ARTHUR JOHN BROCK’S NORTH QUEENSFERRY: THE FIRST CHAPTER

Many readers will know of my work to unearth more on war poet Wilfred Owen’s connections with the city of Edinburgh and the influences of Scotland on Owen’s life and literature. Owen was a shell-shock patient at Craiglockhart War Hospital between June and November 1917 and as part of my research, Owen’s Edinburgh doctor, Dr Arthur John Brock, has been a key figure in my thinking.

Brock, like his mentor Patrick Geddes, was a polymath; his interests were wide-ranging and included biology, botany, geography, local history and Greek antiquaries. After the Great War Brock lived in North Queensferry, where he used his where, between October 1932 to January 1934, he wrote almost fortnightly, tracing the history of the area through local history stories and snippets.