24 Facts About Helen Cruickshank

Helen Burness Cruickshank was a Scottish poet and suffragette and a focal point of the Scottish Renaissance.

Helen Burness Cruickshank was born in Hillside, Montrose, Angus, in one of the staff houses, as her father, George Cruickshank, was a hospital attendant at Sunnyside.

Helen Cruickshank was educated at the Hillside village school from the age of four, before attending Montrose Academy at the age of ten with her two older brothers.

Helen Cruickshank developed a love of climbing and walking that stayed with her throughout her life, and she made many long trips to the Highlands.

In 1912, Helen Cruickshank was offered a position in Edinburgh for the health insurance part of the government body which she accepted.

Helen Cruickshank began to rent a studio flat in 1921 and liked being a part of the bohemian lifestyle, being so close to the bookshops, and the Pentland Hills were a source of enjoyment for her.

However, this freedom did not last as Helen Cruickshank's father died in 1924.

Helen Cruickshank gave up her studio flat and bought a semi-detached house on Corstorphine Hill.

Helen Cruickshank would come to Edinburgh once a month to do business with the Scottish Centre of the PEN Club.

Meetings of the PEN Club were often held in Dinnieduff, and Helen Cruickshank often held an open house during the 1920s and 1930s, where those involved in Scottish literature at that time would visit and stay.

Helen Cruickshank's last act for the PEN Club was to raise funds for the International PEN Congress which took place in Scotland in 1934.

Helen Cruickshank contributed poems, mainly in her native Angus Scots, to Country Life, the Glasgow Herald and the Scots Magazine.

Helen Cruickshank published topical and satirical verse under various pseudonyms.

However, Helen Cruickshank's writing had to be put aside as her work-load became heavier due to World War II.

Helen Cruickshank worked on a scheme to evacuate children abroad, and volunteered for fire-watching duties at night, in addition to her own job and caring for her mother.

Helen Cruickshank was an enthusiastic follower of the Edinburgh International Film Festival since its beginnings in 1947.

Helen Cruickshank wrote poetry until the end of her life with her last unfinished poem being about a woman who cannot stop for death as she has too much to do.

Helen Cruickshank was awarded an honorary MA by Edinburgh University in 1971.

Helen Cruickshank lived in Dinnieduff for over fifty years, living alone after her mother's death in 1940, and even though her health deteriorated she did not leave her home until it was completely necessary to do so when she was 88.

Helen Cruickshank moved to Queensberry Lodge on the Canongate in November 1974 and died there on 2 March 1975.

Helen Cruickshank had planned her own cremation, and this was carried out at Warriston in Edinburgh.

Helen Cruickshank's friends laid a plaque at the front door in 1986.

Helen Cruickshank recorded her long life and aspects of her times in her autobiography, Octobiography, which was published posthumously.

Helen Cruickshank is commemorated in Makars' Court, outside The Writers' Museum, Lawnmarket, Edinburgh.