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John Roxburgh Longwill
21 November 1866, Elie, Fife - 16 June 1944, Glasgow
- Member of Glasgow CC since 1889.
- Glasgow CC Champion (Outram Cup) 1898, 1900.
- West of Scotland Champion 1899, 1900, 1901, 1902.
Glasgow Herald, 19 June 1944, death notice: At a hospital, Glasgow, on 16th June 1944, John Roxburgh Longwill (director of R. & W. Davidson, Ltd., and port officer, Ministry of Food).
From the BCM 1944, pp 182-3: 'Mr John R. Longwill, president of the Scottish Chess Association in 1937 and honorary president of the Glasgow Chess Club, died during June. Mr Longwill joined the Glasgow Club in 1889; was secretary from 1892 to 1895, president in 1905 and succeeded Dr Johnstone MacFie as honorary president in 1935. he was champion of the club in 1896 and 1900, and West of Scotland champion from 1899 to 1902. His victories in these years entitled him to the permanent possession of the first chess championship cup.... After 1902 Mr Longwill took little active part in competitive chess, but he made numerous appearances in the Richardson team for almost forty years, and returned from retirement in the early 1930's to assist his club during a lean period.'
From A History of Glasgow Chess Club (unpublished): The Longwill Cup was originally the fourth West of Scotland Challenge Cup and presented according to the inscription thereon by Mr A Bonar Law. It was an exact replica of the Third Cup. Mr J.R. Longwill, presently (1941) Hon President, won the Cup outright in 1901 and eighteen years later presented it to the Club to encourage and develop the Gambit Tournament which was then struggling for recognition among Club competitions.
Alan McGowan
Archivist/Historian, Chess Scotlandupdated 10/8/2020