Well Fancy That !

[Lachlan09]

I've just discovered that my great-granddad James Gow, who hailed from Atholl district, was stated (when he joined the Atholl Highlanders) in 1871 to be an 18 year-old gamekeeper at Gilbert's Bridge, Glen Tilt (and 6 feet tall, whereas I'm a midget). He resigned from the Highlanders to became footman to the Dowager Duchess Anne (Duke of Athole's widow) at Dunkeld in 1876 (where he got 30 quid a year). In 1884 (aged 31 and now a strapping 6 feet 2 inches), he became gamekeeper on the Atholl estate at Dalnaspidal and re-joined the Atholl Highlanders. He died in 1896.

I'm just amazed that someone 6' 2" could produce offspring who never got beyond 5'8"/5'9". As for me, I'm nearly 5' 7" !!

[ANDY-J3]

You need to put it in perspective. A man of Six foot two in height is common enough nowadays but in the nineteenth century it was less common due to poor diet etc. so he would have been a good few inches taller than most of his contemporaries.

[Duthill]

Lachlan ,
an event that may have been responsible for the height difference between you and your great grandad was the first world war .
A massive proportion of the middle to tall men of that generation did not live to father children .
And due to the lack of men after the war , huge numbers of women were not able to marry and thus bear children .
Short men tend to marry short women .
Apparently , the British Army height regulation had a minimum of about 5'3".

This sentence crops up on google a few times
"As per the census conducted in 1909, the Scots were the tallest race in Europe. But due to the World War I, the average height of the men in Scotland fell by 9 inches in 1930."

[wullie m]

Shocking statistic Dut, Heilan folk tended to be tall, I think Caithness & Sutherland are Scotland's tallest. The industrialisation of the population, I suspect, had a greater effect on height than WW1, wee Glesga men also died in their droves in the trenches. lack of proper nutrition affected the bulk of the countries population particularly between the wars. Highlanders moving to the cities reduced in height in a generation. The trend now is back to 6 feet teenagers as any trooser rack readily confirms. wiullie m
Lachlan, any relation to Neil Gow the fiddler, think his brother was Nat!

[Duthill]

Wullie , the 1909 census was taken after the industrialisation of the population .

[ANDY-J3]

In that case the figures from the census would need to be questioned because in industrialised areas of Scotland such as Lanarkshire and Glasgow the working classes were living in extreme poverty and malnourished and it would have been rare to find working class men in those areas who were tall. It might be that the census was more accurately compiled in rural areas of Scotland which would account for what would seem to be an obvious inaccuracy. An industrialised population who routinely suffered from poor diet and ailments such as rickets, diptheria etc. would be unlikely to be the tallest race in Europe. As far as I'm aware however the UK census was in 1911 not 1909.

[Duthill]

Originally Posted by ANDY-J3

In that case the figures from the census would need to be questioned because in industrialised areas of Scotland such as Lanarkshire and Glasgow the working classes were living in extreme poverty and malnourished and it would have been rare to find working class men in those areas who were tall. It might be that the census was more accurately compiled in rural areas of Scotland which would account for what would seem to be an obvious inaccuracy. An industrialised population who routinely suffered from poor diet and ailments such as rickets, diptheria etc. would be unlikely to be the tallest race in Europe. As far as I'm aware however the UK census was in 1911 not 1909.

Ok , 1909 or 1011 , was the census taken in the rural areas only ?
And if it was , why ? Thats a rather odd way of doing a survey .

In actual fact , there was no 'UK' census as such.