Obituary: Ethel Douglas, Assistant Secretary of the Law
Society and first female Elder of Greenside Parish Church in Edinburgh
Ethel Douglas B.L. Legal Administrator. Born: 30 June, 1916. Died: 5
June, 2020, aged 103
By Robin Mackenzie
Saturday, 27th June 2020
Ethel Douglas’s life can best be described in three parts, firstly her
dedicated service to Greenside Parish Church spanning almost 90 years,
secondly to her employment at the Law Society of Scotland and thirdly to
her life within her family.
She was born in Edinburgh, being the third child of Agnes and James
Douglas, who was a fishmonger. She grew up in McDonald Road and attended
Broughton School, before graduating in law from the University of
Edinburgh, being the first member of her family to attend university.
She was one of only five women in a class of 50 students, a quite
different gender balance from today’s 50:50 split. It is a tribute to
her compassion and hard work that during the whole period of her
university studies she was caring at home for an elderly mother.
Ethel and her family were regular attendees at Greenside Parish Church
where she attended the Young Worshippers League, from age 13, and the
Girl Guides, ultimately becoming Guide Captain. She became a Sunday
School teacher at age 17, serving in that role for 25 years.
At the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, Ethel joined the
Women’s Voluntary Service initially serving as a First Aid Worker and
then as a member of the Auxiliary Fire Service for the remainder of the
War.
Ethel, commenced work in GW Tait & Sons, solicitors, leaving in 1946 to
join the Law Society of Scotland, as Assistant Secretary in charge of
Legal Education. This involved her in making regular visits to schools
and Scottish universities to meet with and assist students in the law
faculties. She retired in 1976 after 30 years of service with the Law
Society, on the occasion of which the President of the Society wrote:
“Ethel’s work with the Law Society is well known. She has always been
concerned with the examination and admission of entrants and her
sympathy and understanding of their difficulties endeared her to all who
came in touch with her. No one has been more ready to help and encourage
so many entrants to the profession. The profession, and particularly the
entrants who have qualified since the last war, owe her a deep debt of
gratitude.”
In her letter of thanks which was published in the Law Society Journal
she wrote “My work with the Law Society in the field of Legal Education
has been a rich and rewarding experience, which has not been so much an
occupation for me, but a privilege.”
Upon her retirement, several hundred letters were sent to the Law
Society, from solicitors from all over Scotland and abroad, including
one which read: “She can look back on her career with immense pride and
in certain knowledge, shared by all who knew her work, that there is no
name in the whole legal profession so well-known and more affectionately
remembered by generations of students.”
Ethel was deeply religious and following in the footsteps of her father,
who was a Church Elder, she was ordained as Greenside’s first lady Elder
in 1970 and represented the Kirk Session as Presbytery Elder for 31
years until her 85th birthday. She also became a member of the
Congregational Board in 1974, taking on the role of the Board’s link to
St Columba’s Hospice for 27 years.
She was an active member of the Woman’s Guild, becoming President in
1970 and following her retirement, she joined the Guild of Friendship,
serving for over 25 years. She continued to attend Church regularly
until the age of 98, serving as an Elder for 50 years.
She remained unmarried, but enjoyed overseas travel to Europe and North
America, with her sister, Evelyn, keeping diaries of her travels, which
make wonderful reading for her family who survive her. She entered a
care home in 2015, following a series of falls, and died peacefully a
few weeks before her 104th birthday. She was much loved by her family
and by all those who knew her.
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