Basic Biographical Details Name: | James ('Jim') Ferguson Dickson Dinwoodie | Designation: | | Born: | 25 February 1919 | Died: | 3 March 2012 | Bio Notes: | James Ferguson Dickson Dinwoodie (known as Jim) was born on 25 February 1919 in Haddington, the son of Robert Dinwoodie, colliery clerk (and a Lance Corporal in the Royal Engineers) and his wife Helen Williamson Dickson who had married in 1917. When Jim was still a small child, the family moved to Dalkeith Road, Edinburgh, his father owning and running Ventnor Market garden and nurseries in nearby Ventnor Terrace. Jim attended the Royal High School, winning the dux in art, and commenced his architectural training as an apprentice in the firm of Rowand Anderson, Paul & Partners, based at Rutland Square.
During the Second World War he served initially as a lieutenant and then as a captain in the Royal Engineers in India for two years. In 1942 he was on board a troop ship bound for Singapore when it was diverted after the colony was seized by the Japanese. He was subsequently posted to the Middle East and finally, in 1944, to Italy, where he fought in the bloody battle of Monte Cassino. By the time the war was over, a third of his former Royal High School classmates had perished.
After the war he completed his architectural studies at Edinburgh College of Art. In December 1947 he married Ina McTaggart, whom he had met when she was working near to the Rowand Anderson & Paul Office before the war, and the couple set up home in Queensferry Road. Dinwoodie was admitted ARIBA in 1949 and ARIAS the following year. In c.1950 they moved to a family home in Maidencraig Crescent designed by Dinwoodie himself.
In the years around 1960 the Dinwoodies lived in Stirling, where Jim was employed by the County Council. Thereafter they returned to Edinburgh where he worked for James Miller & Partners before accepting an appointment as senior lecturer at Edinburgh College of Art towards the end of the decade. Whilst in this post, he also carried on a private architectural practice. He retired in the early 1980s.
In later life he became interested in genealogy, and set up a business researching family trees for clients in the UK, Canada and USA, which he continued for some time after retirement. His love of history resulted in a deep knowledge of his native city and country, and he volunteered for many years as a National Trust guide in the Georgian House, Edinburgh, where he was delighted to provide a tour for Princess Grace of Monaco when she visited. His faith was of great importance to him throughout his life; he was a member and elder of Palmerston Place Church, which benefited from his practical help in building-related matters. In character he was modest and unpretentious, but with a keen sense of humour. His obituarist recalls his amusement on an occasion when he gave a lecture in the United States on the castles of Mar in north-east Scotland, and realised that the high level of attendance was to some extent due to a typographical error: it had been publicised under the title ‘The Castles of Mars – an audio-visual presentation’, and the additional ‘s’ had caused it to pique the interest of members of a UFO society, who were to be sorely disappointed in its content.
He died on 3 March 2012. His wife had predeceased him in 2005, but he was survived by their children Iain, Anne and Kenneth, as well as several grandchildren.
| Private and Business AddressesThe following private or business addresses are associated with this : | | Address | Type | Date from | Date to | Notes | | Haddington, East Lothian, Scotland | Private | 1919 | Early 1920s | Place of birth | | Dalkeith Road, Edinburgh, Scotland | Private | 1920s | 1930s | During childhood. | | Queensferry Road, Blackhall, Edinburgh, Scotland | Private | 1947 | c. 1950 | | | 22, Stoney Bank Terrace, Musselburgh, Midlothian, Scotland | Private | 1948 * | | | | 5, Maidencraig Crescent, Edinburgh, Scotland | Private/business(?) | c. 1950 | After 1954 | | | 5, Rosebery Place, Stirling, Stirlingshire, Scotland | Private | 1960 * | | | | 46, Clermiston Road, Edinburgh, Scotland | Private | Before 1964 * | After 1970 | | | 1, Manor Place, Edinburgh, Scotland | Business | 1980s | | |
* earliest date known from documented sources.
Employment and TrainingEmployers* earliest date known from documented sources.
ReferencesBibliographic ReferencesThe following books contain references to this : | | Author(s) | Date | Title | Part | Publisher | Notes | | RIBA | 1948 | The RIBA Kalendar 1948-1949 | | London: Royal Institute of British Architects | | | RIBA | 1950 | The RIBA Kalendar 1950-1951 | | London: Royal Institute of British Architects | | | RIBA | 1961 | Kalendar 1960-61 | | | | | RIBA | 1970 | RIBA Directory 1970 | | | | | RIBA | 1979 | Directory of members | | | |
Periodical ReferencesThe following periodicals contain references to this : | | Periodical Name | Date | Edition | Publisher | Notes | | Scotsman | 10 March 2012 | | | p.43: obituary |
Archive ReferencesThe following archives hold material relating to this : | | Source | Archive Name | Source Catalogue No. | Notes | | National Archives (via Scotlands People) | Statutory births | | | | RIAS, Rutland Square | Records of membership | | |
|