Renfrewshire centenarian shares her 111-year life story as part of national project to celebrate women's role in society

Scotland’s oldest woman has made history as she helped kickstart a new heritage project.

Super centenarian Marion Dawson – an esteemed member of Scottish Women’s Institute’s Houston and Crosslee Institute – is the first person to be featured in a major new oral histories initiative which seeks to celebrate women’s important role in Scottish towns and villages for the past century.

Marion at 111 is the oldest known living person in Scotland and has been a member of the SWI for 90 years and so was considered integral to the project being spearheaded by the organisation.

To record her memories for future generations, Marion was interviewed by fellow Renfrewshire member IsabelHaddow.

Her reminiscences span two world wars and focus on friendships, learning and sharing skills, and competitions.

Interviews, photographs and artefacts from the SWI will be displayed in a major new £15 million visitor learning centre at the Crichton Estate near Dumfires.

Due to open in 2026, the centre will bring to light the unheard voices of rural women in Scotland and chart the rise of women’s advocacy and change of role in the past 100 years.

The recordings, and SWI’s rich archive revealing women’s lives over more than a century, will then be housed on The Crichton Estate to protect their stories for future generations.

This will enable historians, academics, and members of the public to learn from and be inspired by rural women whose voices often go unheard.

The SWI is Scotland’s leading member-led organisation and has a membership of more than 8,000 women across the country. Women meet to socialise, learn new skills, and share new ones.

The SWI is now looking for members past and present who may wish to contribute to the oral histories project. For more information email: hello@theswi.org.uk

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