Interviews of Richard Haslam-Jones

This interview forms part of the Kirkcudbright Artists Remembered project. This project was active during the refurbishment of the Kirkcudbright Town hall into the Kirkcudbright Galleries centre and was undertaken as a partnership between the Kirkcudbright Harbour Cottage Trust and the EERC.

Richard Haslam-Jones (aged 69) shares memories of two particular Kirkcudbright artists: Charles Oppenheimer and Anna Hotchkis. Charles Oppenheimer was married to Richard’s great aunt and Richard’s mother, was his favourite niece. Richard’s family had moved to Kirkcudbright in 1967 following the death of his father. At that time, Kirkcudbright was very much a county town and Richard recalls lots of shipping and commercial activity. Many of the anecdotes Richard shares here and which relate to Charles Oppenheimer are from family stories. E A Hornel’s support for Oppenheimer is discussed as is his love of golf and the light in Kirkcudbright, his World War 1 service, his artistic practice and his friendship with Frederick William Jackson. Oppenheimer was one of the first people in the area to own a car, which had been manufactured in nearby Tongland. He drove the car down the middle of the road and, Richard says, continued to do this, regardless of the increasing road traffic over the years.

As well as his war service, Oppenheimer served with the Glasgow Constabulary as a special constable and was responsible for creating the cap with a distinctive black and white band around the rim. Dorothy L Sayers was a friend and her book, Richard was also friends with Anna Hotchkis and he shares many memories of her here. He especially recalls her experiences of travelling in China, which resulted in the book ‘The Nine Sacred Mountains of China’.