Ernest Marwick

Who was Ernest Marwick?

Ernest Walker Marwick was a Scottish writer noted for his writings on Orkney folklore and history.

Marwick was the son of a small-holder and travelling salesman from the parish of Evie, to the north of Mainland, Orkney. When he was ten he was forced to leave school and lie flat on his back on a wooden board because he had been diagnosed with Scoliosis. He used the time of illness to read extensively.

After Marwick's marriage his home provided a meeting-place for local intellectuals, including George Mackay Brown and Robert Rendall. His Anthology of Orkney Verse was published in 1949.

From 1955 to 1960 he was on the staff of the Orkney Herald newspaper. He subsequently moved toThe Orcadian, his writing covering literary subjects.

Ernest Marwick was a founder member of the Orkney Heritage Society.

He died in July 1977, having swerved off a straight road and crashed into a farm steading when driving .