Aberdeen and North East Section

Lectures and other meetings take place in the Meston Building (Lecture Theatre One), Old Aberdeen, AB24 3UE, at 7.30pm.

The Section has its own Laws and Committee. The Chair of the Committee is an ex officio member of the Society Council.

The North East Section (as it was then called) was formally constituted on 4 November 1969 and the first Committee elected on 14 April 1970.

Committee Members

Chairman (2018-21)

Neil Curtis MA MLitt FMA FSAScot

Neil Curtis

Neil is Head of Museums and Special Collections at the University of Aberdeen, where he has worked since 1988. He studied Archaeology (Glasgow), Museum Studies (Leicester) and Education-(Aberdeen). He is a former Vice-President of the Society, was Secretary of the North-East Section for 25 years and has published papers in the Proceedings on Scottish antiquarian finds. He is a member of the Ethics Committee of the Museums Association, and formerly Convener of University Museums in Scotland and Vice-Chair of the Scottish Archaeological Finds Allocation Panel.

Vice Chair (2018-21)

Jeff Oliver BA MA PhD FSAScot

Dr Jeff Oliver

Jeff is a landscape archaeologist with an interest in the recent past. He studied archaeology and history at Simon Fraser University (BA 1998) followed by an MA (2001) and PhD (2006) from the University of Sheffield. He is currently Senior Lecturer in Archaeology at the University of Aberdeen. Oliver’s research is varied, but a common theme revolves around how physical and representational interventions with the landscape are implicated in different forms of place making. His work to date has focused on the colonial history of western Canada and the improvement period of Scotland.

Secretary & Treasurer (elected annually since 2016)
Chris Croly BA MPhil PhD FSAScot

Dr Chris Croly

Chris read history as an undergraduate at the University of Strathclyde and did his PhD at the University of Cambridge. For 14 years from 2001 to 2015 he was Historian for Aberdeen City Council and has written on many different aspects of Aberdeen’s history. He is currently Public Engagement with Research Manager for the University of Aberdeen. Chris is also organises Doors Open Day in Aberdeen and is a Burgess of Guild of the City and sits of the Guild’s management committee.

Committee Members (elected for three years; date of election in brackets)

Seonaidh Baker BA(Hons) FSAScot (2019)

Seonaidh Baker

Born and bred in Aberdeen, Seonaidh studied Business Management with Human Resources in both Edinburgh and Aberdeen, graduating in 2011. With a keen interest in history, she began working for the historical society & trade house, The Seven Incorporated Trades of Aberdeen, founded in 1587. Seonaidh is a Burgess of Guild of the city of Aberdeen.

John Corall FSAScot (2019)

John Corall

Teacher, Curriculum Developer for the Scottish Examination Board (SEB), twice Secretary of the Technical Subjects Panel of the SEB, professional Tallshipman on Norwegian ships (sersjant – and the only non-Norwegian to hold the post, Clyde Puffer Mate and Aberdeen City Councillor. A Burgess of the City, Chair of Aberdeen History Society, Board Member of Peacocks Visual Arts and Committee Member of Aberdeen & NE Scotland Family History Society. Ostensibly retired but still give talks to raise funds for the RNLI.

Neil McLennan

Neil McLennan MA(Hons) FSAScot (2019)

Susan Marshall MA(Hons) MLitt Phd FSA Scot (2017) 

Susan Marshall

Susan embarked on her first degree at the University of Aberdeen when in her forties, after a career in (mainly) public sector communications.  Discovering medieval history to be considerably more diverting than local authority committee reports, she stayed for more.  Since completing her doctorate in Scottish medieval bastardy, Susan has worked as a historical researcher and as a Teaching Fellow in Celtic & Anglo-Saxon Studies.  When not working, she can usually be found pointlessly correcting the language errors of radio and television presenters, or in Italy, being beaten at Uno by the small children who are her descendants.

RULES OF THE SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES OF SCOTLAND ABERDEEN AND NORTH EAST SECTION

On the 9 May 2017 the Aberdeen and North East Section Annual General Meeting agreed to amend the Section Rules (as per their Rule 13). These were agreed by Council Trustees of the Society on 16 October 2017.

1. The purpose of the Section shall be the same as those of the Society, with particular reference to the North-East of Scotland.
2. The Section shall consist of the Fellows and Honorary Fellows of the Society who are resident in Aberdeen and the North-East of Scotland, defined as the area of the current local authorities of Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire and Moray, or Fellows elsewhere who intimate their interest to the Secretary of the Section. Members not resident in Aberdeen and the North-East of Scotland may withdraw from membership of the Section at any time on giving written notice to the Secretary.
3. Subject to the Laws and to the control of the Society, the affairs of the Section shall be managed by a Committee elected and appointed as hereinafter set forth. The Committee shall consist of Office-bearers and six ordinary members elected by the members of the Section. Five members of the Committee shall be a quorum, provided that number includes one Office-bearer.
4. The Office-bearers shall consist of a Chairman, a Vice-Chairman, a Secretary, and a Treasurer (or a Secretary cum Treasurer). The Chairman shall be elected for a period of three years from 1 June and shall not be eligible for re-election to the same office until one year has elapsed from the end of that period. The other Office-bearers shall be elected for one year and shall be eligible for re-election.
5. Two of the six ordinary members of the Committee shall retire annually by rotation, and shall not be eligible for re-election as ordinary members of the Committee until one year has elapsed. Vacancies occurring during the year among the Committee shall be filled by election or co-option.
6. The Annual General Meeting of the Section shall be held on such date as the Committee shall appoint. The business of the Annual General Meeting shall be notified to members at least fourteen days before the day of the meeting. The business year of the Section shall commence on 1 June.
7. The Committee may appoint sub-committees or individuals for particular purposes. Fellows who are not members of the Section shall be eligible for these duties.
8. The Chairman shall preside over meetings of the Section and shall represent the interests of the Section to the Council of the Society. At the Annual General Meeting the Chairman shall be responsible for the conduct of the election of the Committee. The Vice-Chairman shall carry out these duties in the absence of the Chairman.
9. The Secretary shall keep a record of membership and shall present a report on the proceedings of the Section to the Annual General Meeting and to the Society when requested.
10. The Treasurer shall keep an account of the income and expenditure of the Section for the year to 31 May and shall present the same to the Annual General Meeting of the Section for approval.
11. The Committee shall have the power to call Extraordinary General Meetings of the Section when it sees cause. An Extraordinary General Meeting may also be called by the Chairman within one month of the receipt of a written requisition of not less than fifteen members of the Section intimating the business proposed of such a meeting.
12. The Committee shall arrange a programme for the year, normally based on the Edinburgh lecture programme of the Society.
13. Every proposal for altering the Rules must be made through the Committee, which shall cause intimation thereof to be made to all members at least thirty days before the General Meeting at which it is to be determined on. Any such proposal will be deemed to have failed unless it is accepted by a simple majority of those voting at the General Meeting of the Section and by the Council of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland.