“Red Duchess” of Atholl

Feb 26 2010 by Gordon Bannerman, Perthshire Advertiser Friday

SHE’S one of the more colourful characters in Scottish political history and now the Duchess of Atholl’s extraordinary story has been captured in a BBC documentary.

Broadcaster Elizabeth Quigley yesterday revealed her interest in the country’s first female MP, tagged “the Red Duchess”, had been inspired by husband and MSP John Swinney, who represents much of the constituency which was Atholl’s domain from the Roarin’ Twenties.

Elizabeth, who has a degree in modern history, confessed her knowledge of the Duchess had been scant before delving into the archives.

But she unearthed a strong personality and a woman whose incredible story set her at odds with some of the strongest political leaders of the age, including Churchill.

Elizabeth said: “I was intrigued by her story and perplexed by the fact that she seemed to have disappeared from history.

“The Duchess maintained a woman’s place was in the home, even speaking against votes for women – but ended up in the most prestigious boys’ club of them all, the House of Commons. And she became Scotland’s first female MP.

“She was a Highland aristocrat, but campaigned alongside Communists in the Spanish Civil War.

“She was a party loyalist, but realised the threat Hitler posed and defied her party whips – reading Mein Kampf in the original German and giving translations to Chamberlain and Churchill to try to convince them of the imminent danger.”

Elizabeth admitted that Katherine “Kitty” Murray, the Duchess of Atholl, had captivated her as she researched a truly remarkable life.

She laughed: “She used to be married to the politician for Perthshire, just like me, so I’m her political successor – although I have no ambitions to follow in her footsteps and become a member of parliament!”

Born in 1874, Katherine had originally set her sights on becoming a professional pianist and moved to London to train at the Royal College of Music.

On marrying “Bardie,” the Marquis of Tullibardine, she concentrated her energies on following her soldier husband on his overseas campaigns – including the Boer War, the Nile and Gallipoli.

After the death of her father-in-law, she threw herself into Perthshire life, helping her husband, the new Duke of Atholl, to manage a debt-ridden castle and estate.

Then she became involved in local politics and charity work.

Elizabeth said: “Her mainstream political career was launched in the 1923 General Election when she won the safe Conservative seat of Kinross and West Perthshire.

“But she quickly became known for supporting issues which were at odds with conservative thinking.

“When Franco’s army rebelled in Spain, she tried to mobilise support for the democratically elected Republicans and was active in raising funds to help thousands of child refugees from the civil war.”

Locally, her actions stirred a rebellion in the ranks of some constituents.

The Duchess was appalled by Chamberlain’s attempt to make peace with Hitler. Realising the English version of Mein Kampf had been published with sections missing, she distributed her own unabridged translation to fellow MPs.

In the face of Big County constituents who believed in appeasement, the Duchess continued her campaign, resigning the Conservative whip and triggering a by-election.

An alarmed government dispatched MPs and senior Cabinet figures to Perthshire, well aware the outcome would be held up as a verdict on their foreign policy.

On December 19, 1938, in the midst of the by-election campaign, she received a telegram from Stalin, reading: “Moscow is proud of Katherine the even greater.”

Another arrived from Sylvia Pankhurst, stating: “All wishes for success. Every woman who prizes her vote should vote for you.”

The Red Duchess lost the contest by around 1000 votes and retired from public life after her husband’s death.

l Elizabeth Quigley’s fascinating documentary ‘The Duchess and the Führer’ will be shown on Tuesday on BBC Two Scotland at 7pm. A radio programme will be broadcast on Radio Scotland on Sunday, March 7, at 10.30am.