Adventurous Marjorie had unending love of nature

Published on Thursday 26 November 2009 08:37

Writer, broadcaster and adventurer Marjorie Wilson has died, aged 97.

Born on 25 October, 1911 in a tenement flat in Edinburgh, Marjorie Julia Wilson, was the youngest of eight children.

The flat on South Clerk Street sat in the shadow of Arthur's Seat, something that fascinated her all of her life, so much so that she wrote a poem called Arthur's Seat, which was published in the Evening News in 1962.

The family moved to Seton Place in the Grange when Marjorie was 12 years old and she spent the next 85 years there, many shared with her elder sister Agnes, who was an acclaimed artist.

After being educated at George Watson's Ladies College, Marjorie worked in a law office, but left at the outbreak of the war to take up a nursing post with the Red Cross.

After nursing for four years, Marjorie was invalided due to recurrent back problems.

This was a blessing in disguise as it kick-started her love affair with both writing and travelling. She began travelling abroad with Agnes, using the money earned from writing to do so.

Her mother's sudden illness meant Marjorie became a full-time carer and she devoted her free time over the next 20 years to writing and radio broadcasting, for which she gained critical acclaim.

Following her mother's death in 1963, Marjorie became a hand decorator at the renowned Buchan's Pottery, but this was short-lived as her duties as a carer were required once again, this time for her sisters Agnes and Sally.

Marjorie's great love of nature is something that many remember her for, largely thanks to her memoirs and numerous stories, many of which were broadcast on various BBC programmes.

Marjorie embarked on many adventures during her life, ranging from five-mile walks, luggage in tow, to remote areas of the Scottish Hebrides, to Himalayan treks in Nepal.

One particular trek in Nepal is how Marjorie celebrated her 80th birthday, and she stunned the rest of the team with her insistence to complete the trek entirely unaided, despite the sherpas' constant pleas to carry both her and her rucksack.

An accomplished writer, her first short story was published in the Weekly Scotsman in 1944, and she continued to write for various newspapers for many years.

Latterly, Marjorie, who was also a great animal lover, suffered from dementia and, much to her frustration, her travels were brought to an end.

She remained living in her own home for as long as possible until a stroke led to her admission to the Belleville Lodge Nursing Home.

Marjorie spent the last nine months of her life at Belleville Lodge and passed away in a room within full view of Arthur's Seat on 3 October.