Longniddry was, incidentally, the village where the first of the Women’s Rural branches in Scotland, founded in 1917, offered classes for teaching how to paint on pots; hand-painted wares were marketed, under the enthusiastic leadership of Catherine Blair, as ‘Hamearts’, or home made craft, and sold through outlets such as stalls at Agricultural Shows, and other events. However, according to his family, William had not chosen to join the ladies in their classes: he was self-taught, using one or two of the popular manuals on ceramic decoration in circulation at the time.
Sources: Text and images © H R Jack 2012. Image of ‘Stump’ courtesy William Watt Junior.
