Doig Digests
Newsletter of The Doig Family Society
May 2008
Year of the Rat
|
Year of Rat began on 4th February 2008 - to 25th January 2009 THE RAT PORTRAYED IN THE ZODIAC FOUNTAIN IN ALMATY |
Well another past, a quiet one for the Doig Society with
no gathering this year but efforts are concentrating on the Gathering
on the weekend of the 25th July 2009 but more of that later.
My name was found in a Public Bar in Edinburgh on Leith Walk: look at
the base of picture. I have to find out who it relates to. Any suggestions?
We have been purchasing archive items for the Doig Society as they come up on E- Bay, our recent purchases consist of a Corgi Doig Coach, Medals of the Second world war relating to A. Doig of Ramsey Street Dundee,( can anyone provide any background information?), and a cigarette card of J.E. Doig, the famous Scottish goal keeper. The first public showing of our Doig material in the Stirling Smith Museum. The Smith has kindly agreed to display our collection in either Gallery 2 or in the Lecture theatre, immediately after the Edinburgh 2009 Gathering. There would be no charge for this but perhaps a donation would be appropriate? If anyone wishes to donate Doig memorabilia then please send it to our Chairman Kerr Doig or just take it to the museum.
Charles Chree Doig: -Article
from the Whisky Magazine http://www.whiskymag.com
by Ian Buxton
http://www.whiskymag.com/magazine/author/ian_buxton.html
Whisky Pioneers :- ARCHITECT
Ian Buxton (writer) looks at the man behind the iconic pagoda,
his contemporaries and his legacy. Stop reading this article now - and
draw a distillery. Then come back to this page. Chances are your sketch,
however crude, has a pagoda roof somewhere in the design. You didn't have
to think about it, it was just there. Without it, your picture wouldn't
really look like a distillery. With it, the building instantly says 'distillery.
It just feels right.One man is responsible for this: Charles Chree Doig
(1855 -1918). He started life with some advantages. For one thing, he
was born in Scotland which, in the 19th century, meant that despite his
humble background (his father was a farm labourer) he received a decent
secondary education. And, for another, he moved to Elgin in 1882 to join
a surveyor's practice, having trained in architecture in Perthshire. That
meant he was in the right place, at the right time. Imagine being an architect,
in the heart of distilling country, at the start of the greatest distillery
construction boom Scotland has ever seen.
Cometh the hour, cometh the man. Photo with Isabella (Wife)
the late Victorian period whisky was enjoying unprecedented popularity.
Ever-¬rising levels of demand meant that existing distilleries were
expanded and new ones built. Charles Doig was the principal architect
of this expansion and, almost single-handedly, defined what we think a
distillery should look like. His achievements were prodigious though,
sadly, his name is not well known outside the industry and much of his
work has been lost - swept away by 'progress' in subsequent such as at
Craigellachie, or lost altogether such as at Gerston, Lochside, Auchinblae,
Stronachie, Breadalbane and Killowen distilleries. All ghosts now.
"Charles Doig designed 56 of our Scotch whisky distilleries and pagoda
roofs, but sadly I feel he has never been given the true redevelopment,
recognition he deserves," says Richard Paterson, master distiller
at Whyte & Mackay. Others put the number higher still. Much of Doig's
work survives in the archives of his old firm,
preserved by Moray Council in Elgin. and Forres, and this suggests that
Doig worked on around 100 distilleries in all.
His most brilliant contribution is, of course, the pagoda - or Doig Ventilator
as it should perhaps be known. Whisky expert Alex Kraaijeveld has shown,
the design for the ventilator evolved through a series of sketches for
Dailuaine distillery, who commissioned Doig to make alterations to its
maltings. The aim was to improve the efficiency of the chimneys at drawing
off peat smoke.
Doig succeeded brilliantly, with a design both functional and elegant
and, in an industry not noted for its ready acceptance of innovation,
his pagoda was swiftly adopted. The trade press praised the , new look
Dailuaine and other commissions swiftly followed.
Indeed, his competitor John Alcock immediately developed the idea for
the striking twin pagodas at Strathisla, and later worked with Doig at
Glentauchers. Doig's influence on the great Japanese distilling pioneer
Masataka Taketsuru (founder of Nikka Distilling) in the design of Yoichi
distillery in Hokkaido is also clear at a glance.
The list of Doig's commissions comprises a roll of honour: beginning with
his first commission at Glenburgie and then Dailuaine, Doig worked at
Glenfarclas, Dalwhinnie, Balblair, Knockando, Aberfeldy, Pulteney, Bushmills
in Northern Ireland, Dufftown, Talisker, Glertkinchie, Speyburn, Benromach,
Aberlour...to pick just a few names at random. And the list goes on.
Other Doig sites, such as Dallas Dhu which is preserved as a museum, or
Imperial which is mothballed and could re-open mean his legacy will never
be totally lost.
Distillery commissions dried up after the Pattisons crash and subsequent
slump in the industry at the end of the nineteenth century. Doig himself
famously prophesied that after Glen Elgin (1898) no distillery would be
built on Speyside for fifty years. That was not perhaps as prescient as
it sounds, as whisky went into a decline as catastrophic as the dot com
fiasco of recent memory, but it's a curious fact that he was right, it
being 1958 before the construction of Tormore saw new distillery construction
by the Spey. Sadly, Tormore's ventilators are squat and functional.
There is no statue to Doig and his work, though he was rightly eulogised
in an obituary in the Northern Scot and Moray & Nairn Express, which
read: Additions and reconstructions were extensively undertaken by many
distillers of Highland malt whisky, and in all this work the services
of Mr. Doig as an architect were very much in demand. All over Scotland
and in the north of Ireland his work was well-known, and in the course
of his professional career he formed many warm friendships among the distillers.
In matters of arbitration and valuation he was much in request, his keen
business ability, combined with fairness of judgement, being readily recognised.
Though the firm continued after his early death (he was 63) the magic
was gone and with more than sufficient capacity in the industry the salad
days of distillery construction were over.
Now, at last, he may be honoured. Richard Paterson has been leading a
campaign to erect a memorial in Edinburgh's Scotch Whisky Experience (you
may know this as the Scotch Whisky Heritage Centre, but it 'rebranded'
recently).
Some £7,500 was raised by an auction at McTears in 2004 and the
team behind this project await a suitable opportunity during the next
planned refurbishment at the Scotch Whisky Experience to install their
tribute to the great man.
But, just like buses, you wait for ages and two come along at once. In
Manhattan, sculptor and architectural designer Elena Colomba is planning
her own tribute.
Colomba has ambitious plans. Her proposed design is of solid copper construction,
21 ft tall on a 21 ft square base, with a 2 ft deep tidal pool as its
base. A stanza from the poem Natures Lawby Robert Burns and a short biography
of Charles Doig will be inscribed and silvered on the copper floor of
the tidal pool.
In the concept drawings, an eternal flame (symbolising the malting chimney
and the hearth) illuminates the piece. The copper arcs give abstract form
to the current of air that draws peat smoke through the barley from the
kiln fires below - a defining moment in the creation of Scotch whisky.
The memorial will be oriented to mark true north by an extended compass
needle that sweeps down the edge of the northern arc, drawing a finned
line that disappears into the sand or turf of the site. Located ideally
where land, water and sky meet, the memorial will respond to its environment
by collecting sea water and specimens in its tidal pool during high tide,
and holding them within the edges of the base during low tide.
According to Colomba: "The arcs evoke Doig's most significant design
contribution to the distillery and to the efficiency of the malting chimney:
the pagoda roof."
She continues: "For me, the Charles Doig Memorial has become the
flash point of an obvious relationship between fire, whisky, Scotland,
and the rest of the world. The depth of the Scottish fire calendar is
transcendent: Beltane, Samhain, Hogmany, Up Helly Aa, and Burns night
- the whole lot. I would like nothing more than to help celebrate this
primal relationship."
Let us hope that one or other of these proposals bears fruit soon: Charles
Doig, Scotland's architect of spirit, deserves a greater monument than
hot air passing through a ventilator.
Some pictures of our secretary’s recent whisky tasting
holiday can be seen at
http://www.flickr.com/photos/25914259@N03/sets/72157604964681935
Message from David Doig distillery manager at Fettercairn Whisky Distillery
re the Charles Chree Doig event in 2009:- Have talked to Richard Paterson,
the Master blender for Whyte and Mackay, with regard to the Charles Chree
Doig memorial for the Whisky Heritage Centre in Edinburgh.
This will have to be in place by next March at the latest as there are
some other exhibitions to be opened at the same time and the opening is
to be carried out by Alec Salmond leader of the SNP in Scotland. We should
try to get as many Doigs there as we can for the unveiling. We will try
to keep you all posted of their plans
Message from Elizabeth Doig in Canada tabitha@ns.sympatico.ca
Hello, just wanted to let you know that there is a group on facebook
called wait........there are more doig's.
There are over 92 members now, including myself, my daughter and five
of my cousins. My daughter's half-sister is also on there. It appears
to be a wide reaching group.....mostly of younger people.
Thought you might be interested.
Doig Clan Status Report as at May 2008. by our Chairman Kerr Doig STOP PRESS.
"Halfway There"
I am now proud to inform you that I am a registered Doig armiger (i.e.
a Male Doig who has been granted a Coat of Arms by The Lord Lyon), the
first resident Scottish born Doig to be granted a Coat of Arms since 1468
(unfortunately this date was before modern registration)
Two more Scottish committee members, Henry and Ian have stepped forward
and I will be helping them process their applications in the next few
months.
We therefore only require another 5 male Doigs to step forward to enable
the Doig Family Society to apply to become recognised as a recognised
clan. I will be honoured to help with any other applications if required.
Ideally it would be great if some gallant clansmen from Australia and
New Zealand would consider applying. Do not be surprised if I pressgang
some likely candidates.
FIVE DOIG MEN WANTED
We now thanks to Kerr Doig have three armigers, so we need another seven to try to obtain the Armiger status necessary to obtain clan status. Illustrated above are the heraldic documents that Kerr obtained from the Lord Lyon now proudly displayed in Kerr’s Home.
What is an Armiger? : - A person who has petitioned and has been granted
a Coat of Arms by the Lord Lyon of Scotland. Why not spread the cost by
asking family members to contribute?
Please look to your family to achieve this aim for more details and information.
See www.doig.net
British Commonwealth. Anyone domiciled in Her Majesty’s overseas
realms or the Commonwealth who has Scottish ancestry can apply. Foreign
Countries. Anyone with Scottish ancestry can apply for a posthumous
Grant of Arms to a Scottish ancestor. Time Scale for an application. 18
months approx.
Genealogy Notes Kenneth F. Doig
I started digging into my ancestors about 15 years ago, and knowing
no other Doigs than my immediate family, started accumulating anything
with that surname. I had no clue to what I had started. Including my wife’s
side of the family (Koontz from Switzerland via Germany and France, to
America in 1739). I have family files approaching 100,000 names. Most
are Doig or related.
Thanks to DNA I have confirmed links with cousins back into the 1600s
in the Vale of Menteith in Perthshire, with earlier ties to the 1300s.
Now I have returned to that area recording side lines and looking for
the female links. About 15,000 names have been added for the parishes
of Kilmadock, Kincardine, and Port of Menteith. Many of these have been
linked as branches, with more connections being made every week. You can
search these on the main file at http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?db=doigk,
with over 52,000 names.
Welcome to Drummond Doig in South Africa who has just joined our Doig
DNA project. I expect he will link to Colin David Doig in the US and David
C. Doig in Scotland (David, have we lost contact with you?). If you haven’t
joined yet, please check out http://www.doig.net/DNA.htm.
On a more personal note, I had learned some years ago that my grandfather
Edwin Fennimore Doig (1886-1964) had spent time in the Colorado State
Penitentiary in 1904/5 for stealing a horse. I obtained a copy of the
Colorado record which had few details, but did include of photo (yes,
holding a number). I doubt any of my family knew of this, except some
then lost cousins. Well that lost cousin recently sent a copy of a 1904
newspaper article detailing the crime and his arrest. Ed and a friend
stole a team of horses and wagon. They then robbed a store of saddles,
blankets, and guns. They were overtaken by the store owners, and gave
them the horses and wagon in exchange for not reporting them to the sheriff.
The store owners later learned the wagon and team were stolen. Ed was
arrested at the “lost” uncle’s ranch. Living in California,
my father had told me several times that his father used to go to Colorado
to visit cousins, but he didn’t know who they were.
On the upside, my grandfather learned the trade of tool and die maker
from his father. They had a shop, now covered by a parking lot, next to
the Denver Mint. Perhaps they worked to the dies for some of the US coins.
Ed became a short-wave radio operator, and won a prize for relaying the
first trans-America Morris code message in 1918. He became an expert marksman,
winning many medals and trophies. I was always impressed by the gun-making
machinery in his garage. He also loaded his own ammo. When he became too
stiff to assume the prone position to shoot, he took up photography. My
last memories of him are sitting in a worn, over-stuffed chair reading
a favourite western novel.
If you would like stories added to your family file, please send them
along to ken@doig.net. Yield not to adversity!
Doig DNA- We are having some success with the male Doigs getting DNA testing,
with a total of 22 members having subscribed to at least a 12 Marker test
which is ~ $95 US.
Treasurer’s Information
Accounts to end of 2007 have been submitted to and approved by the committee and will now be audited by our Honorary Auditor, Jon Doig. At December 31st 2007 the Society had accumulated funds of £2363 Copies of accounts are available on request. Subscription update - Membership of the Doig Family Society is a yearly subscription of £10. Subscriptions for 2008 are now due, so please send payment to the treasurer, as the Society does not have admin. resources to issue individual invoces to each member. Alternatively the committee have introduced a new option of Founder Life Membership for a one off payment of £50. Founder Life members will be given a pride of place on the Doig Family Website www.doig.net If you have already paid your £10 for 2008 you can convert to Founder Life Membership for an additional £40, payable via our Treasurer:- (Please email Ian to advise when and what you do, so that Ian can identify your subs on the bank statement – Ian can then acknowledge receipt by email). Treasurers contact info: Ian Doig, Hon Treasurer, Doig Family Society. Tel: 0131 228 2947 Mobile: 07970 765649. ianpdoig@yahoo.com
• Payment Option 1 – for individual payments of £10 subscription, the account information & the transfer codes to use to transfer subscriptions through the banking system (including international payments) to the Doig Family Society bank account is:
| Bank: | Royal Bank of Scotland | |
| Branch: | Stirling Pitt Terrace Branch, 2 Pitt Terrace, Stirling, FK8 2EX, Scotland | |
| Bank Account number: | 00675853 | |
| Bank Sort Code: | 832709 | |
| Account Name: | Doig Family Society | |
| International Transfers Code: | IBAN: GB42RBOS83270900675853 | |
| IBAN BIC: | RBOSGB2L |
• Option 2 – Our preferred method for collecting subscriptions with minimum admin. is by setting up a standing order with your bank. See mandate form attached here
• Option 3 – Alternatively, you can send always send a cheque in pounds sterling, payable to the ‘Doig Family Society’ to the Treasurer.
CLAN GATHERING 2009:- JULY 25TH & 26TH (Saturday &
Sunday)
See http://www.clangathering.org/u/the_gathering_2009_brochure.pdf
http://news.visitscotland.com/go.asp?/bVIS001/mLJUAN8/uK3FG6/x3B3AN8
Chairman Kerr Doig is proud to invite all Doig cousins and friends to
attend The Third World Doig International Gathering in Edinburgh 2009.
It promises to be the ultimate Doig experience of your lifetime, so DO
support the Doig Family Society by taking up this invitation. Programme:
On the Friday 24th July, Doig Conference, Doig Ceilidh, etc. On the 25th
and 26th July, all Doigs are invited to attend the largest Clan Gathering
in History at Holyrood Park and then to Edinburgh Castle, including a
magnificent Highland Games
This is going to be a truly memorable event and I strongly urge all who
intend to be there, to book tickets soon (and accommodation if required)
both will be in short supply. NOTE If you wish to be seated in Edinburgh
Castle for the Scottish Pageant then you must buy a Passport for ~£88
each, this gives you a seat at the two day Games in Holyrood Park and
to take part in the Official Parade to Edinburgh Castle.
Questions http://www.clangathering.org/events/content/clan-pageant-and-parade-faq's.html
Transport. http://www.clangathering.org/events/content/clan-pageant-and-parade-faq's.html
Pageant http://www.clangathering.org/events/view/110
We “THE DOIG FAMILY SOCIETY” will be meeting at St John’s
Church Hall , at the west end of Princes Street Edinburgh EH2 4BJ on the
24th July from approx 10am – 4pm then 7.30 –10.30 Times to
be confirmed. http://www.stjohns-edinburgh.org.uk/
A farewell dinner on the Sunday evening may be organized for those interested:
please let me know asap to gauge support. john@doigsden.co.uk
Towards Worldwide Membership:- Oversees “Doig Ambassadors”
- Ian Doig of Perth Canada has volunteered to be the representative for
Canada and is organizing the 2010 Doig Gathering over there reidoig@storm.ca
- Drummond Doig in South Africa has volunteered to be the representative
for South Africa drummond@ieds.co.za
- Ian Doig of Sydney has volunteered (by me), to be the representative
for Australia idoig@bigpond.com
- Other ‘ambassador representatives’ are invited
Yield not to Adversity: Na gèill do chruaidh-chas
Have a good year, health wealth and happiness to all.
The Doig Family Society