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| The issue of his gender remained a private one until 1965, when his elder brother ] died, with daughters but no sons. The titles were split; the barony passed in the female line to Sempill's eldest daughter ], whilst the baronetcy passed to the first male heir. The family had assumed that Ewan would inherit, but this was challenged by his cousin ] - the only son of Rear-Admiral ], the younger brother of ] - who argued that the 1952 re-registration was invalid and that, as a woman, Ewan was unable to inherit.<ref name="Massingberd"/> | The issue of his gender remained a private one until 1965, when his elder brother ] died, with daughters but no sons. The titles were split; the barony passed in the female line to Sempill's eldest daughter ], whilst the baronetcy passed to the first male heir. The family had assumed that Ewan would inherit, but this was challenged by his cousin ] - the only son of Rear-Admiral ], the younger brother of ] - who argued that the 1952 re-registration was invalid and that, as a woman, Ewan was unable to inherit.<ref name="Massingberd"/> | ||
| At the time, the legal issue was unclear; the leading case, decided in 1965, held that re-registration of this form was only permitted when "the sex of a child was indeterminate at birth and it was later discovered ... that an error had been made". The matter was taken to the ], where it was heard in great secrecy - no papers were filed in court, and the judge sat in a solicitor's office to hear the case.<ref name="Playdon">{{cite web|url=http://www.pfc.org.uk/node/390|title=The Case of Ewan Forbes|last=Playdon|first=Zoe-Jane|date=1996|publisher=Press for Change|accessdate=2008-11-09}}</ref> The judge ruled in favour of Ewan; an appeal was made to the ], who referred the matter to the ], ], who ruled in December 1968 that Ewan was the rightful holder of the title. On taking up the baronetcy, he changed his name to Ewan Forbes, dropping the Sempill from his surname.<ref name="Massingberd"/> The level of secrecy of the case, which was criticised by some observers at the time, meant that it was not properly recorded or published, and the exact facts of the argument are not known. As a result, whilst it sharply differs from later rulings such as '']'' , it was unable to be considered in later judgements on the legal recognition of |
At the time, the legal issue was unclear; the leading case, decided in 1965, held that re-registration of this form was only permitted when "the sex of a child was indeterminate at birth and it was later discovered ... that an error had been made". The matter was taken to the ], where it was heard in great secrecy - no papers were filed in court, and the judge sat in a solicitor's office to hear the case.<ref name="Playdon">{{cite web|url=http://www.pfc.org.uk/node/390|title=The Case of Ewan Forbes|last=Playdon|first=Zoe-Jane|date=1996|publisher=Press for Change|accessdate=2008-11-09}}</ref> The judge ruled in favour of Ewan; an appeal was made to the ], who referred the matter to the ], ], who ruled in December 1968 that Ewan was the rightful holder of the title. On taking up the baronetcy, he changed his name to Ewan Forbes, dropping the Sempill from his surname.<ref name="Massingberd"/> The level of secrecy of the case, which was criticised by some observers at the time, meant that it was not properly recorded or published, and the exact facts of the argument are not known. As a result, whilst it sharply differs from later rulings such as '']'' , it was unable to be considered in later judgements on the ].<ref name="Playdon"/> It has been reported that the judge's ruling was based on an assessment of "masculine attributes, behaviour and desire", which contrasts with the manner in which psychological issues were sidelined in favour of strict physiological ones in later cases such as ''Corbett''.<ref name="Whittle">{{cite book|last=Whittle|first=Stephen|title=Respect and Equality: Transsexual and Transgender Rights|publisher=Routledge Cavendish|date=2002|pages=135|isbn=1859417434|accessdate=9 November 2008|language=English}}</ref> Alternatively, it has been suggested that the judge desired to ensure the baronetcy was inherited by Ewan - the "right" candidate - and was flexible with its basis for judgement in order to obtain this result.<ref>{{cite journal|coauthors=Stephen Whittle and Lewis Turner|date=2007|title=''Sex Changes'? Paradigm Shifts in 'Sex' and 'Gender' Following the Gender Recognition Act?'|journal=Sociological Research Online|location=http://www.socresonline.org.uk/12/1/whittle.html|volume=12|issue=1}}</ref> | ||
| He was appointed a ] for Aberdeenshire in 1969. He died with no children in 1991, and was succeeded in the baronetcy by his cousin ].<ref name="Massingberd"/> His widow Isabella survived him, dying in 2002.<ref name="Scotsman"/> | He was appointed a ] for Aberdeenshire in 1969. He died with no children in 1991, and was succeeded in the baronetcy by his cousin ].<ref name="Massingberd"/> His widow Isabella survived him, dying in 2002.<ref name="Scotsman"/> | ||
Revision as of 13:09, 10 November 2008
Sir Ewan Forbes of Craigievar (September 6 1912 - September 12 1991), born Elizabeth Forbes-Sempill and later known as Ewan Forbes-Sempill, was the 11th Baronet of Craigievar from 1968 to his death, as well as a general practitioner and farmer.
Early life
Forbes was born the third and youngest daughter of John Forbes-Sempill, 18th Lord Sempill and 9th Baronet in 1912, christened Elizabeth Forbes-Sempill and known to the family as "Betty". Betty was raised female, but with a childhood dominated by a widespread gender insecurity; after refusing to go away to a girls' school, she was educated at home, and the culmination of this unhappy upbringing was coming out as a debutante in London in the late 1920s. Betty was promptly sent abroad by the family, studying at Munich University, before returning to Scotland and leading a troupe of Scottish country dancers - the "Dancers of Don". On the death of Lord Sempill in 1934, both the barony and the baronetcy passed to Betty's elder brother, William, who left the management of the estates in the hands of his sister. Betty took to the new lifestyle with gusto, adopting a broad Doric accent and taking to wearing a masculine kilt.
Medical career
During the War, Betty studied medicine at the University of Aberdeen, graduating in 1944, and after working at the Aberdeen Royal Infirmary as a Senior Casualty Officer, began to work as a general practitioner in Alford, Aberdeenshire in 1945. The area was one of the largest practices in the United Kingdom, and in the winter months Dr. Forbes-Sempill often had to travel through ten-foot snowdrifts in a converted Universal Carrier.
On moving to Alford, Betty began to publicly look and behave like the man he identified as being; in 1952, he formally became male by the simple process of requesting a warrant for birth re-registration from the Sherriff of Aberdeen, registering himself as male and changing his name to Ewan Forbes-Sempill. He announced this with a notice in the Aberdeen Press and Journal of September 12, 1952: "Dr E Forbes-Sempill henceforth wishes to be known as Dr Ewan Forbes-Sempill". A month later, on October 10th, he married Isabella Mitchell, his housekeeper for the past five years.
His plans had been known in advance to many of his patients, who were reported as universally supportive. He was equally candid with the press, describing the situation to one reporter as "...a ghastly mistake. I was carelessly registered as a girl in the first place, but of course, that was forty years ago ... the doctors in those days were mistaken, too ... I have been sacrificed to prudery, and the horror which our parents had about sex". He retired from medical work in 1955.
Inheritance and lawsuit
The issue of his gender remained a private one until 1965, when his elder brother Lord Sempill died, with daughters but no sons. The titles were split; the barony passed in the female line to Sempill's eldest daughter Ann, whilst the baronetcy passed to the first male heir. The family had assumed that Ewan would inherit, but this was challenged by his cousin John Forbes-Sempill - the only son of Rear-Admiral Arthur Forbes-Sempill, the younger brother of Ewan's father - who argued that the 1952 re-registration was invalid and that, as a woman, Ewan was unable to inherit.
At the time, the legal issue was unclear; the leading case, decided in 1965, held that re-registration of this form was only permitted when "the sex of a child was indeterminate at birth and it was later discovered ... that an error had been made". The matter was taken to the Court of Session, where it was heard in great secrecy - no papers were filed in court, and the judge sat in a solicitor's office to hear the case. The judge ruled in favour of Ewan; an appeal was made to the Lord Advocate, who referred the matter to the Home Secretary, James Callaghan, who ruled in December 1968 that Ewan was the rightful holder of the title. On taking up the baronetcy, he changed his name to Ewan Forbes, dropping the Sempill from his surname. The level of secrecy of the case, which was criticised by some observers at the time, meant that it was not properly recorded or published, and the exact facts of the argument are not known. As a result, whilst it sharply differs from later rulings such as Corbett v Corbett , it was unable to be considered in later judgements on the legal recognition of gender variance. It has been reported that the judge's ruling was based on an assessment of "masculine attributes, behaviour and desire", which contrasts with the manner in which psychological issues were sidelined in favour of strict physiological ones in later cases such as Corbett. Alternatively, it has been suggested that the judge desired to ensure the baronetcy was inherited by Ewan - the "right" candidate - and was flexible with its basis for judgement in order to obtain this result.
He was appointed a Justice of the Peace for Aberdeenshire in 1969. He died with no children in 1991, and was succeeded in the baronetcy by his cousin John. His widow Isabella survived him, dying in 2002.
References
- ^ Obituary in The Daily Telegraph, October 1, 1991. Published in the Daily Telegraph Book of Obituaries, ed. Hugh Massingberd, 1995.
- ^ 'FORBES of Craigievar, Hon. Sir Ewan', Who Was Who, A & C Black, 1920–2007; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2007 accessed 9 Nov 2008
- ^ Casely, Gordon (March 5, 2002). "Obituary: Isabella, Lady Forbes of Craigievar". The Scotsman. p. 15.
{{cite news}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help) - "Isabella, Lady Forbes". The Telegraph. 2 March 2002. Retrieved 2008-11-09.
- ^ Playdon, Zoe-Jane (1996). "The Case of Ewan Forbes". Press for Change. Retrieved 2008-11-09.
- Whittle, Stephen (2002). Respect and Equality: Transsexual and Transgender Rights. Routledge Cavendish. p. 135. ISBN 1859417434.
{{cite book}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help) - "Sex Changes'? Paradigm Shifts in 'Sex' and 'Gender' Following the Gender Recognition Act?'". Sociological Research Online. 12 (1). http://www.socresonline.org.uk/12/1/whittle.html. 2007.
{{cite journal}}: External link in|location=|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help)CS1 maint: location (link)
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