Papers collected by the athlete and coach Duncan MacLean. The collection includes a small number of athletics programmes relating to veterans' meetings in which MacLean participated during the 1970s when in his late 80s and early 90s. There are an extensive volume of newspaper cuttings referring to MacLean's athletics successes in old age as well as a number of photographs. The collection also includes a small number of certificates and badges awarded to MacLean.
Papers of Duncan MacLean
Archive Collection
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- ReferenceGB 150 ATH/DM
- Dates of Creation1948 - 1977
- Name of Creator
- Language of MaterialEnglish
- Physical Description1 large box (comprising 3 files and 9 items)
Scope and Content
Administrative / Biographical History
Duncan MacLean [surname is spelt McLean on his birth certificate] was born in Gourock, Scotland on 3 December 1884. His father, also called Duncan, was a merchant seaman and the younger Duncan's first five years were spent at sea. His mother, Barbara, was a champion Highland dancer. For a brief period the family lived in South Africa when Duncan's father became an agent for Lloyd's Shipping Company.
In the late 19th century, following in the footsteps of his mother, Duncan became a Scottish juvenile dancer champion. He won a number of prizes, joined a troupe and took part in a concert at Greenock Town Hall when Harry Lauder had his first big success. Shortly afterwards Harry Lauder asked Duncan to join his touing company. A career in music hall entertainment followed and, as well as Harry Lauder, his colleagues and friends included Marie Kendall, Gus Elen, Charles Coburn, Little Tich, Will Fyffe, Ella Shields and Florrie Forde. Duncan later continued working on the vaudeville circuit including a stint as Harry Lauder's understudy during an American tour. His stage persona was 'Dan O'Scott', a Scotsman who danced in an all-white outfit, including kilt. He wrote many of the songs he sang and newspaper cuttings contained within his papers suggest that he once worked alongside Charlie Chaplin.
Throughout his music hall days, Duncan kept sprinting. His uncle had been a Scottish sprint champion and he himself had achieved great success in South Africa between 1904 and 1906 as three-times sprint champion for both the 100 and 220 yards. During this time his 100 yards had been recorded as 9.9 seconds and his 220 yards at 21.3 seconds. During the First World War he was an instructor with the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. He worked with ENSA [Entertainments National Service Association] during the Second World War, providing entertainment for British armed forces personnel.
He began competing in the Masters division and helped to form the Veterans' Athletic Club in 1931. During the 1960s, when in his 80s, he was coaching at Crystal Palace and regularly training himself. At age 90 he competed in the First World Masters Track and Field Championships in Toronto in 1975, running the 100 and 200 metre sprints. He performed again aged 92 at the Second World Championships in Gothenburg, Sweden in 1977. He set single-age records in the 100 metres from ages 87 to 92. He ran 16.3 seconds, aged 88, at the US National Masters Championships in San Diego in 1973; and at 92 he ran 21.7 seconds at the World Games in Sweden. In 200 metres he set records from ages 88 to 91, recording 41.1 seconds, age 87, in London in 1972 and 51.5 seconds, age 91, in 1976. MacLean composed songs for each of the World Championships he entered, entertaining the throng with his singing and clowning. He was familiarly known as 'The Tartan Flash' due to the tartan shorts he wore throughout his career.
Duncan married Elsie Hawkes in 1926 and the couple had seven children: Ailsa (b 1927), Iona (b 1928), Jura (b 1933), Isla (b 1936), Vrecha (b 1940), Shuna (b 1942) and Duncan (b 1946). Duncan MacLean died in December 1980, aged 96.
Sources: papers of Duncan MacLean; obituary included in The World Association of Veteran Athletes newsletter, March 1981, accessed 9 October 2014 from: http://www.mastershistory.org/newsletter/wava4.pdf; 'Masters Track and Field: A History' by Leonard T. Olson.
Arrangement
These papers have been arranged into the following two series: athletics programmes and results; personalia.
Access Information
Open. Access to all registered researchers.
Other Finding Aids
Please see full catalogue for more details.
Conditions Governing Use
Permission to make any published use of any material from the collection must be sought in advance in writing from the Director of Special Collections (email: special-collections@contacts.bham.ac.uk). Identification of copyright holders of unpublished material is often difficult. Special Collections will assist where possible with identifying copyright owners, but responsibility for ensuring copyright clearance rests with the user of the material.
Custodial History
This collection was previously in the custody of the National Centre for Athletics Literature (NCAL).