Grierson was born in Cambusbarron, Stirlingshire, to Jane Anthony, a teacher from Ayrshire, a Labour Party activist who frequently took the chair at Tom Johnston's election meetings and a suffragette, and schoolmaster Robert Morrison Grierson from Boddam, near Peterhead.

[2] Her family frequently held lively debates on social issues and it is said that Ruby inherited her passion for causes from her mother.

[1] All of the children were educated at a local school where their father was headmaster and all except for Margaret attended the University of Glasgow.

[4] Grierson’s commitment to pacifism and her political views informed her work in film and they typically focused on daily hardships.

[3] After her death, he emphasized her contribution to film in several episodes of his television program, This Wonderful World and his book, Grierson on Documentary.