On 3 March 1979, one of the speakers on the programme for a John Buchan Day, organised by the Extra-Mural Department of Edinburgh University, was Eileen Stewart. It was thanks to her enthusiasm and formidable energy, backed up by many other Buchan devotees, that the day also saw the inaugural meeting of the John Buchan Society.

The Rt Hon the second Lord Tweedsmuir, JB’s eldest son Johnnie, presided over the proceedings when the first Council was elected. The first Annual Dinner was held on 1 March 1980, when JB’s second son, the Hon William Buchan (later the third Lord Tweedsmuir) was the principal guest and speaker. The first Annual General Meeting was held in Edinburgh on 15 May 1980, and meetings have continued annually, resuming in 2021 after a pause for the Covid pandemic. The John Buchan Journal has appeared continuously since 1980, and has become a significant archive of Buchan studies.

The Society has grown to a membership of several hundred, many residing in the US, Canada and other parts of the world.