PERTH MAGIC CIRCLE
A Brief History by Adrian Harris.

The inaugural meeting took place on Thursday 9th February 1950 in the York House Hotel, Perth. The Club was known as Perth Magical Society.

The founder members consisted of John Beattie (President), Douglas Cunnison (Vice President), Ian Spark (Hon. Treasurer & Secretary), Dr. John Aitken and Jack Whittaker (Committee Members), also Gordon Smith and Leslie Dunne.

The Membership Fee was set at Ten Shillings (50pence)

Meetings were held fortnightly with the first regular meeting taking place on Wednesday 15th February 1950 when a reporter and photographer from the ‘Perthshire Advertiser was present to record the occasion.

Ken Brooke donated two books, ‘Magic at Your Fingertips’ and ‘Strictly Magic’ to the Club with the wish that they would form the start of a library. Unfortunately, this was never to materialise.

Inspector James Stewart of the City Police Force became a novice member on 17th March 1950. It is recorded that each novice member had a tutor allocated him. Douglas Cunnison was Inspector Stewart’s tutor.

New members who joined at the same time were Richard (Dick) Burns, William Winton and Jack Sutherland.

Early Days - "Perth Magical Society"

A regular feature of the early meetings was that the President (who was a highly skilled engineer employed at the Royal Navy Stores, Almondbank) , performed effects which he had invented and made himself. After showing these tricks members cut a pack of cards to decide who would win the tricks shown. On several occasions as many as FOUR original tricks were given away on a meeting night. Ian Dougall currently owns some of Jocks props.

At the meeting on 16th May a letter was received from Paisley Magic Circle. This proposed the formation of a Scottish Magic Circle with the aim being to run an annual convention. This subsequently became the Scottish Association of Magical Societies, (SAMS)

The Balance sheet for the first year showed a balance of £2-12/6 (£2.62p).

New members at the first A.G.M. were Messrs. R. Lamond, G. Oswald, A. Shepherd, and R. Laahs.

Dr. Aitken tendered his resignation on 2nd April 1952 and at the same meeting an application to join was received from another doctor – Peter Moffat. Had it not been that National Service duties called, Peter would have been a founder member.

Ken Brooke appeared on television on 21st April 1952 and Douglas Cunnison invited all the members to his home so that they could watch the programme. He was the only member who owned a television set!

Alexander Robinson joined at this time.

Jack Whittaker, who was a teacher, moved to Dumfries in the summer of 1952. On his departure from Perth, he was elected an Honorary Life Member.

The Secretary wrote to the Perth Town Clerk offering free shows to the ‘Old Folks’ during the Queen Elizabeth’s Coronation celebrations.

R. Marshall joined in January 1953. He did a clown act, or at least he said it was an act!

At the 1953 A.G.M. in September, it was proposed that Perth M.S. resign from SAMS though no reason is noted in the minute of the meeting! (After some research, it appeared that the club was in dispute with SAMS over the publication of the SAMS Magazine and the production costs. After much discussion it was decided that the club would cease to be a member after 31st January 1954.

In October 1953 the club presented a show in St. Ninian’s Church Hall which ran for two nights.

In April 1954 the club meetings moved from York House to the Masonic Hall in Tay Street. One of the meetings that year was most unusual when (quote) "Members had their voices recorded on a great machine".

Meetings were changed to Tuesday evenings and on 25th May the Rev. Colin Preston- Thomas applied for membership. He was minister at St. Ninians Cathedral.

"Perth Magic Circle"

At the A.G.M. on 7th September 1954, Peter Moffat proposed the name of the club be changed to that of ‘Perth Magic Circle’ In Oct. 1954, Rev. Preston-Thomas was appointed Hon. Chaplain to the Society, and the club was also asked to entertain the inmates of Perth Prison.

W. Anderson, R. Templeman and G. Watson all joined on 30th November 1954 and W. Lonie joined on14th December of the same year.

Andrew Blair and Alex Crosbie joined22nd February 1955 and Gordon Smith left Perth on 5th April and moved to Donibristle (?). He was made a Hon. Life Member as he was a founder member.

Thirteen year old Robert Taylor was auditioned, and accepted, as a Junior Member on 3rd May 1955.

A group of club members travelled to the Palace Theatre, Dundee in June 1955 to see the ‘Great Levante & Co. (Tickets to see this acclaimed Australian Illusionist cost 3/6 each).

Murray Gibb joined 15th November 1955, aged 14.

Douglas Cunnison emigrated to America on 13th November 1956 and he too was elected an Hon. Life Member.

Wm. (Bill) Dunlop attended his first meeting on 29th October 1957 and apologised for not being able to attend the NEXT meeting!

The club was opened up to lady members at the 1958 A.G.M. although there were no ladies applying for membership. The Club had to wait 40 years for it’s first female member!

The minute for 3rd March1959 reads… “We (J. Beattie and I. Spark) both waited till 9.15pm and as no one turned up, both went home”.

Peter Moffat was elected President at the 1959 A.G.M. in succession to J. Beattie who stood down after 10 years in the post.

Neil Millar joined at the meeting on 29th September 1959 aged 15.

An illuminated scroll was sent to Goodliffe the Magician inviting him to become Hon. Life President in November 1959.

Meetings moved to 7, Atholl Cresc. (home of Peter Moffat) in the early 1060’s.

Adrian Harris tried to join on 25th October 1961 aged 15. His application was refused because he was too young despite younger members had already been admitted. Unfortunately, the Court of European Rights had not yet been dreamt up, so the decision stood! Eventually he was admitted , together with George Hughes on 3rd December 1963.

Meetings moved to the Playhouse Café in Murray Street and the club rejoined SAMS in January 1964.

Meetings after 3rd Nov. of that year became chaotic; Ian Dougall became a member!

Bob Couston and Cecil Appleton both joined on 19th April 1966 and Alex Beattie (Jock’s son) joined on 1st November.

At the 1967 AGM, George Hughes and Adrian Harris were elected Liaison Officers…Writing reports for the local press, ‘Abracadabra’ and ‘The World’s Fair’.

A. Harris offered to donate a cup and in March 1968, meetings returned to the York House Hotel.

The SAMS Convention in 1968 was held in Perth at the Salutation Hotel. The Guest lecturer on that occasion was a young Donald Bevan who also performed at the Children’s Ward at P.R.I. with props borrowed from an even younger Adrian Harris! Adrian had also painted two large street banners advertising the Convention which were then donated to SAMS. David Nixon (who was appearing in Glasgow that week) attended the Farewell Luncheon and presented the awards. He returned the following weekend for the first of many private visits to the club, as guest of Bob and Jessie Templeman. David later accepted an invitation to become a Hon. Life Vice President.

National Recognition

In 1969, Peter Moffat became the first Perth member to be elected President of the Scottish Association of Magical Societies in recognition of the support and encouragement he had always shown to other magicians. He presided over the annual convention in 1970, which was held in Montrose.

Alastair Cowe joined the Circle at the A.G.M. on 20th May 1969.

J. Beattie donated The Beattie Cup in September 1970 and in October the Presidential Chain was purchased from club funds after a levy of 10/- per member was paid.

In November 1970 a 12 year old visitor was welcomed for the first time. Enter Jim Imrie.

Adrian Harris took over the Secretary’s duties due to the ill health of Ian Spark. His first duty was to organise a Dinner to celebrate the club’s 21st anniversary. This took place in the St. Alban’s Hotel (now part of the Isle of Skye Hotel) on 9th Feb.1971. The Perth Provost was our principal guest. Bill Dunlop proposed the toast to the City of Perth to which the Provost replied. The SAMS President, Bill Lockhart proposed the toast to Perth Magic Circle and Peter Moffat replied. The toast to our guests was made by Bob Couston and the reply was received from Johnny Geddes.

A one day convention was also held, this time in the Queen’s Hotel. Bayard Grimshaw was the lecturer and the sole dealer was Eddie and Pauline Burke of Magitrix. The convention was very successful… we made a profit of £9-10/-.

At the meeting on 21st September, Alastair Cowe was late….some things never change!

In 1971, Perth M.C. nominated David Nixon as the Magic Circle’s ‘Magician of the Year’ and to everyone’s delight, he won.

A show presented in the O.A.P. Hall, Tay Street showed a profit of £20-00.

J. Beattie was made elected Hon. Life Member at the 1972 A.G.M. Regrettably , he died four months later on 5th September 1972.

John Bain attended his first meeting in September and a show given the following April made a profit of £9. Club funds now showed the highest balance ever….£47.
The Challenge Shield was donated by A. Harris in December 1974.
To celebrate the Silver Anniversary, another dinner was held, again at the St. Alban’s Hotel. Our guests this time included Lord Provost Cross, Goodliffe the Magician, Frederica, Bill McBrinn and David Kidd. 57 guest sat down to dinner after which Peter Moffat was presented with a magically engraved Caithness Glass Tankard.

A one day convention was held in the Queens hotel as well. Lectures were given by Trevor Lewis and Hamilton Kaye. Dealers attending on this occasion were Magic Books by Post and Hamilton Kaye. International Magic were to have attended but called off at the eleventh hour with no reason nor apology. Ian Spark set up a small stand to fill the space. The registration fee for the day was £1-50 and again the event showed a small profit. Performers during this event included Peter Laing, Sonny Day, Gordon Bruce, and Trevor Lewis who also gave two lectures, one on close-up performing and another on Children’s’ magic.

David Harley was a member for four years from1976 until June 1980. He returned on 17th September 1985 to give a lecture at out new headquarters, The Sports and Social Club in Leonard St. He was given Hon. Life Membership on this occasion but tragically died on 3rd December.

Wm. (Bill) Dunlop was awarded the M.B.E. in 1986 in recognition of his services to Environmental Health.

Because he had apparently not paid his subscription, A. Harris was informed by letter that he was no longer considered a member and he would have to reapply to join the Circle if he so wished.

The theme of the meeting on 20th January was 'The Classics of Magic' and it is recorded that A. Cowe performed the POM POMS trick.

The 1987 A.G.M. was held in the Snooty Fox. (A local public house).

Jim Imrie won the “John Ramsay Rose Bowl” at the 1989 SAMS Convention. This is awarded to the best close-up magic act.

To celebrate the 40th Anniversary, a one day convention was held at McDairmid Park Football Club which had just recently been opened. McDairmid Park, home to St. Johnston Football Team was the first all-seater football stadium in the U.K. and we advertised the convention as having seating for 10,000! Guest Lecturers were Ali bongo and Bob Ostin and the sole dealer present was Supreme Magic from Bideford.
The SAMS President, June Leith, cut the birthday cake and then, following a Civic Reception, Lord Provost Mathieson together with 24 Councilors, Mr. & Mrs. Geoff Brown (Chairman of St. Johnston) and Ian Spark who were our guests enjoyed the superb Cabaret featuring Mark Bousie (Scottish Accordion Champion) Leslie Melville, Bill Dunlop and Ali Bongo. 94 magicians and wives attended the event.
A special minute records “the extraordinary amount of work put in by Adrian who did all the organising and letter writing as I (Ian Dougall) was away on holiday”. (Ian was apparently Hon. Secretary at this time as Adrian had still never reapplied to rejoin the club!)

In October that year, members presented a show in the Salutation Hotel in aid of Telethon which was Grampian TVs Children’s Charity. The show raised over £300.

Ian Spark died 26th May 1990. The Rev. Gareth Jones officiated at his funeral service held at Perth Crematorium. Members later helped clear Ian’ flat which took some time and by way of a thankyou, Ian’s nephew donated the magic items from the estate to the club which were then sold in aid of club funds.

The same year, members participated in a fund raising event in St. John’s Shopping Centre in aid of Perth Hospital Radio. This event raised over £3,000.

Iain Ross joined the Circle on 20th November 1990.

The money raised from the sale of Ian Sparks effects was used to sponsor a show in Perth Theatre in April 1991. This marked Peter Moffat’s 40th Year as a member in addition to his impending retiral. Artists booked for the show included Tom Owen, Clem Bailey, June Leith and Roy Scott who acted as compere. Roy was suffering a bad attack of shingles at the time, but in true theatre tradition, the show went on. It was also to be the last public appearance by Roy as he suffered ill-health from then on.
Following the interval our President, Bob Couston, resplendent in Full Highland Dress, called Peter on to the Stage and presented him with an illuminated scroll conferring an Hon. Life Membership on him. At Peter’s the profit from the show was donated to the Children’s Ward at Perth Royal Infirmary. £1800 was raised and we were delighted to present the ward with an electronic digital weighing chair plus a microwave oven. Both items have commemorative plaques attached.

Around the same time, the club bought a radio microphone and amplifier for members use.

Peter devoted some of his new found spare time (!) to forming a Junior Section. To encourage support, letters were distributed with magic sets bought from the local toy shops. Richard and Anna Pease were two excellent young members who attended for about 2 years.

Peter rounded off a very successful year for the club by having an original routine published in the Christmas edition of Abracadabra.

Adrian Harris was elected President the following year though he had still not yet reapplied to join the club!
In June 1991, Adrian was also elected President of the Scottish Association and during his year in office visited the magic clubs in Paisley, Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Kircaldy. He presided over the 1992 convention which that year was held in Dunoon.

John Young joined 3rd September 1991.

Members had their first experience of performing for the camera when Joe Richard brought his equipment to the club. Each member who participated received a copy of the tape.

Nick Richmond and Kenny Young joined in May 1993.

Foreign Guests

Two Bosnian refugees, Yasmin and Aysha Menage arrived in Crieff. On learning of their plight, Adrian Harris organised an appeal to the magic fraternity which received excellent support from Abracadabra. The Magic Circle and the British Ring of the International Brotherhood of Magicians refused to acknowledge our appeal however, on the grounds that their situation was political! We are proud that we were able to support Yasmin who spoke very little English, by supplying props and equipment which he would otherwise not have been allowed to purchase. Both Yasmin and Aysha attended the Dunoon Convention as guest of SAMS and Yasmin performed in one of the Saturday night shows for the other registrants. (UPDATE : Yasmin and Aysha have remained in Scotland. After some time in Crieff , they were offered a home in Broxburn where they still reside. After the qualifying period, they applied for and were granted British Citizenship which then allowed Yasmin to seek employment. Currently, he works for Royal Mail and continues to perform magic in the West Lothian area.)

Bob Couston died in May 1993 after a short illness. He very generously bequeathed his magical estate to the Circle. Iain Ross and Adrian Harris catalogued the props and then I. Dougall and A. Harris as auctioneers, a total of 400 lots were sold with the entire proceeds going to the Circle funds.

In June 1993, Nick Richmond produced several ideas for a club badge. Eventually it was decided to adopt the Perth Coat of Arms and after permission had been granted, a design was approved by the members. The new badge was first revealed on 23rd October 1993 when it appeared on the front cover of Abracadabra (Vol.96, number2491)….the first Front Page scoop in Abra’s history! The cost of producing a metal lapel badge proved prohibitive so instead we opte for a club tie bearing the new logo instead.

Donald Bevan, Editor of Abracadabra was elected Hon. Life President in June 1993.

The club moved it’s meetings yet again in Jan uary 1994. This time the venue was the Perth Prison Officer’s Club and six years on, we are still there. During the past 6 years, the annual ‘At Home’ night was revived. This has proven to be one of the highlights of the Scottish Magical Calendar with many magicians from all over Scotland attending. In 1999, Bill Seagraves and his wife Marie attended the social night travelling down from Aberdeen some 12 hours after returning from a holiday in New Zealand. Bill even ‘sang for his supper’ that night by performing a classic of magic, “The Cups and Ball”.

An attempt to produce an up-to-date Constitution was made by P. Moffat, A. Cowe, I. Dougall and A. Harris. Their efforts were then passed to a local lawyer, Mr. John McLaughlan who had offered his legal expertise and advice. The present Constitution was adopted at an Extraordinary Meeting on September 6th 1995.

Angus McGregor joined as an Associate Member on 21st February 1995.

Peter Moffat died very suddenly on March 8th 1995 a few days after returning from the Blackpool Convention.

Unknown to Peter, A. Harris had collated all the articles that Peter had written and had published in various magic magazines over a period of nearly 50 years. The intention had been to present a tribute to Peter along the lines of the TV programme ‘This is Your life’. As word of Adrian’s effort became known, contributions were received from many of Peter’s friends around the U.K.
The book was subsequently published in February 1998 at the Blackpool Convention. Dedicated to Peter’s memory and entitled “Magic on Prescription” it was typeset and designed by David McColl, an editor with the D.C.Thompson Group. All the illustrations were redrawn by Ken MacDonald including a superb caricature, which was used on the cover. Perth M.C. financed the printing and publishing costs and agreed that if the project showed a profit then a donation would be made to the Children’s Ward at Perth Royal Infirmary. The immediate response to the book, which was priced at £8-00, was very encouraging with almost 100 copies sold in the first 12 weeks. (A few copies are still available!) To date, copies have been sent to England, Wales, Ireland, America, Canada, Spain, France, Germany, Italy, Denmark and Sweden!

Scott Smith joined the Circle as a Junior member on 18th November 1996, aged 11.

George Jenkins joined the Circle on 3rd December 1996, aged 111 !

Len Martin joined on 4th October 1997. A skilled wood worker Len has made some wonderful props including some of his own invention to use with his pet rat!


The first Lady to apply for membership was admitted as a member on 6th November 1997. Gail Topping joined at the same time as her husband , Colin.

Alistair Cowe, James Imrie and Adrian Harris performed a number of shows over a three day period in November at The Royal George Hotel as part of a Mental Health Week promotion.

James (Jimmy) Craig joined the Circle on 6th January 1998. Although residing in Kircaldy, Jimmy is very well known and respected throughout Scotland as a very competent and knowledgeable magician. Jimmy also has the unique distinction of being the only Scottish magician who has attended every SAMS Convention.

Ian Wilson joined the club on 6th April 1998. Although resident in Edinburgh he regularly attended our club nights for two years.

A.Cowe and A. Harris again performed at Bell’s Sport Center at a major fund raising event organised by a very popular local police constable, Vince Smith. Proceeds from this event held on July 4th 1998 were to help pay for a Breast Cancer Scanning Machine at Perth Royal Infirmary.

Nick Richmond who had been elected President at the A.G.M. in May 1998, tendered his resignation due to a sudden and unfortunate change in his personal circumstances. Bill Dunlop, who was Vice President stepped up to fill the vacancy.

Andrew McMorrin attended his first meeting on 1st December 1998 and is now a regular participant at our meetings.

On 16th February 1999, Harry Mudie applied to join. Harry comes from Dundee where he has very quickly established himself as an illusionist. He is assisted by his daughter, Cheryl in the act. Cheryl is an accomplished balloon modeler and creates some very colourful and intricate sculptures.

Scott Cuthbertson and his wife Dawn both joined the society on 7th September 1999. Both had been regular visitors to the Perth club for several years despite travelling from the south side of Glasgow! In December Dawn gave birth to their first child, Michael who has been sent an application form for the future!


On 27th October,1999, Ian Dougall organised a show at the Letham Farmhouse Hotel. Perth in aid of the Braveheart Children’s’ Trust. Performer included Jimmy Craig, Alastair Cowe, Adrian Harris, Harry Mudie with Ian as compere. This show raised over £200.

And now we have reached our 50th Anniversary! Following on from the very successful Millennium Celebrations, on 12th February 2000, a Dinner and Cabaret featuring The Carjons was held in the Quality Station Hotel, Perth. Our Guests of Honour included the Provost of Perth, Mike O’Malley and his wife, the President of SAMS, Mrs. Margaret McLean J.P. and her husband, Duncan. Our Hon. Life President, Donald Bevan, could not be with us unfortunately, but sent his best wishes for the future to the Circle. Each member of the Circle received a Certificate commemorating the occasion. A. Harris was presented with an engraved Caithness Glass Bowl and plinth for his continued services to the Circle. A cake, beautifully decorated with the club badge had been commissioned, but for some unknown reason, no one remembered that it had not been cut, so it was taken away and stored for the convention!

To coincide with the anniversary, an exhibition was presented in the A. K. Bell Library which was open to the public during normal opening hours. On display were items relating to the Perth club's history, magic props, books and magazines. The exhibition ran for six weeks and drew favourable comments from many people.

Three 'workshop' sessions, aimed at 8 to 12 year olds were arranged to take place on 4th, 11th and 18th March at the library, and a Children's Show was held on 25th March in the Library Theatre. Two family shows were also arranged for the 9th and 16th March.

On Sunday 26th March, a convention was arranged. Lecturers booked were John Lenahan who starred in Channel Four's "Stuff the White Rabbit". This was John first appearance at a Scottish Magic Club. From Denver, Colorado, Danny Archer also participated by lecturing and performing. Former British Magical Champion, Brian Sefton also appeared in the Evening Cabaret and representing the future of magic, Laura Hogg, a young school girl from Glasgow performed her act which was placed runner up in the previous yeAR'S Young Magician of the Year competition. Dealers invited to attend were Kaymar Magic and Adrian Sullivan and prior to a Civic Reception hosted by Mike O’Malley there was a close up session featuring Dusty Miller, John Kelly, Paul Wilson and Steve Hamilton. The Star attraction however was Jeremy Beadle who gave a most interesting talk in the morning and then compered the Cabaret. To open this show, Len Martin presented the Crystal Casket illusion which he had built himself. He produced Lorraine McMorrin who had joined the club only 5 days earlier as a junior member. Jeremy Beadle presented Lorraine with a Certificate to mark her debut! It was a day to remember!

In September 2000, an auction sale was held in Letham Farmhouse hotel. Unfortunately, due to an acute shortage of petrol, there was a poor turnout. However the sale went ahead and over £800 changed hands! It was agreed that we would try again next season!

A second junior member applied to join the club on 8th November 2000. Alistair Orejda competently performed at his first meeting and impressed the group.

Four weeks later, on 5th December, Denver Moore from Blairgowrie also joined the circle. Denver performed the coloured cups and sponges during his first visit! Both Alastair and Denver were aged 11!

On January 23rd 2001, Alastair's cousin, Ross McKay, came to his first meeting…he performed a card effect. For the first time in the club's history, there were now four junior members, and the membership is now at an all time high of SEVENTEEN members.

Paul Daniels presented his one man show in Perth Theatre on Feb 14th, with families and friends the Circle had a block booking of 32 seats and after the show ended, members met Paul and had photographs taken. Paul mentioned Perth Magic Circle several times during his performance.

The season finished with our regular social night. 60 people enjoyed a superb buffet supper with magical entertainment provided by most of the Perth members, including all four juniors.

To be continued….watch this space!