The following information is taken from The Biographical Dictionary of Scottish Women and reproduced with kind permission of the Co-ordinating Editor, Rose Pipes. A list of abbreviations has been added to the end of the entry. Abbott, Wilhelmina Hay (Elizabeth),… read more
Edith Leslie, her mother, was a noted performer with Broughty Ferry Amateur Operatic Society and introduced Gelda to a range of music, from light opera to Wagner. Gelda won the 1954 Leng Gold Medallist in Dundee High School, studied art… read more
Isabella was born in 1878 in Arbroath, the daughter of Rev. Richard and Ann. She went to the local school and, at age fourteen she became a pupil teacher where she taught for four years. So she got some experience before… read more
Born into a family of modest circumstances in 1871 Anna was taken from Dundee to the US by her widowed mother when she was a little girl. She was musically talented, and when she grew up she supported them both… read more
We won’t be leading walks this year so why not tune in to our YouTube broadcasts? Short films, about the women featured on our trail are just a click away! Each film is approximately 10 minutes long. Plaques 1-5This is… read more
Fish-seller Mag Gow was an infamous drunken Dundee woman, who appeared in court on over 200 occasions over the course of 30 years. Dundee Courier 26 July 1861. Mag Gow’s 99th court appearance. Dundee Courier 18 Sept 1861. Margaret Gow,… read more
Margaret Thomas Johnston Grant neeWilson was born on 29th June 1933. Her mother was Margaret Johnston, a school catering assistant and jute mill worker at Cox’s Mill, Dundee; her father Charles Wilson was a lead painter at the docks. She… read more
A short word about Marie’s father:- Peter Imandt was a Prussian. Nick-named ‘Red Wolf’ as a young man, he was a member of the Communist League, a founding father of the German Social Democratic Party and friends with Karl Marx…. read more
“Can you organise the liveliest 800-year-old in Scotland?” “You bet I can!” replied Henny. And that’s how she came to Dundee in 1990. She stayed for the rest of her life. An exuberant, flamboyant woman, she will be long remembered… read more
In her time, around 1890, Jessie was the first professional and best-known woman journalist in Scotland. She was one of four siblings, born in 1862 in Bankfoot, Perthshire, her father a shoemaker and her mother an ex-domestic servant. A delicate and … read more
Elisabeth Lesley Grant Pugh was born on December 30th in 1935 in south London, only child of a dentist and a schoolteacher. She went to St Helen’s School in Norwood, where she was made head girl. Then after school and… read more
Bessie was born in Dundee, one of four children. Their great-grandfather was the first editor of The Peoples’ Friend, and their father had been an editor too – evidently the family had printer’s ink in their bloodstream. Bessie attended Dundee… read more
Cissie was the first Dundonian ever to win an Olympic medal. Possibly the least acknowledged too! There was no celebratory razmataz at the Olympics in 1928, no podiums, no flag-waving . She was born in or near Dudhope Street and… read more
Martha was born blind in about 1876. She lived for many years in St Mary’s Street, off Lochee Road. Known as ‘Blind Mattie’, she played popular songs (e.g. My Ain Folk) on her melodeon in the city centre and the… read more
An Englishwoman, she was the daughter of Rev John Fletcher, a Weslyan minister. At 24 she came to Dundee and married Rev Dr R.A. Watson of Butterburn United Presbyterian Church & Abercraig, West Newport. She wrote for the British Weekly… read more
Mary’s grandfather was a linen weaver and her grandfather a factory overseer in the jute mills. Mary’s father Alexander Thomson Watt was a master butcher with two shops in Dundee. The family were members and (ordained)* being checked for meaning… read more
Sarah Wiedeman was born on the corner of Seagate and Trades Lane, and is one of the few women who was already commemorated with a plaque when Dundee Women’s Trail was set up. She was the daughter of the first… read more
These sisters were born in Montrose, daughters of Catherine Jane Erskine, teacher, and John Wilkie, draper. It was a poor family. Annot went to Montrose Academy where she worked as a pupil teacher, then attended teacher training college before taking… read more
Born in Dundee, the last of the Winter printing family, Miss Winter was a relation of J.M. Barrie. She attended Dundee High School, then went to London to study piano & violin. After teaching music in Dundee, she went to… read more
Jenny was born in Brown Constable Street, Dundee, later living in the Blackness area. One of six children, she won a scholarship to Harris Academy, but family circumstances forced her to leave school at 14. All her life she wished… read more
Ruth was born in Dundee, the daughter of William B. Wilson, a flax merchant. She attended Dundee High School, then went to University College (St Andrews University) where she gained a BSc and to Advanced Medical School Dundee, graduating MB… read more
Around Dundee there is a trail of twenty-five plaques to commemorate remarkable Dundee women. Their stories are told in further detail in the Dundee Women's Trail book. Click here to purchase a limited copy.
Charity No. SC036149
Buy the book