Dugald Semple 1884–1964

Semple was a true vegan pioneer. He was deeply influenced by simple living ideals and by his early twenties, he had embraced vegetarianism and was seeking a lifestyle “closer to nature,” living minimally and largely outdoors. This philosophical outlook guided him for the rest of his life. Semple argued that foods like cow’s milk and hens’ eggs were “most assuredly not for a grown-up human being".

Semple was a pacifist and opposed war on moral and religious grounds. Semple instead served his country by obtaining a government permit to travel in his caravan along the Ayrshire coast giving lectures on food economy - teaching the public how to thrive on meatless, resource-efficient diets during wartime rationing. 

By the 1920s, Dugald Semple had emerged as a prominent figure in Britain’s vegetarian movement, putting his ideals into organizational action. He held several prominent roles in vegetarian orginasations. He  served as Secretary of the London Vegetarian Society  for around two years during World War I. By the late 1930s, he assumed formal leadership in the Scottish Vegetarian Society (SVS). In 1937–1938 he was elected President of the Scottish Vegetarian Society, representing the growing vegetarian community in Scotland.  At the same time he also served as a Vice-President of the (UK) Vegetarian Society. He edited the society’s newsletter and organised local “food reform” events.  Known for his warm, engaging speaking style and encyclopedic knowledge of horticultural dietetics, Semple later became Vice-President of the International Vegetarian Union - around the mid 1940s. Though he never formally led the Vegan Society as he was about 60 when it started, he was honored by them. In 1948, he was made an honorary chairman at one of the Society’s larger gatherings.

By the early 1940s, a number of British vegetarians – inspired in part by Semple’s long-standing example – were advocating for the elimination of all animal products, not just meat, from the diet. Semple himself had lived on a essentially vegan diet for many years. As such, Dugald Semple had been a crucial influence in the birth of the vegan movement and followed a ‘vegan’ diet & lifestyle 100+ years ago – long before Donald Watson officially started the Vegan Society.