Gavin Greig, 1856 - 1914 school teacher and ballad collector

Arthur Barron wrote in Scots. His daughter married Arthur Argo (1935/36 - 1981), great grandson of Gavin Greig (1856 - 1914), schoolmaster at Whitehill, New Deer, Aberdeenshire, who, from 1876 until his death, worked with James Duncan (1848 - 1917), minister of the United Free Church at Lynturk, Aberdeenshire, gathering and recording the ancient ballad tradition of the North East of Scotland. Their work culminated in the important Greig-Duncan folk song collection, which is deposited in the University of Aberdeen (GB 231 MS 701 - 790 and GB 231 MS 0998) and published, in 8 volumes, by the School of Scottish Studies, Edinburgh.

Arthur Argo (1935/36 - 1981) continued the interests of his great grandfather, Gavin Greig, promoting the work of Scottish folk artists and their music, and becoming acknowledged as one of the foremost authorities on Scottish traditional folk music. After working as a journalist, from 1966 he worked for BBC Scotland, from 1973 as a producer with Radio Scotland. He produced the long running radio series Fit Like Folk?, a folk music programme, and The Reel Blend, a Scottish music series. He was president of the Aberdeen Folksong Club.

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