Committee may co-opt members as necessary during the year. The Society is grateful for their valuable contributions. The enthusiasm and willingness shown by all the current officers of the Society is acknowledged with gratitude.
Appointment of Committee Members and Office Bearers
Margaret McSorley has offered to act as Chair of the GDHS for the year 2026 to April 2027 but this appointment should be reviewed in 2027. This situation has been discussed and agreed by the Committee. Mhairi Hastie has been introduced to the committee and has been made aware of the duties of the Membership Officer.
Governing document:
The Society is a charitable unincorporated association and the purposes and arrangements for its administration are set out in its constitution.
Charitable purposes:
The objectives of the Society, as set out in the constitution, are to encourage the study and to advance the knowledge of the history and heritage of the Gullane and Dirleton locality and the subject of history in general.
Programme
The GDHS programme of talks stretches from February 1st 2025 to February 2026. We had excellent speakers over the year:
On 6th February 2025, Neil Fraser enlightened us to the value of using the Archives of Historic Environment Scotland. Using the archives uncovers a wealth of knowledge and information, from artefacts to aerial photographs.
On March 19th, Dr Fraser Hunter’s talk on the impact of the Romans on East Lothian was given to a packed house. His expertise in “Celtic Art” and Iron Age material culture, using cutting edge technology has revealed long hidden information about these times and the people who lived and worked here, enabling us to understand more about life in that era.
On 17th September the Society members were treated to a talk, “Drem Airfield in two World Wars” about the use of the site of Drem in both world wars with Michael Thomson and George Simpson alternately sharing their knowledge and illustrations with the audience.
On the 9th October, Hew Dalrymple, shared the letters and other artefacts held by his family to illustrate “An Eighteenth-Century North Berwick Love Story”. The problems of communication and travel were sympathetically outlined.
On 12th November, David Crawley, illustrated his talk “Arthur Balfour of Wittinghame: East Lothian’s Prime Minister” with some amazing cartoons, concentrating on key areas of Balfour’s political career, which ran from 1874 to 1929. Balfour’s name is linked with the unending and very current issues surrounding Palestine and Israel.
On 11th December, the year ended with Ed Bethune enlightening the audience with a well-illustrated description of “1722, The Waggonway Project: reconstructing Scotland’s first railway.” The tremendous effort by the 18th century railway workers was matched by the work put in by the present-day project workers undertaking archaeological investigations,
The Gullane and Dirleton History Society Summer Outing
A visit to the Coastal Communities Museum in North Berwick proved a happy choice for the Society’s annual outing in July. The volunteers from the museum gave the members tea, coffee and biscuits, and a conducted tour of the museum with an opportunity to discuss the artefacts and socialise. Grateful thanks to the volunteers from the Museum
Research and publications
Thanks to Neil Jones as Sales Officer of the Society’s publications, the books published by the Society continue to sell through some local shops and at meetings.
The scanning and recording of the Society’s archive have been largely completed.
Enquiries through the Society’s website have continued to be received and information has been provided where possible. People who spent their youth in Gullane and Dirleton but now live on the other side of the globe or closer at hand have taken the opportunity to enquire about their forbears and /or purchase books published by the Society.
Publicising the Society’s aims and work
The Dirleton Fete and Games held on the 21st June, 2025 included various races for adults and children and a dog show. These events sparked competition and serious running, especially the dog show.
Bill Nimmo organised a QUIZ based on a set of historic items. It evolved into interesting conversations with various groups of visitors concerning the items and their features especially barrels, horse harness and cooking in cottages. The question of how many hands did a horse, with such large feet, have, caused deep thought. The answer is “about 18”.
As part of the Archaeology Fortnight in September organised by East Lothian Heritage department three members of the Society led five walks around local places and structures of historical interest.
Financial outcome and reserves:
Membership of the Society at the yearend (31st January) was 96, compared with 88 in the previous year and providing subscription income of £1440. Income from the sale of publications was marginally less than in the previous year (down from £699 to £673). Neil Jones, Sales Officer, maintains a good rapport with several local retail outlets, which hold stocks of the books and undertake sales of them on an ongoing basis. Expenditure on reprints was higher, from £184 in 2024/25 to £588. This is reflected in the higher value of book stocks in hand.
In the light of all these considerations and subject to the approval of the Independent Examiner surplus for the year was £1276 an increase on the previous year’s surplus of £410. The value of the Society’s stock of publications held at the year -end was £1957.
Spending of the residual £2,530 following St Andrew’s Church ruin restoration work is still intended but it is not possible to advance this in the local authority’s current tight financial climate. Despite this, the Society’s unrestricted funds held at the yearend amounted to £8457.
Click here for pdf of the accounts