Past Presidents and Previous Immortal Memory Speakers
The Inverness Burns Club has a long tradition of the President choosing the guest (or member) who will deliver the Immortal Memory at the Annual Burns Supper(s) during their tenure as President. Below is a list of our Past Presidents and their choices of speakers over the years…
Past Presidents Immortal Memory
Year Club President Year Speaker
1949-50 William Gray 1949 Baillie William Gray
1950 T E M Landsborough
1950-53 James A Grigor 1951 The Rt Hon Thomas Johnston PC
1952 The Rt Hon The Earl of Selkirk OBE AFC
1953 The Hon Lord Gibson
1953-56 Alexander Cullen 1954 John M Bannerman OBE
1955 Nigel Tranter
1956 Douglas Young
1956-60 W E C Rankine 1957 Noel Stevenson OBE
1958 Wilfred Taylor
1959 Lionel Daiches
1960 Dr John MacCormick
1960-61 D J MacDonald 1961 David D Murison
1961-63 A B Lawson 1962 Rev James L Dow
1963 Dr Ronald Mavor
1963-66 J S Swanson 1964 Rev Stanley D Mair
1965 Russell Johnston MP
1966 Lord Birsay CBE TD
1966-68 D F MacDougall 1967 Capt Ben Coutts
1968 T J Honeyman
1968-70 L S Pollitt 1969 James Scotland
1970 Arthur G Boyne
1970-72 N R Y Agnew 1971 Jack House
1972 Dr William McL Dewar CBE
1972-74 Alexander Fraser 1973 Jane Burgoyne
1974 Rev James Currie
1974-77 J F Michie 1975 Andrew Charters
1976 The Rt Hon The Earl of Elgin and Kincardine
1977 Andrew Hamilton
1977-79 Clifford F Parr 1978 Rev James Currie
1979 Prof George Bruce
1979-81 Charles C Morgan 1980 Peter MacLeod
1981 Wynford Vaughan-Thomas OBE
1981-83 Helen Innes 1982 James A MacKay
1983 Sheriff Roy A Wilson
1983-85 W R McPhee 1984 Sheriff J Irvine Smith
1985 Jimmy Spankie
1985-87 D C Caldwell 1986 J A D Michie
1987 J F (Ian ) Michie
1987-89 E B B McD Simpson 1988 Lionel Daiches
1989 Andrew Charters QPM
1989-91 H A M Fraser 1990 John D Pollock
1991 Dr Farquhar Mackintosh CBE
1991-93 E F Murdoch 1992 Charles Kennedy MP
1993 Iain Robertson
1993-95 Nan Crawford 1994 David M Henderson
1995 Stuart M Wallace
1995-97 E D M Cheyne MBE 1996 Louis Grassie
1997 Graeme Lapsley CBE
1997-99 D M Henderson 1998 The Very Rev Dr James A Simpson
1999 The Hon Lord MacLean
1999-01 Alison Marr 2000 Dr James Hunter
2001 Bill Robertson
2001-03 Fergus Ewart 2002 Joan Aitken
2003 Iain A Gordon
2003-05 Iain Gordon 2004 D Wilson Ogilvie
2005 Hugh MacKay
2005-07 Chris Silver 2006 William Roe
2007 James Fraser
2007-08 Hugh Grant 2008 Fergus Ewing MSP
2008-10 Cliff G Sim 2009 Ian MacMillan
2010 Prof Charles Munn OBE
2010-12 Michael Halley 2011 Dr Ian Gill
2012 Neil MacArthur
2012-14 Campbell Dickson 2013 Craig Anderson
2014 Dr Kirsteen McCue
2014-16 Dawson Lamont 2015 Cliff G Sim (Standing in for Charles Kennedy)
2016 Graham McLachlan
2016-18 Hugh Grant 2017 James McPherson
2018 Iain A Gordon
2018-20 Iain A Gordon 2019 Iain Harkins
2020 The Very Rev William C Hewitt
2020-21 Cliff G Sim 2021 No supper held
2021- David Henderson