Mary Symon

Mary Symon (25 September 1863 – 27 May 1938) was a Scottish poet who wrote in Scots with a regional and rural focus.

[1] Mary was born to John Symon (1836–1908), a landowner and saddler, and Isabella Duncan (1837–1924) in Dufftown, on the estate of Pittyvaich.

[2][1] Her father was a prominent figure in local life, and helped to found the Pittyvaich Distillery.

[1] Her work was influenced by the First World War: her 1916 poem 'The Glen's Muster-Roll' is written from the perspective of a local schoolmaster, reflecting on the future of the boys in his community, while her poem 'A Whiff o' Hame' was sent to troops in the same year as part of a Christmas book.

[2][4] 'After Neuve Chapelle', written in 1915, describes the losses suffered by the Gordon Highlanders at the Front.