Historical information

In 1937, Miss Jessie Anderson (1915-2006) was the world’s number one ranking women’s golfer. She had been playing golf since she was five years old and designed golf clubs especially for women.

During WWII, Jessie enlisted in the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) driving army ambulances, and her fiancée George Valentine, was a POW in Eichstat, Germany. They married once he was freed, in 1945. Jessie was awarded the MBE for services to golf in 1959.

Photographer notations on slide: "Miss Anderson - English B98"
Description: Woman golfer hitting off.
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Research by project volunteer, Fiona Collyer:
Janet "Jessie" Anderson (1915-2006) was a Scottish golf champion, nicknamed “Wee Jessie” for her small stature. She was also nicknamed “Fairway Maid of Perth”, a play on Sir Walter Scott’s “Fair Maid of Perth”.
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In 1937, Jessie was the world’s number one ranking woman golfer. Her main wins included the British Women's Amateur Championship (1937, 1955, 1958), the Scottish Women's Amateur Championship (1938, 1939, 1951, 1953, 1955, 1958), the New Zealand Women's Golf Championship (1935) and the French Women's Golf Tournament (1936).
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Jessie was part of the British golf team who competed in the Australian Women’s Golf Championship against an Australian team at Royal Melbourne Golf Club in 1935, which the British team won. The Australian press said, “Hats off to the British women, sparkle, sportsmanship and the fighting spirit that thrills, they had the last word.”
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Jessie’s father, Joe, a pro-golfer, owned a sports equipment store in St John’s Street, Perth and he designed and manufactured golf clubs under the OK brand. Jessie designed golf clubs especially for women.
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In 1939 Jessie became engaged to George Valentine. In 1940, George enlisted in the British army and Jessie in the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS), the women’s branch of the British Army, driving army ambulances. George was a POW at Eichstat, Germany, and they were unable to marry until he was freed in 1945. Jessie continued to play championship golf until 1960. They had one son, Francis Iain, born 1948.
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Jessie was awarded the MBE for services to golf in 1959. She was inducted into the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame in 2003. In 2019, Perth Museum and Art Gallery held a retrospective exhibition of her life and career. A biography, “Wee Jessie: Jessie Valentine, whose golf swing lasted a lifetime” by Dr Eve Soulsby, was published in 2019.