Sheila Elder, one of the first hundred women to graduate in Law from the University of Glasgow, was born in Glasgow on 9th July 1931. Her father, Redvers, was a draughtsman and the son of John Simpson Elder, owner of Elder & Co. a specialist iron and steel merchant’s which contributed materials to the iconic Mackintosh architectural projects. Sheila was brought up in Mount Vernon and attended Uddingston Grammar before matriculating at Glasgow to study Law in 1948. She progressed smoothly through the curriculum and graduated B.L. in 1951. In 1955 she was admitted as a solicitor. Three years later she married John Gray Forsyth, a teacher and also a Glasgow graduate (M.A.), and the couple settled in Burnside.
Sources
University of Glasgow Registry and General Council Records
Scotlands People
CoSS Petitions List CS46/1955
