It has been truly written that “of the making of many books there is no end”, and in issuing this volume in commemoration of fifty years of activity in the administration and development of amateur athletics in Scotland, the Scottish Amateur Athletic Association adds itself to the increasing numbers of those who desire through the medium of the printed page to mark an important epoch in their life-story.
Owing to the loss of the minute books of the earliest years of the Association it is not possible to give a complete narrative of its origin; nevertheless an endeavour has been made to present a coherent story of its fifty years of existence. The Editors beg to acknowledge with gratitude the contributions made to this publication by Messrs W Reid (“Diogenes”), JK Ballantyne of Walkerburn, W Maley and WA Whitton, Inverness. Further acknowledgement is also gratefully made to athletic club officials and others for facilities given by them for the reproduction of many of the illustrations.
Especial thanks are also due to Messrs J Gilbert, T Jack, and J McCulloch (All ex-Presidents of the SAAA) for their valuable contribution to the compilation of the statistical section.
To those whose privilege irt is to gaze down through the mists of the past years this book may help to illumine the memories of their youth, whilst to those whose vision is directed towards the future may it prove a real inspiration to carry on a service so ably begun and to sustain a tradition so worthily created by their predecessors.
Kenneth Whitton
David A Jamieson
Joint Editors