A plaque was unveiled today at the entrance to The Royal Scots Club in Abercromby Place in memory of Sarah Siddons Mair.
Born at No 29, Abercomby Place in 1846, Sarah (known to her friends as Sally) was the youngest of four sisters and a brother. Her grandmother was the notable actress Sarah Siddons.
Sally was to become a lifetime campaigner for Women’s Education and Suffrage, and at the age of 19 established the Edinburgh Essay Society, later the Edinburgh Debating Society which also produced its own magazine The Attempt, forerunner to The Ladies’ Edinburgh Magazine.
An active member of the Edinburgh Association for the University Education of Women, Sally became President of Edinburgh’s National Society of Womens Suffrage. In 1931 she was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire. A force of nature, this remarkable lady died in 1941 at the age of 95.
