A call has been made for civic leaders in Inverness to start drawing up plans to mark the centenary of a historic meeting of the UK Cabinet in the city.
Yesterday was the 95th anniversary of the arrival of David Lloyd George, Winston Churchill, Stanley Baldwin and their ministerial colleagues in the Highland capital.
The summit at the Inverness Town House was the first ever Cabinet meeting to be held outside London or Chequers.
Prime Minister Lloyd George had been on holiday in Gairloch in September 1921 when British-Irish relations reached a crisis point, prompting him to call the Cabinet to meet at the Town House.
Leading historian Jim Hunter, the emeritus professor of history at the University of the Highlands and Islands, said last night that he believed plans should be put in place to mark the 100th anniversary.
“It was a pretty important meeting because it was the meeting where they agreed to negotiate with Sinn Féin, which led to the Irish Free State,” he said.
“It is what gave shape to the current United Kingdom, which is often overlooked.
“It would be good to mark the centenary. I don’t know what should be done but something should be done.
“This will be an important centenary in all sorts of ways that will be marked in Ireland, and should be marked here as well.”
The A-listed Inverness Town House building is currently undergoing a £4.2million revamp.
Asked if the centenary would be marked, Inverness city manager David Haas said: “It’s something that no doubt councillors would want to consider because it was a momentous moment in the history of the Town House and Inverness.
“I’m sure that councillors will give it appropriate consideration.”
Jamie Gaukroger, co-ordinator at local heritage Am Baile, has researched the events of September 7, 1921.
He said it was a sunny day and large crowds filled the area from the station, along the High Street and down to the river, with every window and rooftop occupied.
The dignitaries were welcomed by Provost Macdonald, James Gardiner, MP for Kinross and Western Perthshire, and George Smith Laing, the Town Clerk.
The discussions that day led to the “Inverness Formula”, which was said to have formed the basis of the Anglo-Irish Treaty.
Lloyd George was later offered Freedom of the Burgh of Inverness, which he accepted.
