Rev. John D Robertson

During its early years as the National Vigilance Association (Eastern Division) the organisation had a strong association with religion.  For example, the Ladies Committee Minute Book records that each of their meetings was opened in prayer (ACC 11191/2).  Having said this, while many involved with the NVA were religious, it does not seem that this was a requirement to work or volunteer at the NVA, and the organisation never described itself as a faith-based agency.   

Nevertheless, numerous individuals on the Committee held official positions in organised religion.  Interestingly, these individuals came from a wide range of faith groups, including the Church of Scotland, United Free Church, Free Church of Scotland, Scottish Episcopal Church and the Edinburgh Hebrew Community.  It seems that their similarities in working together to address vice and promote the moral protection of women and children outweighed differences in faith doctrines.

Rev. John D. Robertson (1856-1924) was a General Committee member from the establishment of the NVA (Eastern Division) in 1911 until his death in 1924.  John Robertson was born in Australia in 1856 but grew up in Scotland in Stirling.  Educated at the University of Glasgow he was ordained as a Minister in 1885.  He was later appointed as Minister to the Ebenezer United Free Church in Leith, where he served as Minister until his death in 1924. 

John Robertson was vocal about his belief that the church had a role to play in addressing wider social issues.  This was demonstrated by his involvement with the NVA – with its focus on preventing vice – but also in his role as Convenor of the Social Problems of the Committee of the United Free Church, and in the Temperance Reform Movement (Anon, 1924).  The Temperance Reform movement began in the 19th century and saw a link between drinking alcohol and poverty.  Their aim was therefore to promote personal abstinence from alcohol but also to campaign in relation to alcohol licensing and set up alternative places to stay and socialise, such as Temperance Hotels (which were dry) (North Lanarkshire Council, 2025). 

References:

Anon., (1924) ‘Leith Minister’s Death’, The Scotsman, 16th April , page 8. 

North Lanarkshire Council (2025) Sobering Up: The Temperance Movement. Available at: Sobering Up: The Temperance Movement – CultureNL Museums