Names of deceased alumni are posted here as soon as information is received. Details are kept to a minimum and our aim is to publish full information in our 6-monthly newsletter each May and November. All FPA members receive a personal copy of the newsletter. Following publication of each newsletter the archive of Bell Baxter Lives is updated. This archive is available elsewhere on this website to anyone who cares to access it.
John Marchbank Melville
John Melville (1950) died in the Adamson Hospital on 28 February. Funeral service at St Athernase, Leuchars on Monday 18 March 2024 at 1245 pm. Interment thereafter in Leuchars cemetary at 1.30 PM.
Tom G A Russell
Tom Russell (1952) has died. We have no further details.
Isabella Hepburn
Mrs Isabella Gordon (1951), late of Auchtermuchty, died peacefully at Rosturk House Care Home, Cupar, on Saturday 3 February 2024. She was 84. The funeral service will take place at Auchtermuchty Parish Church at 10 am on Wednesday 28 February followed by a service at 1145 at Kirkcaldy Crematorium.
Jim Thomson
A service of thanksgiving for the life of Jim Thomson (1956) will be held at Invergowrie Parish Church on Tuesday 23 January 2024 at 1130 am. All friends are respectfully invited. Further details are in the notice further down this page.
Jean Doris Watt
Mrs Doris Roger (1941) died peacefully at North Eden House on 1 January 2024. Her funeral service is at Ceres Parish Church on 11 January at 9.30 am followed by interment at Kemback Cemetery.
Lance Mills
Lance 'Spike' Mills (1956) died on 2 January 2024. He had been diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease some time ago.
Jim Thomson
Former School Captain Jim Thomson (1956) died in Ninewells Hospital on 22 December 2023. The funeral is likely to be private.
Violet Brown
Mrs Violet Christie (ca. 1950) died in Orchardhead House, Rosyth, on 9 December 2023.
Margaret Catherine-Sime Ross
Mrs Maggie Barraclough (1949) passed away peacefully in Aberdeen on 7 December 2023. Her funeral will take place at the Baldarroch Crematorium just outside Banchory at 2.30 pm on 20 December. All are welcome.
Ian Donaldson
Word has just reached us that Ian Donaldson (1950) died during 2022. Ian was for many years the FP Association Secretary.
Dale Reid
Former Solheim Cup captain Dale Reid has died in Australia. She was 64.
Sheana Duncan
Sheana Duncan (1958) died in a St Andrews Care Home in October 2023.
Charles McMurray
Chic McMurray (1950) died on 8 September 2023 in Ninewells Hospital. The funeral was private.
Catherine Isobel Anderson
Mrs Catherine Wilson died suddenly but peacefully on 19 September. Her funeral will take place at Kirkcaldy Crematorium on 2 October at 2.15 pm. Mrs Wilson attended BBS from 1943 to 1949 and taught modern languages at the School.
David Balfour
David Balfour (1963) and his wife Lesley (a Madras FP) were tragically killed in a road accident between Dairsie and Ballmullo on 14 August 2023.. The funeral will take place on Wednesday 6 September. The service for Lesley will take place at 9 am at Newport-on-Tay Church of Scotland thereafter to Dundee Crematorium for a joint committal at 1030.
Agnes (Nan) Simon
Mrs Nan Arthur (1944) died peacefully in Ninewells Hospital on 8 August 2023 following a short illness. Funeral service in Monimail Parish Church on Thursday 17 August at 0930 am thereafter to Cupar Cemetery for 1030.
Sylvia Kyle
Mrs Sylvia Thomson (1958) died peacefully at her home in Ceres on 8 August following a short illness. Details of a memorial service for Sylvia will be promulgated when known.
Vinorah Clark
Mrs Vinorah Caird (1946) died at home peacefully on 27 July. Her funeral will take place at Brewsterwells Crematorium on 16 August 2023 at 2.30 pm.
Ralph Ponting Davis
Ralph Davis (1947) died on 31 July 2023.
Alison Kiddie
Mrs Alison Campbell (1941) has died.
Jimmy Robertson
Prominent Fife farmer Jimmy Robertson died in July 2023.
Andrew Smith
Freelance photographer Andrew Smith (1946) died in the Adamson Hospital aged 88 on 31 May 23..
Harry Gould
Former BB History teacher Harry Gould died suddenly at Balbirnie Park Golf Club on 24 May 23.
Alison Heggie
Mrs Alison Simpson (1945) died on 22 May 2023.
Lewis M Reay
Word has just reached us that Lewis Reay died peacefully in October 2022.
Graham Gemmel
Graham Gemmel (1958) died on 8 February 2023.
John Millie Dow Galloway
Ian Galloway (1948) died on 12 August 2022.
William Coxon
Maj Bill Coxon MBE (late Royal Signals) (1945) died in Spain on 17 Jan 23.
Evelyn Sime
Mrs Evelyn Whitfield (1956) died peacefully in hospital in Edinburgh on Sunday 18 December 2022. Funeral is to be held at 2 pm on Wednesday 18th December at Warriston Crematorium in Edinburgh, Lorimer Chapel.
James Summer Howitt
Jim Howitt (late 40s/early 50s) died on 24 October 2022.
Robert Noakes
Rab Noakes (1959) died suddenly in hospital on 11 November 2022.
Robert McWiliam
Bob McWilliam (1959) died on 14 October 2022.
Agnes Buchan
Mrs Agnes McPherson (1933) died in Rosturk House, Cupar, during the week of 16 October 2022.
Eric Randolph Murray Boyd
Eric Boyd (1935) died peacefully at Craighead Care Home on 12 October 2022. Funeral service is at Kirkcaldy Crematorium on November 8 at 2.15 pm.
Averil McPherson
Averil McPherson (1956) died in Ninewells Hospital on Saturday October 1 2022. Her funeral took place at Newburgh Cemetery on Friday 21 October at 11 am.
Crawford Donald Sinclair
Donald Sinclair (1951) died peacefully at his home in St Andrews on 25 September 2022. His funeral will take place at Brewsterwells Crematorium, Lathokar, by St Andrews, on Friday 14 October at 1 pm.
Hélène Middleton
Mrs Hélène Thomas died on 16 August 2022.
Duncan Stirling
Duncan Stirling (1950) died on 25 August 2022.
Ronald King
Ron King (1950) died at his home in Inverness on 9 August 2022.
John Blair Geddes
John Geddes, retired Deputy PT of Art at Bell Baxter, died following a short illness on July 23. His funeral service is on Wednesday 17 August in Brewsterwells Crematorium, St Andrews at 2.30 pm.
Mrs Lila Anna Forrester
Former Bell Baxter art teacher Mrs Forrester died in Ninewells hospital on 25 July. The funeral service is on Monday 15 August at Dundee Crematorium at 1.30 pm.
Sydney Bassett
Syd Bassett (1956) died on 25 July 2022.
Jennifer Gardner
Mrs Jennifer Waddington (1957) died peacefully on Monday 25 July 2022. She was diagnosed with an incurable cancer some three months ago.
John Mackie
John Mackie (1944) died in March 2022 aged 89.
Iain Duncan
Iain Duncan of Strathkinness died suddenly in March 2022. He was 79.
David Wilson BEM
World Champion farrier David Wilson has died, aged 85.
Betty Berwick
Former Girls Athletic champion Betty Berwick has died.
Tom Heggie
Former 1st XV captain Tom Heggie has died age 70.
Marjory Henderson
Former Gym Teacher Midge Henderson died suddenly on 14 January 2022. She was 84.
Mrs J O Y Steele
Former PE teacher and Assistant Rector Mrs Joy Steele died recently. A memorial service will take place in St Andrews on Thursday 17 February 2022.
James Dunlop
James Dunlop (1950), originally from Newport-on-Tay, died suddenly in Kenilworth in December 2021.
John Dewar
Former School captain John Dewar (1968-9) died at the beginning of November 2021.
David J Whyte
WHYTE David (Golspie / Dunfermline)
Peacefully, after a short illness in Victoria Hospital, Kirkcaldy, David James Whyte, aged 81, on November 25, 2021. Rector of Golspie High School 1983-2002, Scottish Rugby Internationalist 1965-67. Dearly beloved husband of Judith, proud father to Stephen, Geoffrey, Barnaby and Sebastian and loving grandfather to all their children. Funeral service on Friday, December 10, at 11.30 am, in Dunfermline Crematorium. All friends welcome. Family flowers only, but donations, if desired, may be given at the door towards charities dear to David's heart.
Published in The Scotsman on Dec. 2, 2021
Peacefully, after a short illness in Victoria Hospital, Kirkcaldy, David James Whyte, aged 81, on November 25, 2021. Rector of Golspie High School 1983-2002, Scottish Rugby Internationalist 1965-67. Dearly beloved husband of Judith, proud father to Stephen, Geoffrey, Barnaby and Sebastian and loving grandfather to all their children. Funeral service on Friday, December 10, at 11.30 am, in Dunfermline Crematorium. All friends welcome. Family flowers only, but donations, if desired, may be given at the door towards charities dear to David's heart.
Published in The Scotsman on Dec. 2, 2021
Robert Ovenstone
Journalist and broadcaster Bert Ovenstone died aged 70 on 10 November 2021. He had been suffering from motor neurone disease.
Vera J P Marshall
Mrs Vera Lyon (1939) died peacefully in Lincolnshire on 7 November 2021.
Pamela Flight
Word has just reached us that Pamela Flight (1956) died suddenly in June 2021. She lived in Alicante, Spain.
ERRATUM
Further down this page is the report of a death of Ross Napier. We have just been informed that this Ross Napier was a Madras College FP who went on to become a teacher at Madras. The Ross Napier who taught at Bell Baxter is apparently still very much alive.
We apologise for any distress this error may have caused anyone.
We apologise for any distress this error may have caused anyone.
Don Ewen
Don Ewen (ca. 1959) died in Greece on Saturday 9 October 2021.
John Traill
John Traill (1954) from Newburgh died in the Royal Alexandra Hospital, Paisley, on 15 August 2021.
Sheena McGlashan
Mrs Sheena Laing (1956) died in Aberdeen Royal Infirmary on 11 July 2021.
W G (Bill) Hall
Willie Hall (1956) died in June 2021.;
David Galloway
Former PT of Classics and Depute Rector David Galloway died in June 2021.
Grant McLeish
Grant McLeish (1953) died on 18 June 2021. Grant was a former FPA committee member.
Charles Rennet
Former member of staff Charles Rennet died in June 2021. He ws 86.
Irene Brown
Mrs Irene McKenzie (1947) died in Spring 2021.
Robert Hopkins
Robert Hopkins (1953) died in Spring 2021. He lived in Markinch.
Margaret Angus
Mrs Margaret Howie (1945) died on 17 April aged 87 Her funeral will take place at 1.30 pm on 4 May 21 at St Monans cemetery.
Dorothy Watt
Mrs Dorothy Leitch (1955) of Ladybank died in Ninewells Hospital on 11 Apr 2021. She was 77.
Peter Cura
Pete Cura of Cupar died during the last week of March 2021.
Derek A Barrie
Derek Barrie (1954), a former Chairman of the FP Association, died on 24 February 2021. A private cremation will take place on Monday 15 March.
David Roger Christie
Dave Christie (1956) of Tayport died at home on 21 February 2021. Dave, who was 77, spent his working life with D C Thomson, Dundee.
Morris Anderson
Morris Anderson died in Victoria Hospital, Kirkcaldy, on 7 February 2021. His wife, Evelyn, passed away just over a fortnight earlier.
Alexander Turpie
Sandy Turpie (1942) died on 7 Jan 21. He is survived by his wife, Rosemary.
Donald McKenzie Paul
We have just been informed (1 Feb 21) that Professor Don Paul died in September 2019. The obituary published by Warwick University can be viewed here:
https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/physics/research/condensedmatt/supermag/whoswho/don_paul/don_paul_1953_2019/
https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/physics/research/condensedmatt/supermag/whoswho/don_paul/don_paul_1953_2019/
Mary Anderson
Word has just reached us (26 Jan 21) that Mrs Mary White (1950) has died.
Ernest Cox
Ernie Cox (1955) died on Christmas Eve 2020.
Ella Kinnear
Ella died peacefully in Balhousie Rumbling Bridge Nursing Home on 17 January 2021. She was 90 years old.
Ronald Beatt
Ronnie Beatt of Newport died in Abbotsford Care Home, Methil, on 27 December 2020.
Jack E Paton
Jack Paton (1949) died on 2 October 2020. A full obituary will appear in the next newsletter, due in May 2021.
John Arbuckle
John Arbuckle died in Victoria Hospital, Kirkcaldy, in late November 2020. An appreciation of his life will appear in our next newsletter.
Gavin Cairns
Gavin Cairns (1948) died on 1 April 2020. A full obituary will appear n the May 2021 edition of the Association Newsletter.
H G MacGregor
H G MacGregor (1949) has died. No further details are known.
John F Ferguson
John Ferguson, British Boys Golf Champion 1957, died in Washington State on 4 June 2018. A full obituary will appear in the next issue of the FPA Newsletter scheduled for May 2021.
Eleanor Ferguson
Word has just reached us (22 Nov 20) that Eleanor Ferguson died on 1 May 2018. Her elder brother, John, died just over a month later.
Ross Napier
Word reached us in July 2020 about the death of Ross Napier, a member of the Classics Department in the 1960s. Mr Napier went on to teach Russian most of the time, a language he had studied during his National Service.
George A Mackie
George Mackie, wartime bomber pilot, artist and book designer and illustrator, died on 3 October 2020 aged 100.
Harry Mathieson
Harry Mathieson, who taught science at Bell Baxter in the 1960s, died in September 2020.
Jeana Arbuckle
Mrs Jeana Scott ((1935) died peacefully in Rosturk House, Cupar, on Thursday 3 September 2020.
Gavin Waddell
We have just learned that Gavin Waddell (1949) died in May. He had been suffering from cancer. His obituary can be accessed here: https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2020/aug/12/gavin-waddell-obituary
David Marshall
David Marshall (1948) died on 7 August 2020. We hope to publish an obituary in Newsletter #59, scheduled to appear in November.
Grant Milne
Grant Milne (1943) died at the beginning of August 2020.
John Finnie
John Finnie (1950) died in the Adamson Hospital, Cupar, in July 2020.
Margaret Nairn
Mrs Osler died at home in Cupar on June 25 2020. More details will be in the November newsletter.
Marjorie Couston
Mrs Whitson died on June 16 in Ninewells Hospital. More details will be in the November newsletter.
W J Scott Blyth
Scott Blyth died in the middle of May 2020. We hope to publish an obituary in Newsletter #59, scheduled to appear in November.
Janet A S Gray
Miss Janet Gray (1930) died early in May 2020. We hope to publish an obituary in Newsletter #59, scheduled to appear in November.
John MacFarlane
John Macfarlane (1950) died on 10 May 2020. We hope to publish an obituary in Newsletter #59, scheduled to appear in November.
Alastair Thake
Alistair Thake died in April. More details will appear in the November newsletter.
David Kinnell
David Kinnell (1946) died in April 2020.
David P Brodie
David Brodie (1952) died in March 2020. He played two seasons for the 1st XV, 1956-7 and 1957-8, and was Captain of United Colleges rugby team. After graduating with an honours degree in Chemistry, he joined Marchon Chemicals in Whitehaven, becoming head of its Research Group. David later emigrated to Victoria State in Australia to work for the Marchon parent company.
Joan Barrie Lawrence
The death of Miss Joan Lawrence (1941) was announced in the Courier on 4 April 2020. Joan was born in Cupar in 1930 and was educated at Castlehill and Bell-Baxter. Living as she did on the edge of the golf-course, it was not too surprising that she began to play early, at the age of 9.
Her first major success was in 1949, when she was selected for the Scottish Girls’ International Team being also in the same year semi-finalist in the British Girls’ Championship.
In three consecutive years - 1962, 63 and 64, - she was the Scottish Ladies' Champion.
From that time, her position as a leading figure in Ladies' Golf was established, honours coming thick and fast.
1964 - Curtis Cup Team, 1970 - Vice Captain of the Curtis Cup Team.
1971 - Captain of the Commonwealth Team. Joan has been Fife County Champion 15 times. In 1989 she was Chairman of the LGU.
She was a British Selector for eight years and Chairman of the Selectors from 1986-88, in which time the Curtis Cup was won twice.
Retirement in 1990 from work with Fife Regional Council, where she was Principal Officer for Domiciliary Care, left plenty of time for the game which she has played with such distinction.
Joan served for two years as Captain of Aberdour, the first time that a woman had ever captained a golf club in Scotland. She was the first ever woman Captain of the 102-year old Canmore Golf Club in Dunfermline. Her connection with the Club goes back to 1952, when her father moved from Cupar Golf Club to become the greenkeeper at the Dunfermline Club.
Joan was appointed MBE for promoting youth golf.
Her first major success was in 1949, when she was selected for the Scottish Girls’ International Team being also in the same year semi-finalist in the British Girls’ Championship.
In three consecutive years - 1962, 63 and 64, - she was the Scottish Ladies' Champion.
From that time, her position as a leading figure in Ladies' Golf was established, honours coming thick and fast.
1964 - Curtis Cup Team, 1970 - Vice Captain of the Curtis Cup Team.
1971 - Captain of the Commonwealth Team. Joan has been Fife County Champion 15 times. In 1989 she was Chairman of the LGU.
She was a British Selector for eight years and Chairman of the Selectors from 1986-88, in which time the Curtis Cup was won twice.
Retirement in 1990 from work with Fife Regional Council, where she was Principal Officer for Domiciliary Care, left plenty of time for the game which she has played with such distinction.
Joan served for two years as Captain of Aberdour, the first time that a woman had ever captained a golf club in Scotland. She was the first ever woman Captain of the 102-year old Canmore Golf Club in Dunfermline. Her connection with the Club goes back to 1952, when her father moved from Cupar Golf Club to become the greenkeeper at the Dunfermline Club.
Joan was appointed MBE for promoting youth golf.
James L McIntyre
James McIntyre (mid-1940s) died on 28th March 2020 in Toronto. He was a Consultant Radiologist. He is survived by his daughter but had been sadly predeceased by his son just a year ago.
Mary Watson
Mrs Mary Honeyman (1940) died in hospital on 22nd March 2020 after several years of ill health. May worked in the County Treasurer‘s Department in Cupar. She was predeceased by her husband and two of her sons and is survived by her other two sons.
Valerie Sutton
Valerie Carswell-Hardie, née Sutton (1960s) died in hospital in Stirling on 19th March 2020 after a long illness. She was predeceased by her husband and is survived by two children and three stepchildren.
Ronald Law
Ronald Law (mid 1940s) died in hospital early in March 2020 after a spell of declining health. Ronnie’s career was entirely with the family sawmill business at Cupar Muir. After he retired, he and Mary continued to live at their home there. It was one of the first new houses built in that community. Mary’s death was covered in Issue 53. Ronnie is survived by their daughter Helen.
Andrew Page
Andrew Page (1947) died early in January 2020. He was an only child and hailed from Falkland. Andrew was joint Dux of School in 1953 and won a Harkness Scholarship to the University of St Andrews.
Allan Booth
Allan Booth (1976), former deputy head boy of the School, sadly passed away peacefully on New Year’s Day 2020 after a short illness in the Western General Hospital, Edinburgh. Allan came to Bell Baxter from Rathillet primary school and participated fully in all School life, being active particularly in sports. Allan represented the School rugby teams through his school years and was a former 1st XV rugby captain in season 1981-82 . He was a 1st XI cricket team member and also a School representative in track events at Fife schools athletics events. On leaving School Allan attended Napier University, and worked as a research scientist for the Scottish Crop Research Institute, now known as the James Hutton Institute. Allan was actively involved in many crops most recently in the field of barley research. His work involved teaching and mentoring others, including a spell in Australia. On leaving School he then embarked on his long and distinguished senior rugby career for Howe of Fife RFC, playing for every team from 1983 until his final game in the firsts in 2009. Allan played 325 matches for the Howe firsts over this time, including a spell as club 1st XV captain, a position served with distinction. These playing statistics added to those games played for other teams in the club mean that the final tally of games played must be close to 550. Early in his rugby career Allan represented North and Midlands U21 at scrum half. On retiring from playing Allan actively coached many groups of young players to fulfil their potential. 26 years of skills development, enjoyment and wisdom which he would use to benefit others. A life well lived, taken away too soon. Demonstrating Allan’s popularity a large turnout of over 700 attended his funeral service held in Cupar in January. Allan will be particularly missed by all who knew him and is survived by his daughter Holly.
Contributed by Jim Honeyman
Contributed by Jim Honeyman
Colin Brough
Colin Brough (1945) died around the turn of the year. He graduated MB ChB from the University of Edinburgh in 1956 and retired on 31st August 1988 from the post of Chief Administrative Medical Officer, Lothian Health Board. He lived in Gullane.
Howard King
Howard King (1940) passed away on 30th December 2019, aged 91, at St Francis Hospice, Berkhamsted. He is survived by his wife Isobel, his two daughters and four grandchildren.
He attended Bell Baxter from 1940 to 1945. Howard was a member of the 1945 1st XV and attended one of the early FPA gatherings with his younger brother, Ronnie.
On leaving Bell Baxter, he went to Jordanhill College to train as a PE Teacher and on qualifying did his National Service as a PTI in the Royal Air Force. He taught in Dundee after demobilisation as well as conducting popular Scottish Country Dance Classes in Cupar and Dairsie. He was attracted to a senior position at Eyemouth School and enjoyed a long career there. He also held a position as Senior Inspector with the Ministry of Agriculture that took up most of the school summer holidays inspecting crops of seed potatoes on farms all over Aberdeenshire. In winter his enthusiasm for Country Dance never waned and he ran evening classes for many years. He lived in Berwick-upon-Tweed for the best part of sixty years enjoying golf and membership of the local Probus club. It is only in the past eighteen months that he and Isobel moved to Berkhamsted to be nearer the family. He bore some ill health with fortitude, a stroke some years ago and more recently, total loss of hearing. He led a full life embarking on numerous holidays abroad with Isobel's help and support.
His brother Ronnie, who sent us this notice, was pleased to share some of his last hours in pleasant and peaceful surroundings with his wife and daughters by his side. A good man gone.
He attended Bell Baxter from 1940 to 1945. Howard was a member of the 1945 1st XV and attended one of the early FPA gatherings with his younger brother, Ronnie.
On leaving Bell Baxter, he went to Jordanhill College to train as a PE Teacher and on qualifying did his National Service as a PTI in the Royal Air Force. He taught in Dundee after demobilisation as well as conducting popular Scottish Country Dance Classes in Cupar and Dairsie. He was attracted to a senior position at Eyemouth School and enjoyed a long career there. He also held a position as Senior Inspector with the Ministry of Agriculture that took up most of the school summer holidays inspecting crops of seed potatoes on farms all over Aberdeenshire. In winter his enthusiasm for Country Dance never waned and he ran evening classes for many years. He lived in Berwick-upon-Tweed for the best part of sixty years enjoying golf and membership of the local Probus club. It is only in the past eighteen months that he and Isobel moved to Berkhamsted to be nearer the family. He bore some ill health with fortitude, a stroke some years ago and more recently, total loss of hearing. He led a full life embarking on numerous holidays abroad with Isobel's help and support.
His brother Ronnie, who sent us this notice, was pleased to share some of his last hours in pleasant and peaceful surroundings with his wife and daughters by his side. A good man gone.
Alasdair Muir Breckenridge
Alasdair Muir Breckenridge (1948) died at the age of 82 on 12 December 2019, after a short illness. Alasdair was Dux of School in 1954.
We were alerted to Sir Alasdair’s death by another medical FP, George Gordon, who sent us the obituary from the British Medical Journal. He commented that mere mortals come six to a page, but the measure of Alasdair’s worth was that he had a page to himself!
The pinnacle of his brilliant career was as Professor of the University of Liverpool’s Department of Molecular and Clinical Pharmacology, which developed into a world-renowned centre for both clinical and non-clinical pharmacology under his leadership. The University mourned his loss in a fulsome obituary which can be accessed via this link: https://news.liverpool.ac.uk/2020/02/04/obituary-sir-alasdair-breckenridge/
The School published an obituary on its website in its weekly update of 2 March and the Dundee Courier was quick to correct the omission when our President, Muriel Dymock, expressed her surprise that the passing of someone of his stature had gone unnoticed by the Scottish media.
Professor Breckenridge, appointed CBE in 1994 and knighted 10 years later, was more than just an academic, however. He involved himself in public health administration on Merseyside culminating in his chairmanship of the NW Regional Office of the NHS Executive. He was also involved at national level in the regulation of medicines. He joined the Committee on the Safety of Medicines in 1984 becoming its chairman in 1994. When an expanded national regulatory authority, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), came into being in 2003, Alasdair was appointed the inaugural Chairman of the Board. For four years he was a member of the Medical Research Council.
We can have no doubt that, were he still alive, he would be offering sage advice to help us negotiate this health crisis.
We were alerted to Sir Alasdair’s death by another medical FP, George Gordon, who sent us the obituary from the British Medical Journal. He commented that mere mortals come six to a page, but the measure of Alasdair’s worth was that he had a page to himself!
The pinnacle of his brilliant career was as Professor of the University of Liverpool’s Department of Molecular and Clinical Pharmacology, which developed into a world-renowned centre for both clinical and non-clinical pharmacology under his leadership. The University mourned his loss in a fulsome obituary which can be accessed via this link: https://news.liverpool.ac.uk/2020/02/04/obituary-sir-alasdair-breckenridge/
The School published an obituary on its website in its weekly update of 2 March and the Dundee Courier was quick to correct the omission when our President, Muriel Dymock, expressed her surprise that the passing of someone of his stature had gone unnoticed by the Scottish media.
Professor Breckenridge, appointed CBE in 1994 and knighted 10 years later, was more than just an academic, however. He involved himself in public health administration on Merseyside culminating in his chairmanship of the NW Regional Office of the NHS Executive. He was also involved at national level in the regulation of medicines. He joined the Committee on the Safety of Medicines in 1984 becoming its chairman in 1994. When an expanded national regulatory authority, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), came into being in 2003, Alasdair was appointed the inaugural Chairman of the Board. For four years he was a member of the Medical Research Council.
We can have no doubt that, were he still alive, he would be offering sage advice to help us negotiate this health crisis.
Charlotte White
Dr Charlotte Duff (née White) (1936) died on 9 December 2019. Charlotte graduated MB ChB from the University of St Andrews in 1946 and joined the Department of Public Health in 1948. After retiring from a career as a general practitioner, she became Medical Officer to Castle Huntly Young Offenders' Institution near Dundee.
Martha Meek
Martha Meek (1936) died in November 2019. She was 95. Martha hailed from Auchtermuchty and started at BBS in 1936. After School she attended Dundee College of Education from 1941-44. She taught in Kettle Primary School 1944-46, Auchtermuchty Primary School 1946-67, was Assistant Head Teacher Leslie Primary School 1967-74, Assistant Head Teacher Mountfleurie 1974-77 and was at Craigrothie 1977-83. She was resident in a retirement home in Haddington for a number of years. Martha was a prolific letter writer and, as befits a primary schoolteacher, her handwriting was clear and easy to read, even in her later years. We reproduced one or two of her missives in our newsletters.
Martha had been in heart failure for a number of years. Her funeral service was conducted in Edinburgh and she was buried in Auchtermuchty on 22 November 2019.
Martha had been in heart failure for a number of years. Her funeral service was conducted in Edinburgh and she was buried in Auchtermuchty on 22 November 2019.
Janette Curran
Miss Janette Curran (1950) died on 2 November 2019 in Lunardi Care Home, Cupar. Janette trained as a Primary School Teacher in Dundee. She taught the Infant classes first in Auchtermuchty and then in Castlehill for most of her career. She was very actively involved in St John’s Church where she was Sunday School Superintendant. She was ordained as an Elder in 1973 - one of the first group of women Elders in the local Presbytery. Several years ago she was Cupar’s Citizen of the Year.
Elizabeth Anderson
Miss Elizabeth (Betty) Anderson died on 21st October 2019. Betty had lived for many years in St Andrews, where she was on the Secretarial staff of the University. She is survived by her brother Morris and her sister Catherine.
Kate MacGregor
Kate MacGregor (1938) passed away peacefully on 12 October 2019 aged 92. Mrs Turner used to receive the newsletter from her brother, James, but latterly became an Association member herself. Its arrival would often prompt a story or recollection. Her son, Peter, has sent us some details of his mum's family and life.
Kate was born in Crail and moved to Balgarvie Crescent in Cupar as a young child. Her father James worked as a baker for Fisher and Donaldson and her mother Marjorie for Rogers joinery. Kate left school as soon as she could, desperate to learn shorthand and typing, and get a job. She worked for the council, the procurator fiscal, civil service and finally as a medical secretary. Kate married at Cupar Parish Church in 1953 and then moved to England with her husband Douglas. Douglas was in the Navy based at Rosyth and they met at the Kinema Ballroom in Dunfermline. They retired to Dumfries and Galloway in 1996. Kate's brothers James (obituary Issue 53) and Robert were also former pupils of BB.
Kate was born in Crail and moved to Balgarvie Crescent in Cupar as a young child. Her father James worked as a baker for Fisher and Donaldson and her mother Marjorie for Rogers joinery. Kate left school as soon as she could, desperate to learn shorthand and typing, and get a job. She worked for the council, the procurator fiscal, civil service and finally as a medical secretary. Kate married at Cupar Parish Church in 1953 and then moved to England with her husband Douglas. Douglas was in the Navy based at Rosyth and they met at the Kinema Ballroom in Dunfermline. They retired to Dumfries and Galloway in 1996. Kate's brothers James (obituary Issue 53) and Robert were also former pupils of BB.
Elizabeth Firth Marshall
Elizabeth Firth Marshall (1947) died in April 2019. Elizabeth will probably be best remembered by others in our year as the goalie on the First XI Hockey Team!*
After Bell Baxter she studied for her degree at St Andrews University where she gained her doctorate in Biochemistry. She later became a popular and well-respected member of staff at Newcastle where she lectured in Biochemistry.
As well as being involved in community work, she, among other things, played golf and flew planes! Elizabeth is survived by her nieces and nephews.
This notice was sent in by Anne MacKenzie (née Logan), who adds that Elizabeth used to help Anne with her Maths while she helped Elizabeth with her essays.
After Bell Baxter she studied for her degree at St Andrews University where she gained her doctorate in Biochemistry. She later became a popular and well-respected member of staff at Newcastle where she lectured in Biochemistry.
As well as being involved in community work, she, among other things, played golf and flew planes! Elizabeth is survived by her nieces and nephews.
This notice was sent in by Anne MacKenzie (née Logan), who adds that Elizabeth used to help Anne with her Maths while she helped Elizabeth with her essays.
Donald McInnes
Donald McInnes (1944) died in the Victoria Hospital, Kirkcaldy, on 21st April 2019. Don went on to study architecture at Edinburgh College of Art after leaving Bell Baxter. While carrying out his National Service, he married Muriel and they set up home in Hounslow before returning to Scotland where he became a partner in the Fife architectural practice of Wheeler and Sprosen. On leaving Wheeler and Sprosen he was invited to join the Edinburgh partnership of Harley Haddow, where he won several prestigious architectural awards. Don was also a past president of the Edinburgh Architectural Association. He remarried in 2005 and spent a happy retirement in Markinch. He is survived by his wife, Val, a son and daughter and three grandchildren.
Elizabeth Russell
Betty Russell (1943) died peacefully on 18th March 2019 after suffering from Lewy body dementia. A native of Cupar, Betty went to Castlehill and Bell-Baxter. She went on to St Andrews University and after gaining a degree in Geography and History taught in Inverness High School and then Galashiels Academy, where she acted as a mentor for colleagues as well as pupils. Betty was a natural teacher and communicator all her life and must have inspired hundreds of pupils through her wisdom, enthusiasm and sense of humour. It is no surprise that she was promoted to be a Principal Teacher of Guidance at Galashiels Academy, a post which suited the attributes she showed in her teaching career.
A feature of her time at Gala was the promotion of skiing. Betty had started to ski at Aviemore and (along with colleagues) she took busloads of Gala pupils to Glenshee on Saturdays during the season. This involved early starts, a major sacrifice for Betty, who hated getting up before she had to! Regular trips to the Alps, sometimes by bus, followed at Easter.
Travel was an important part of her life. She enjoyed planning itineraries supplemented by meticulous notes and the obligatory maps and guidebooks. Her early forays were to Europe in her trusty A30 in which she drove as far as Venice. Later she changed to VW Beetles: the family waited with interest to discover what next year’s colour was. She loved being off the beaten track! Later she travelled to Canada and the US and to Egypt, always amassing photos, which were collated and shared.
After she retired, Betty moved back to Cupar, to Brighton Road, two doors away from where she had been brought up. She had always kept close connections with her old schoolmates, so it was not difficult for her to settle into the community. She cultivated a very productive garden, growing crops of carrots, onions, beans, cabbages and strawberries. She became involved with the Liberal Democrats, as her father had been. She loved canvassing and supported fundraising coffee mornings, partly by selling plants and vegetables from her garden.
The high esteem in which Betty was held was demonstrated by the number of friends and former colleagues who attended her funeral, from the Borders as well as Fife. Tributes were paid by her brother, Tom (1952) and her nephew Bobby Lamb. Tom and her sister Isabel (Mrs Lamb, 1950) survive her.
A feature of her time at Gala was the promotion of skiing. Betty had started to ski at Aviemore and (along with colleagues) she took busloads of Gala pupils to Glenshee on Saturdays during the season. This involved early starts, a major sacrifice for Betty, who hated getting up before she had to! Regular trips to the Alps, sometimes by bus, followed at Easter.
Travel was an important part of her life. She enjoyed planning itineraries supplemented by meticulous notes and the obligatory maps and guidebooks. Her early forays were to Europe in her trusty A30 in which she drove as far as Venice. Later she changed to VW Beetles: the family waited with interest to discover what next year’s colour was. She loved being off the beaten track! Later she travelled to Canada and the US and to Egypt, always amassing photos, which were collated and shared.
After she retired, Betty moved back to Cupar, to Brighton Road, two doors away from where she had been brought up. She had always kept close connections with her old schoolmates, so it was not difficult for her to settle into the community. She cultivated a very productive garden, growing crops of carrots, onions, beans, cabbages and strawberries. She became involved with the Liberal Democrats, as her father had been. She loved canvassing and supported fundraising coffee mornings, partly by selling plants and vegetables from her garden.
The high esteem in which Betty was held was demonstrated by the number of friends and former colleagues who attended her funeral, from the Borders as well as Fife. Tributes were paid by her brother, Tom (1952) and her nephew Bobby Lamb. Tom and her sister Isabel (Mrs Lamb, 1950) survive her.
Catherine Bogie
Mrs Catherine Ford (1945) died on 26th April 2019 in hospital in Ayr. Cathie was predeceased by her husband, Jim, a former Captain of School. They had lived in Ayr for many years while Jim was on the staff of the teacher training college there.
Tom Lawson
Tom Lawson, sometimes known as Ego, was born in 1933, and began his schooling at Castle Hill, moving on to Bell Baxter in 1944. He died in April 2019. Tom played cricket for the school and later Cupar Cricket Club, and rugby for the Howe of Fife. Aged 16, he left the school and was apprenticed to James Murray & Co, accountants. He qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1961, by which time he was living in London, and in 1964 joined Thomson McLintock, then one of the ‘big four’ accountancy firms, where he became senior manager. He lived in Richmond, Surrey. He suffered for many years from multiple sclerosis. He remained all his life a proud Scotsman and felt that the education he had received at Bell Baxter had given him a firm foundation for his later life. He attended the Golden Anniversary reunion of his year in 1994, and one or two more reunions, and was delighted to meet so many of his former classmates.
Contributed by his wife, Diana
Contributed by his wife, Diana
Robert Danskin Mackie
Robert Danskin Mackie (1946) died at his home in Dunfermline on 1 March 2019. Roy had a long tenure as a committee member of the Association, being appointed Secretary in 1997, Vice Chairman in 2002 and then Chairman from 2005 to 2008.
We received this tribute to Roy from former classmate Sir Bob Reid:
Roy was a highly intelligent, relaxed companion. I remember we had to write a thesis for the English Master and everybody in the class produced multi page documents. Roy produced two pages in which he analysed a chapter in the bible which he personally had translated from Greek. It was an immaculate piece of work. It was content not volume that counts. As a friend he made the school years more interesting and enjoyable. Although I have not seen him for many years the memory is as clear as it was yesterday.
Another classmate, who grew up with Roy in Markinch, tells us that Roy signed up to do three years of National Service rather than the normal two. He received higher pay as a result, but it also meant he could serve further afield. Roy was sent to Central America, where he contracted malaria. It seems that this unwelcome souvenir of his days in uniform resurfaced occasionally throughout the rest of his life.
We received this tribute to Roy from former classmate Sir Bob Reid:
Roy was a highly intelligent, relaxed companion. I remember we had to write a thesis for the English Master and everybody in the class produced multi page documents. Roy produced two pages in which he analysed a chapter in the bible which he personally had translated from Greek. It was an immaculate piece of work. It was content not volume that counts. As a friend he made the school years more interesting and enjoyable. Although I have not seen him for many years the memory is as clear as it was yesterday.
Another classmate, who grew up with Roy in Markinch, tells us that Roy signed up to do three years of National Service rather than the normal two. He received higher pay as a result, but it also meant he could serve further afield. Roy was sent to Central America, where he contracted malaria. It seems that this unwelcome souvenir of his days in uniform resurfaced occasionally throughout the rest of his life.
Ian McGregor
Ian McGregor (1953) died at his home in Barnhill, Dundee, on January 30, 2019. He was 77.
Ian was a stalwart in a number of Dundee city organisations, including the Nine Incorporated Trades of Dundee and the Guildry Incorporation of Dundee.
He was also a member of Broughty Golf Club and Barnhill Bowling Club and heavily involved with the Bonnetmaker Craft of Dundee. Our picture shows him in his regalia as Deacon and he gave an insight into the craft in Issue 48.
Born in the city’s Clement Park Nursing Home on October 7 1941 to parents Alexander and Mary, he spent much of his early life in Fife.
His father’s home town was Newburgh and the family moved there when he returned from service in the Second World War.
Ian recalled Newburgh as ‘a great place to grow up’ and said he had a ‘very happy childhood’ there.
After attending primary school in Newburgh, he was educated at Bell Baxter in Cupar. He remained proud of his connection with the School throughout his adult life.
Despite gaining good grades, his parents could not afford to send him to university and so he started a job with the Clydesdale Bank in Perth. He received very little formal training but eventually became an associate member of the Institute of Bankers in Scotland.
After deciding banking wasn’t for him, he moved to DC Thomson as a trainee circulation representative in 1963.
He married Nancy Thomson a year later and the couple went on to have two children, Carolyn and David. Both were born in Leeds while Ian was a circulation representative in Yorkshire.
Over 43 years, he worked across Leeds, Glasgow and Dundee before retiring in 2006.
In 2014, he and Nancy celebrated their Golden Wedding anniversary and in retirement, he was able to pursue his passion for golf and bowls. Ian was predeceased by Nancy and is survived by Carolyn and David.
Ian was a stalwart in a number of Dundee city organisations, including the Nine Incorporated Trades of Dundee and the Guildry Incorporation of Dundee.
He was also a member of Broughty Golf Club and Barnhill Bowling Club and heavily involved with the Bonnetmaker Craft of Dundee. Our picture shows him in his regalia as Deacon and he gave an insight into the craft in Issue 48.
Born in the city’s Clement Park Nursing Home on October 7 1941 to parents Alexander and Mary, he spent much of his early life in Fife.
His father’s home town was Newburgh and the family moved there when he returned from service in the Second World War.
Ian recalled Newburgh as ‘a great place to grow up’ and said he had a ‘very happy childhood’ there.
After attending primary school in Newburgh, he was educated at Bell Baxter in Cupar. He remained proud of his connection with the School throughout his adult life.
Despite gaining good grades, his parents could not afford to send him to university and so he started a job with the Clydesdale Bank in Perth. He received very little formal training but eventually became an associate member of the Institute of Bankers in Scotland.
After deciding banking wasn’t for him, he moved to DC Thomson as a trainee circulation representative in 1963.
He married Nancy Thomson a year later and the couple went on to have two children, Carolyn and David. Both were born in Leeds while Ian was a circulation representative in Yorkshire.
Over 43 years, he worked across Leeds, Glasgow and Dundee before retiring in 2006.
In 2014, he and Nancy celebrated their Golden Wedding anniversary and in retirement, he was able to pursue his passion for golf and bowls. Ian was predeceased by Nancy and is survived by Carolyn and David.
Fergus Kennedy
Fergus Kennedy (1989) died very suddenly, just before Christmas 2018.
Lindsay Logan
Lindsay Logan (1951) Professor Lindsay Logan died suddenly in December 2018 at the age of 79 in the River View Nursing home in Newport-on-Tay. Lindsay went to St Andrews University where he gained his first degree in French and German and then went on to Moray House Teacher Training College. Subsequently he emigrated to Montreal in Canada where he gained his second degree, this time in mathematics. On returning to Scotland he took up a position as a lecturer in Maths at Northern College in Dundee . When the College amalgamated with Dundee University Lindsay was awarded a Professorship, having completed his Ph.D. He had many interests including golf, fishing and travel. He was also Captain of Ladybank Golf Club in 1991 and 1992. He is survived by his wife, Rosemary, his daughter, son and grandchildren, as well as his sister Anne.
(Thanks to his sister, Anne, for sending this and the photograph).
From Joyce Bradley (Mrs Johnston): Lindsay was a good friend of mine during our school years and continued to be over the years. He and Rosemary visited me here in Brisbane and every time I returned home Lindsay would pick me up and take me to Newport for dinner with Rosemary, the last time was 2016. I was very sad to hear of his passing. He was a lovely man.
Marie Bassett (née Melville) sends greetings from Texas. ‘I had read of Lindsay’s passing in the Courier in a very nice obituary. He was one of a pool of very smart boys in our class. Although I cannot recall any specific anecdotes, I remember him as a thoroughly nice person. ‘
(Thanks to his sister, Anne, for sending this and the photograph).
From Joyce Bradley (Mrs Johnston): Lindsay was a good friend of mine during our school years and continued to be over the years. He and Rosemary visited me here in Brisbane and every time I returned home Lindsay would pick me up and take me to Newport for dinner with Rosemary, the last time was 2016. I was very sad to hear of his passing. He was a lovely man.
Marie Bassett (née Melville) sends greetings from Texas. ‘I had read of Lindsay’s passing in the Courier in a very nice obituary. He was one of a pool of very smart boys in our class. Although I cannot recall any specific anecdotes, I remember him as a thoroughly nice person. ‘
Dorothy Watt
Mrs Dorothy Stewart (née Watt) (1941) died in November 2018 after a long spell of declining health.
Kenneth Muir
Ken Muir died in October 2018, in hospital after a short illness. Ken was Principal Teacher of Art for many years in the 1980s and 90s.
Robert Herd
Robert (Bobby) Herd (1945), died very suddenly in October 2018. Bobby started his career with Walton’s Garage in Cupar. After the firm closed he went on to work for other car dealers until he retired. He was an enthusiastic and successful gardener, winning prizes for his garden in Balmullo. He was also deeply interested in local history and worked enthusiastically for the Cupar Heritage group. He is survived by his wife and family.
Mrs Ray Marr
Mrs Ray Marr (former member of staff), died on 2nd October 2018, in Hospital, after a long illness. Ray was educated at Mackie Academy, Stonehaven, and then studied at Aberdeen University. She began her career as a Social Worker in the Kirkcaldy and Leven areas of Fife. Following marriage and the upbringing of her two sons, she retrained at Moray House and began the career in which she remained until retirement, teaching English at Bell Baxter. Ray was a keen bridge player and was a member of several clubs. Her first husband predeceased her by many years and she remarried. Sadly, she was again predeceased by her husband, but she is survived by her two sons.
Eric Allan Betsworth
Eric Betsworth (1949) died in August 2018. Eric gained an honours degree at St Andrews University and followed a career with Rolls Royce Aero Engine Division in Derby. We shall have more details in Issue 57.
From Isue 57:
Eric Allan Betsworth (1949) died on 18 August 2018, aged 80. After leaving Bell Baxter, Eric attended St. Andrew’s University (Queens College Dundee) to study Mechanical Engineering. He gained a first-class BSc Hons degree and went on to join Rolls Royce Aero Engine Division as a young graduate in Derby. It was there he met his wife Margaret. In 1972 he returned to Scotland to the Rolls Royce plant in East Kilbride, where the family enjoyed ten happy years. He was assigned to, and led, many flagship projects in his long career with the company. Further relocations included time at the helicopter factory in Leavesden, Hertfordshire and a move to Connecticut USA where he was part of the international team that developed the engine for the Airbus. He returned to Derby where he ended his career as Director of the Experimental Engineering Unit and eventually
retired in 1996.
Away from his work Eric was generous and kind to all who knew him and was always willing to listen and help where he could. He was a loving father of three children, Jane, Martin and Andrew and valued time spent with them and his six grandchildren. He enjoyed 20 years of retirement doing what he loved; golfing, gardening, walking and travelling with friends and family.
Contributed by Eric’s son, Martin.
Eric was School Captain in Session 1954-5.
From Isue 57:
Eric Allan Betsworth (1949) died on 18 August 2018, aged 80. After leaving Bell Baxter, Eric attended St. Andrew’s University (Queens College Dundee) to study Mechanical Engineering. He gained a first-class BSc Hons degree and went on to join Rolls Royce Aero Engine Division as a young graduate in Derby. It was there he met his wife Margaret. In 1972 he returned to Scotland to the Rolls Royce plant in East Kilbride, where the family enjoyed ten happy years. He was assigned to, and led, many flagship projects in his long career with the company. Further relocations included time at the helicopter factory in Leavesden, Hertfordshire and a move to Connecticut USA where he was part of the international team that developed the engine for the Airbus. He returned to Derby where he ended his career as Director of the Experimental Engineering Unit and eventually
retired in 1996.
Away from his work Eric was generous and kind to all who knew him and was always willing to listen and help where he could. He was a loving father of three children, Jane, Martin and Andrew and valued time spent with them and his six grandchildren. He enjoyed 20 years of retirement doing what he loved; golfing, gardening, walking and travelling with friends and family.
Contributed by Eric’s son, Martin.
Eric was School Captain in Session 1954-5.
Edward McKenzie
Edward McKenzie (ca. 1947) died in Ninewells Hospital on 15 August 2018 after a short illness. He was 83. Eddie was born and raised in Rathillet and his first love was the land. He was never happier than when pulling a plough behind his Ferguson tractor. This connection with nature and growing things, especially vegetables, never left him. He met his second love, Assunta, in her brother’s fish and chip shop in Cupar. They married in 1965 and set up business together in Tayport in 1969. The E & A McKenzie tobacconist and confectioner became an institution in the town. Eddie is survived by his wife, Assunta, and by a son, two daughters and two grandaughters. He was laid to rest in Tayport cemetery overlooking the Tay estuary.
Mary Spence
Mrs Mary Balfour (nee Spence) (1940) died in July 2018, in Hospital after a short illness. Mary studied at Edinburgh College of Domestic Science. After she married, she moved to live in Wormit. She was a keen sportswoman at school, having been goalkeeper in the 1st X1 and a member of the Tennis Team and she continued to indulge her love of sport after she married. She was predeceased by her husband and is survived by two daughters and a son.
Joni Halley
Joni Halley (early 1990s). Joni had been diagnosed in 2017 with Motor Neuron Disease which has now taken his life in his early 30s (Summer 2018). He is survived by his wife and one child. Tragically his brother died just shortly after him as the result of an accident.
Ronald K W Sharp
Dr Ronald Sharp (1930) died in June 2018, in a nursing home. Ronald went from School to study Medicine at St Andrews University, where he graduated MB ChB in 1942. There followed four years as a captain in the Royal Army Medical Corps. An anaesthetist, he served in France during and after the D‑Day landings and then in the Far East.
After the war he became a GP, first in Irvine and Gretna and then, from 1950 until retirement, in Kirkcaldy. He was a member of the Royal College of General Practitioners. Ronald played Rugby at School and University and in Kirkcaldy he resumed his contact with the game, not as a player but as Club Doctor. His interest in the Kirkcaldy Team continued after retirement and in 1994 he was elected Honorary Vice-president of the Club. He was predeceased by his wife and is survived by his three sons. His elder sister, Mrs Jean Davies, was Dux of School in 1933.
After the war he became a GP, first in Irvine and Gretna and then, from 1950 until retirement, in Kirkcaldy. He was a member of the Royal College of General Practitioners. Ronald played Rugby at School and University and in Kirkcaldy he resumed his contact with the game, not as a player but as Club Doctor. His interest in the Kirkcaldy Team continued after retirement and in 1994 he was elected Honorary Vice-president of the Club. He was predeceased by his wife and is survived by his three sons. His elder sister, Mrs Jean Davies, was Dux of School in 1933.
Jean Peters
Mrs Jean Orr (née Peters) (1945) idied n May 2018. Jean was a native of Strathmiglo and had been in declining health for some time.
Robert Maxwell G Meek
Robert Maxwell G Meek (1939) died in April 2018. Following a degree in mechanical engineering from St Andrews and a doctorate from Glasgow, Max spent his working life at the National Engineering Laboratory, East Kilbride. We hope to have a full obituary in Newsletter 57.
From Newsletter 58:
Dr Robert Maxwell Gray Meek (known as Max) (1939) died suddenly in hospital on 1st April 2018. Born in Auchtermuchty in 1927, younger brother of Martha and Marshall Meek, Max attended the Auchtermuchty Primary School prior to attending Bell Baxter during which time the second world war was occurring. He felt he had an excellent education from a school that still retains its reputation for teaching.
After school Max went to University College Dundee (a college of St Andrews University) to study mechanical engineering. Due to the war the honours course was condensed into three rather than four years. He graduated with first-class honours in 1948.
The next two years he undertook an apprentice in John Brown’s engine works in Clydebank which permitted his membership of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers. Having decided to continue in engineering research he was awarded a Caird Scholarship, enabling him to undertake research for three years in heat transfer. This was submitted and successfully defended as a PhD from Glasgow University in 1954.
Subsequently his career was with the Scientific Civil Service at the National Engineering Laboratory (NEL) in East Kilbride becoming a Scientific officer. He found great satisfaction in the academic side of engineering and in undertaking research and consultancies in a variety of subjects. He retired from the civil service in 1985. However, from the first day that he started work at the NEL he had been attracted to one of the female members -Elizabeth Birch. They subsequently married in 1962. He is survived by his wife, son, daughter in law and four grandchildren.
Contributed by his son, Dominic
From Newsletter 58:
Dr Robert Maxwell Gray Meek (known as Max) (1939) died suddenly in hospital on 1st April 2018. Born in Auchtermuchty in 1927, younger brother of Martha and Marshall Meek, Max attended the Auchtermuchty Primary School prior to attending Bell Baxter during which time the second world war was occurring. He felt he had an excellent education from a school that still retains its reputation for teaching.
After school Max went to University College Dundee (a college of St Andrews University) to study mechanical engineering. Due to the war the honours course was condensed into three rather than four years. He graduated with first-class honours in 1948.
The next two years he undertook an apprentice in John Brown’s engine works in Clydebank which permitted his membership of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers. Having decided to continue in engineering research he was awarded a Caird Scholarship, enabling him to undertake research for three years in heat transfer. This was submitted and successfully defended as a PhD from Glasgow University in 1954.
Subsequently his career was with the Scientific Civil Service at the National Engineering Laboratory (NEL) in East Kilbride becoming a Scientific officer. He found great satisfaction in the academic side of engineering and in undertaking research and consultancies in a variety of subjects. He retired from the civil service in 1985. However, from the first day that he started work at the NEL he had been attracted to one of the female members -Elizabeth Birch. They subsequently married in 1962. He is survived by his wife, son, daughter in law and four grandchildren.
Contributed by his son, Dominic
Jennifer Cowieson
Mrs Jennifer Hughes (née Cowieson) (1961) died on 4th May 2018, very suddenly, in hospital. Jennifer graduated from Edinburgh University with a degree in Psychology. She lived for a few years in East Lothian but then moved to the Gower Peninsula in South Wales, where she worked in various posts - as a Herbalist’s Assistant, a Librarian and then as a Red Cross First Aid Training Officer. She then became a Training Manager. After she returned to Cupar in 2005, she became deeply involved in local community work. She was Secretary of the Community Council and a Director of Cupar Development Trust. She is survived by her husband, a son and a daughter.
Ker Brotherton
Ker Brotherton (1949) died on 27 March 2018 following a heart attack. Ker worked first in England for Royal Ordnance. He moved later to Peterhead to work with a haulage business and he also had a spell at the Hillman Imp factory at Linwood. His final career change was to IBM to work in metallurgy. On retiring he returned to live in the Cupar area and became involved in the work of Ceres Church, where he was for some years the Church Officer.
Harry Smith
Harry Smith (1950) died suddenly in hospital on 16th March, 2018. He is survived by his wife and family. Harry was from Auchtermuchty but had lived in Kirriemuir for many years. FPA committee member Harry B Smith tells us they became aware of each other on day one at Bell Baxter when they assembled in their form class. Miss Robertson called out the name of each pupil who had to stand up to be recognised. When she said ‘Henry Smith’, two of them stood up! Harry was a member of the School 1st XV and worked in local government after School. We understand he was a Rotarian. He was on the organising committee for the 1950 class. He was also a very keen cyclist.
Michelle Whyte
Michelle Whyte (2006) died in hospital in mid-March 2018, having suffered from Meningococcal Meningitis. This is a particularly tragic death as Michelle had become engaged to her fiancé in November. She lived in Markinch and was well-known locally for her volunteer work with the Youth Club, the 2nd Markinch Guides and the 1st Markinch Rainbows. She studied Child Care at Adam Smith College and was an out-of-schools practitioner at the local School Kids Club. She was also ladies’ Vice President of the Bowling Club.
David Nairn
David Nairn (1933) died in March 2018, aged 94. David’s life was lived with great courage and determination. Seriously stricken with Cerebral Palsy from birth, in the days when little was understood about such afflictions and even less about how to help those who suffered from its debilitating effects, David attended Bell Baxter on exactly the same terms as all other pupils. He sat his Highers – no scribes or extra time in those days - and went on to graduate from St Andrews University where, at his graduation, we are told that the whole assembly stood to applaud him. He joined his father’s firm, Nairns Builders, and took it over after the death of his father. He is survived by his wife and two daughters.
Margaret Wilson
Miss Margaret Wilson (1941) died unexpectedly, in hospital on 17th February. Most of Margaret’s career was in the County Buildings, in the Treasurer’s Department. She was predeceased by her partner.
Alastair J Walker
Alastair Walker (1951) died in February 2018.. Alastair graduated with 1st Class Honours in Philosophy from Edinburgh University. From there he went to Birmingham and then Oxford where he gained a B Phil. He became interested in the Prison Service through the Howard League for Penal Reform, trained at Wakefield Prison and then was appointed Assistant Governor at Wormwood Scrubs in London. He developed an interest in osteopathy, which he studied, and moved to Liverpool where he set up practice. He was deeply interested in philosophy and read voraciously. It became his habit to read long into the early hours, surfacing late in the day. He is survived by his sister Ruth, who still lives within half a mile of where they grew up, at Kemback, where their father was the minister.
There were a number of sons of the manse at Bell Baxter around the same time and it seems that they were known to the staff as ’Cupar Presbytery’
There were a number of sons of the manse at Bell Baxter around the same time and it seems that they were known to the staff as ’Cupar Presbytery’
Gertrude Low
Miss Gertrude (Gertie) Low died in February 2018. Gertie was in the Science Department for many years until she retired and continued to live in Balmullo with her sister.
Peter N Gordon
On 1st February 2018 Peter N. Gordon from Newburgh died in south London from cancer, aged 71. He gained an Honours Degree in Chemistry at St Andrews University and then moved to London and joined the Civil Service in 1970. He lived in Tooting and retired from the Inland Revenue in 2006. He is survived by his sisters, Elinor (1962) and Anne (1966).
Isobel Harris
Mrs Isobel Anderson (née Harris) (1967) died at the end of January 2018 after a long illness. She is survived by her husband and a daughter and a son.
Martha Tasker Bruce
Martha Tasker Bruce (1935). Mrs Martha Watson died in January 2018 aged 94.
Martha was born at Tigharry North Uist on 18 November 1923, the eldest of three children. Her parents were Robert Aikman Gray Tasker Bruce and Catherine Annie Macleod. She died on 24 January 2018.
Her early childhood was spent in Kllmany, and she went to school both there and at Rathillet. She remembers walking to school and sometimes with her pals taking the sugar beets from the fields to eat on their way.
She finished her schooling at Bell Baxter then became a Nanny, also working in the local Post Office at Kilmany. Although she contracted rheumatic fever as a child and spent many periods in convalescence she decided to join up when World War II broke out.
Martha joined the ATS in 1942 and although initially disappointed that she would not see service out of Scotland, swapped places with a colleague who wanted to stay in Scotland thus ensuring she saw more of the world. After initial training at Inverness, then Oswestry, Anglesey (Wales) and Wolverhampton, in 1943 she was selected as a Predictor Operator serving with 559 (Ack Ack) Battery HMS Ganges at Shotley near Harwich, which was part of the defence of London until the end of the war.
Her rôle saw her stationed in the gun emplacement alongside the 3.7” Howitzers, predicting the height and range of incoming enemy aircraft as they bombed London and the surrounding area. In later years she would say that she still got the ‘collywobbles’ if on a clear moonlight night looking out the back door she could see it was a ‘bombers’ moon’ and expect to hear the sound of aircraft overhead and see searchlights illuminating the sky.
Although her service to the country left her with a permanent hearing problem, which was a continual source of frustration to her for the rest of her life, this was compensated for by the stories she used to tell of the exploits that the ‘gunners’ got up to during the war. Both the sinking of HMS Hood and D-Day were memories of particular moments of sadness due to the loss of so many but there were the fun times too when she and her service pals had to shake all the caterpillars out of the vegetables in advance of a visit of Mary the Princess Royal to the base. She had an abiding loathing of caterpillars from that day on!
After the war she returned to Fife and resumed her career as a Nanny often working with the same families with her sister Mary. It was during these times that she met the man she eventually married, Tom Watson. Tom was one of six of a family who lived at Manorlees outside Kirkcaldy. Tom had served with 250 Squadron (Desert Air Force) as an MT Driver/Mechanic in the Western Desert in World War II serving in Palestine, North Africa, Malta, Sicily and Italy. They married in Cupar in 1950. Martha continued to suffer from ill health and sadly her first child, a daughter, was stillborn. Her only son Robert was born in 1954 at the Simpson Memorial Pavilion in Edinburgh.
Tom and Martha continued to live in Kirkcaldy, with Tom returning to work at Hutchison’s Maltings after his war service, eventually rising to Maltings Manager before his untimely death at the age of 60 in 1976.
She was delighted when her grandsons appeared on the scene and threw herself into the role of doting Granny or ‘Scotty Granny’ as she was fondly known by the boys to differentiate from their English Granny. Knitting needles were never far away, beautiful garments, especially fine shawls were created to ‘keep them cosy.’ this gave her a new lease of life and she was always very much part of their formative years in both England and latterly Scotland.
Martha returned to the guns in 2010 after seeing a local TV presenter making a mess of firing the One o’clock Gun in Edinburgh. After firing off a letter basically stating ‘in our day we did it like this,’ she received a command from one Gunner to another, from a lieutenant colonel inviting her over to show them how it should be done.
Those of you who knew Martha would know that she was a defender of a cause especially if there was any injustice or if people had their facts plainly wrong. Letters to the Courier or the Fife Free Press would surely follow and all would get published.
She always welcomed visitors and much tea was consumed and stories told. She always doted on the neighbourhood children and was known as ‘Aunty’ to goodness knows how many people and their eventual children.
Martha always had a keen interest in politics and this was again another source of ‘letters to the editor’ if things weren’t correct. Recent events in UK and World politics probably kept her going during the last two years as she was keen to see how events would turn out.
She also had a keen interest in sport, especially motor sport having known Jim Clark as a boy. She was always a supporter of Lewis Hamilton, but her real interest was in motorcycle racing. Tom had raced against the likes of Bob McIntyre at the Beveridge Park on his AJS and Norton; they both followed the racing. In her later years Valentino Rossi was her favourite and she enjoyed her last ride on the back of a bike in her 70s on her son’s 500cc Suzuki.
She kept her humour to the end despite deafness and failing eyesight. She thought the world of the Linked Living and Fife Care Watch Teams that visited her and kept them entertained with her stories.
Martha was born at Tigharry North Uist on 18 November 1923, the eldest of three children. Her parents were Robert Aikman Gray Tasker Bruce and Catherine Annie Macleod. She died on 24 January 2018.
Her early childhood was spent in Kllmany, and she went to school both there and at Rathillet. She remembers walking to school and sometimes with her pals taking the sugar beets from the fields to eat on their way.
She finished her schooling at Bell Baxter then became a Nanny, also working in the local Post Office at Kilmany. Although she contracted rheumatic fever as a child and spent many periods in convalescence she decided to join up when World War II broke out.
Martha joined the ATS in 1942 and although initially disappointed that she would not see service out of Scotland, swapped places with a colleague who wanted to stay in Scotland thus ensuring she saw more of the world. After initial training at Inverness, then Oswestry, Anglesey (Wales) and Wolverhampton, in 1943 she was selected as a Predictor Operator serving with 559 (Ack Ack) Battery HMS Ganges at Shotley near Harwich, which was part of the defence of London until the end of the war.
Her rôle saw her stationed in the gun emplacement alongside the 3.7” Howitzers, predicting the height and range of incoming enemy aircraft as they bombed London and the surrounding area. In later years she would say that she still got the ‘collywobbles’ if on a clear moonlight night looking out the back door she could see it was a ‘bombers’ moon’ and expect to hear the sound of aircraft overhead and see searchlights illuminating the sky.
Although her service to the country left her with a permanent hearing problem, which was a continual source of frustration to her for the rest of her life, this was compensated for by the stories she used to tell of the exploits that the ‘gunners’ got up to during the war. Both the sinking of HMS Hood and D-Day were memories of particular moments of sadness due to the loss of so many but there were the fun times too when she and her service pals had to shake all the caterpillars out of the vegetables in advance of a visit of Mary the Princess Royal to the base. She had an abiding loathing of caterpillars from that day on!
After the war she returned to Fife and resumed her career as a Nanny often working with the same families with her sister Mary. It was during these times that she met the man she eventually married, Tom Watson. Tom was one of six of a family who lived at Manorlees outside Kirkcaldy. Tom had served with 250 Squadron (Desert Air Force) as an MT Driver/Mechanic in the Western Desert in World War II serving in Palestine, North Africa, Malta, Sicily and Italy. They married in Cupar in 1950. Martha continued to suffer from ill health and sadly her first child, a daughter, was stillborn. Her only son Robert was born in 1954 at the Simpson Memorial Pavilion in Edinburgh.
Tom and Martha continued to live in Kirkcaldy, with Tom returning to work at Hutchison’s Maltings after his war service, eventually rising to Maltings Manager before his untimely death at the age of 60 in 1976.
She was delighted when her grandsons appeared on the scene and threw herself into the role of doting Granny or ‘Scotty Granny’ as she was fondly known by the boys to differentiate from their English Granny. Knitting needles were never far away, beautiful garments, especially fine shawls were created to ‘keep them cosy.’ this gave her a new lease of life and she was always very much part of their formative years in both England and latterly Scotland.
Martha returned to the guns in 2010 after seeing a local TV presenter making a mess of firing the One o’clock Gun in Edinburgh. After firing off a letter basically stating ‘in our day we did it like this,’ she received a command from one Gunner to another, from a lieutenant colonel inviting her over to show them how it should be done.
Those of you who knew Martha would know that she was a defender of a cause especially if there was any injustice or if people had their facts plainly wrong. Letters to the Courier or the Fife Free Press would surely follow and all would get published.
She always welcomed visitors and much tea was consumed and stories told. She always doted on the neighbourhood children and was known as ‘Aunty’ to goodness knows how many people and their eventual children.
Martha always had a keen interest in politics and this was again another source of ‘letters to the editor’ if things weren’t correct. Recent events in UK and World politics probably kept her going during the last two years as she was keen to see how events would turn out.
She also had a keen interest in sport, especially motor sport having known Jim Clark as a boy. She was always a supporter of Lewis Hamilton, but her real interest was in motorcycle racing. Tom had raced against the likes of Bob McIntyre at the Beveridge Park on his AJS and Norton; they both followed the racing. In her later years Valentino Rossi was her favourite and she enjoyed her last ride on the back of a bike in her 70s on her son’s 500cc Suzuki.
She kept her humour to the end despite deafness and failing eyesight. She thought the world of the Linked Living and Fife Care Watch Teams that visited her and kept them entertained with her stories.
Cyril Hayward
Mr Cyril Hayward died in December 2017 in hospital. Cyril was the Principal Teacher of physics in Bell Baxter until he became an Assistant Rector in 1972. He retired in the late 1980s. Cyril served as a navigator in Royal Air Force Coastal Command. After the war he trained as a teacher. He had many interests outwith his career. He was a bee-keeper and a keen gardener. Playing the bagpipes was another of his hobbies and he was for a time the Treasurer of the Cupar Pipe Band. He played Bridge and cribbage. We must not forget his love of and skill at ballroom dancing with his wife, Dorothy, who predeceased him. He is survived by their son.
Thomas Duncan
Tommy Duncan died peacefully at Lomond View Care Home, Falkland, on Wednesday, 25th October, 2017 after a long illness. He was 93 and is survived by a son, two daughters and grandchildren. The funeral service will take place on Monday, 6th November, 2017, at 10.30 am in the service rooms of William Jordan & Son Funeral Directors, Cupar, thereafter to Kirkcaldy Crematorium for 11.45 am.
From Newsletter #53:
Thomas Duncan (1935) died at the end of September. Tommy worked in the Audit Department in the County Buildings. During the war he served in the RAF. He was an active member of Howe of Fife Rugby Club, being a Life Member and having been the Match Secretary at one time. He also enjoyed bowls and bridge. He served on the congregational board of St John's Church. He was predeceased by his wife and is survived by one son and two daughters.
From Newsletter #53:
Thomas Duncan (1935) died at the end of September. Tommy worked in the Audit Department in the County Buildings. During the war he served in the RAF. He was an active member of Howe of Fife Rugby Club, being a Life Member and having been the Match Secretary at one time. He also enjoyed bowls and bridge. He served on the congregational board of St John's Church. He was predeceased by his wife and is survived by one son and two daughters.
Mary Law
Mary was dedicated to making Cupar beautiful (Pic: Dave Scott)
By Liz Rougvie
Published in Fife Today: 16:34 Monday 23 October 2017
Tributes have been paid to one of the country’s best-known floral experts and Cupar stalwart Mary Law MBE, who has died at the age of 80. A founder member of Cupar in Bloom, Mary was the driving force behind the town’s many competitive successes, including this year’s gold awards in both the Beautiful Fife and Beautiful Scotland campaigns. Not only did she personally plant and tend the floral displays along with her husband Ronnie, but she also worked tirelessly to raise funds and promote environmental awareness in local schools.
Cupar in Bloom was founded in 2004 but Mary had made a name for herself in the horticultural world long before that. She was recognised as one of the UK’s top floral art demonstrators, earning the MBE for her work, and was selected as one of the floral artists for the wedding of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson. She was a former president of the National Association of Flower Arrangement Societies as well as the Scottish Association, and was Hon President of Cupar Floral Art Club, which this year celebrated its 60th anniversary.
Club president Margaret Beetlestone said: ‘She was so knowledgeable – you could ask her anything and she’d know the answer. She travelled all over the country giving demonstrations and teaching classes and put so much into everything she did. Her energy was amazing.’
Cupar in Bloom member Vicky Coull, who was with Mary from the group’s outset, said the contribution she made to Cupar was wonderful. ‘We all worked so well as a team,’ she said. ‘Mary and Ronnie were always so supportive and so enthusiastic. I don’t know how we are going manage without her.’
Wanda Wheelans, secretary of Cupar Flower Show, said she was shocked by Mary’s death and praised her energy and commitment. ‘Everyone knew Mary,’ she said. ‘When Jim McColl opened our 100th anniversary show, he immediately made a beeline for her. She was so helpful to us and she’ll be greatly missed. She was a wee gem.’
Mary’s funeral took place in Cupar on Tuesday, October 31.
Read more at: http://www.fifetoday.co.uk/news/bouquets-flow-for-the-lady-who-made-cupar-beautiful-1-4594388
From Newsletter #53:
Mrs Mary Law (nee Logie) (1949) died in October. Mary trained as a Primary School Teacher and taught in Castlehill School. Her great interest beyond her teaching career was Floral Art and it was to that art that she devoted her life, outwith and after her teaching career. She was a founder member of Cupar Floral Art Club, which is currently celebrating its 60th anniversary and of which she was Honorary President. She was regarded as one of the UK's top floral art demonstrators, became an MBE for her work and was selected as one of the floral artists for the wedding of Prince Andrew to Sarah Ferguson. She was a former President of the National Association of Flower Arrangement Societies and of the Scottish Society. She travelled country-wide to demonstrate the art and teach classes. When Cupar in Bloom was founded in 2004 she became the driving force behind its success over the years, assisted by her husband, Ronnie, with Cupar regularly winning Gold medals at different levels for the town's display of flowers. The pinnacle of their achievement was in 2015, winning Gold for the best Medium Town in the Britain in Bloom competition and the RHS
Discretionary Young People's Award. Over and above her work for the town, she helped to raise funds and promote environmental awareness in local schools. Mary is survived by her husband and her daughter.
By Liz Rougvie
Published in Fife Today: 16:34 Monday 23 October 2017
Tributes have been paid to one of the country’s best-known floral experts and Cupar stalwart Mary Law MBE, who has died at the age of 80. A founder member of Cupar in Bloom, Mary was the driving force behind the town’s many competitive successes, including this year’s gold awards in both the Beautiful Fife and Beautiful Scotland campaigns. Not only did she personally plant and tend the floral displays along with her husband Ronnie, but she also worked tirelessly to raise funds and promote environmental awareness in local schools.
Cupar in Bloom was founded in 2004 but Mary had made a name for herself in the horticultural world long before that. She was recognised as one of the UK’s top floral art demonstrators, earning the MBE for her work, and was selected as one of the floral artists for the wedding of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson. She was a former president of the National Association of Flower Arrangement Societies as well as the Scottish Association, and was Hon President of Cupar Floral Art Club, which this year celebrated its 60th anniversary.
Club president Margaret Beetlestone said: ‘She was so knowledgeable – you could ask her anything and she’d know the answer. She travelled all over the country giving demonstrations and teaching classes and put so much into everything she did. Her energy was amazing.’
Cupar in Bloom member Vicky Coull, who was with Mary from the group’s outset, said the contribution she made to Cupar was wonderful. ‘We all worked so well as a team,’ she said. ‘Mary and Ronnie were always so supportive and so enthusiastic. I don’t know how we are going manage without her.’
Wanda Wheelans, secretary of Cupar Flower Show, said she was shocked by Mary’s death and praised her energy and commitment. ‘Everyone knew Mary,’ she said. ‘When Jim McColl opened our 100th anniversary show, he immediately made a beeline for her. She was so helpful to us and she’ll be greatly missed. She was a wee gem.’
Mary’s funeral took place in Cupar on Tuesday, October 31.
Read more at: http://www.fifetoday.co.uk/news/bouquets-flow-for-the-lady-who-made-cupar-beautiful-1-4594388
From Newsletter #53:
Mrs Mary Law (nee Logie) (1949) died in October. Mary trained as a Primary School Teacher and taught in Castlehill School. Her great interest beyond her teaching career was Floral Art and it was to that art that she devoted her life, outwith and after her teaching career. She was a founder member of Cupar Floral Art Club, which is currently celebrating its 60th anniversary and of which she was Honorary President. She was regarded as one of the UK's top floral art demonstrators, became an MBE for her work and was selected as one of the floral artists for the wedding of Prince Andrew to Sarah Ferguson. She was a former President of the National Association of Flower Arrangement Societies and of the Scottish Society. She travelled country-wide to demonstrate the art and teach classes. When Cupar in Bloom was founded in 2004 she became the driving force behind its success over the years, assisted by her husband, Ronnie, with Cupar regularly winning Gold medals at different levels for the town's display of flowers. The pinnacle of their achievement was in 2015, winning Gold for the best Medium Town in the Britain in Bloom competition and the RHS
Discretionary Young People's Award. Over and above her work for the town, she helped to raise funds and promote environmental awareness in local schools. Mary is survived by her husband and her daughter.
R L MacFarlane
Bob MacFarlane (1953) died in Stirling Community Hospital on 26 September 2017. His obituary will be published in FPA Newsletter Issue 53 and later in Bell Baxter Lives.
From Newsletter #53:
R L MacFarlane (1953) 17.12.40 - 26.9.17
Bob died peacefully in Stirling Community hospital after a month having been diagnosed with pancreatic and liver cancer. He had Parkinson's Disease for eleven years and had been suffering from dementia for two, so in some ways this was a happy release.
He was born in Innerleith (Charlottetown) and went to Ladybank Primary School then to Bell Baxter in 1953. He left in 1959 and went to Fife Council as a quantity surveyor. He married Evelyn Paterson in 1964 and in 1965 moved to Durham where he had many jobs in house building firms. He became Managing Director of Leech Homes Falkirk and moved to Bridge of Allan in 1988.
Bob's main interests apart from work were son Stuart and daughter Janice, but most of all Rugby at School and with the Howe of Fife and then Durham City.
Golf in England and Scotland and latterly Captain of Dun Whinny at Gleneagles.
His funeral attendees reflected his sports and the many friends and colleagues he had.
Contributed by his wife, Evelyn (nee Paterson) (1952).
From Newsletter #53:
R L MacFarlane (1953) 17.12.40 - 26.9.17
Bob died peacefully in Stirling Community hospital after a month having been diagnosed with pancreatic and liver cancer. He had Parkinson's Disease for eleven years and had been suffering from dementia for two, so in some ways this was a happy release.
He was born in Innerleith (Charlottetown) and went to Ladybank Primary School then to Bell Baxter in 1953. He left in 1959 and went to Fife Council as a quantity surveyor. He married Evelyn Paterson in 1964 and in 1965 moved to Durham where he had many jobs in house building firms. He became Managing Director of Leech Homes Falkirk and moved to Bridge of Allan in 1988.
Bob's main interests apart from work were son Stuart and daughter Janice, but most of all Rugby at School and with the Howe of Fife and then Durham City.
Golf in England and Scotland and latterly Captain of Dun Whinny at Gleneagles.
His funeral attendees reflected his sports and the many friends and colleagues he had.
Contributed by his wife, Evelyn (nee Paterson) (1952).
James Nicoll Macgregor
James Nicoll Macgregor died on 7 August 2017 in hospital. Born in Crail in 1925, Jim moved to Cupar in 1932 where his father was a master baker at Fisher & Donaldson. He attended Kirkgate and Castlehill primary schools before becoming a pupil at Bell Baxter. In 1943 he was awarded the Dux medal and a Cowan House Residential Scholarship to study at Edinburgh University. Due to the war he attended Edinburgh University for only a fortnight before joining the RAF where he worked on radar applications until September 1947. Returning to Edinburgh University he completed a BA and a teaching qualification. While still a student he met his future wife, Moira; they married in July 1951 and moved to Glasgow where Jim's first teaching job was at Adelphi Terrace Junior Secondary School.
In 1956 Jim, Moira and their infant daughter moved to Jedburgh where Jim was principal teacher of English. Here his interest in the theatre and history came together when he co-wrote and produced a historical pageant, staged on the ramparts of Jedburgh Abbey. Daughters two and three were born here, and but for a brief spell in Fife at Braehead High School, Jim stayed in the Borders for the rest of his life.
In 1963 he became Headmaster of Morebattle Junior Secondary School where he remained until his retirement in 1986. Outside of school his interests were many and varied: he was a church elder at Morebattle Parish Church and received a long service award. He was a contestant on the first series of Mastermind where his specialist subjects were ‘Words' and ‘Dogs'; he won through to the semi-final and is credited with being the first to use the word ‘Pass'. A keen gardener and photographer, he was also the show manager of one of the UK's largest dog shows, and a breeder, exhibitor and championship show judge of Norwegian Elkhounds. He was in great demand at Burns Suppers where he delivered the Immortal Memory on many occasions.
On his retirement Jim and Moira had built their own home in the village of Morebattle: here they stayed until Moira's death in 2014 when Jim moved to a retirement flat in Kelso. He will be greatly missed by his family and friends at home and abroad.
Contributed by his daughter, Alison
In 1956 Jim, Moira and their infant daughter moved to Jedburgh where Jim was principal teacher of English. Here his interest in the theatre and history came together when he co-wrote and produced a historical pageant, staged on the ramparts of Jedburgh Abbey. Daughters two and three were born here, and but for a brief spell in Fife at Braehead High School, Jim stayed in the Borders for the rest of his life.
In 1963 he became Headmaster of Morebattle Junior Secondary School where he remained until his retirement in 1986. Outside of school his interests were many and varied: he was a church elder at Morebattle Parish Church and received a long service award. He was a contestant on the first series of Mastermind where his specialist subjects were ‘Words' and ‘Dogs'; he won through to the semi-final and is credited with being the first to use the word ‘Pass'. A keen gardener and photographer, he was also the show manager of one of the UK's largest dog shows, and a breeder, exhibitor and championship show judge of Norwegian Elkhounds. He was in great demand at Burns Suppers where he delivered the Immortal Memory on many occasions.
On his retirement Jim and Moira had built their own home in the village of Morebattle: here they stayed until Moira's death in 2014 when Jim moved to a retirement flat in Kelso. He will be greatly missed by his family and friends at home and abroad.
Contributed by his daughter, Alison
Alexander Houston
Sandy Houston (1957) from Freuchie died on 25 June 2017. He was 72.
He was a natural sportsman and athlete performing at national level in the triple jump and was also BBHS football captain in 1962-3.
A full obituary will appear in Newsletter Issue 53 and this will appear later in Bell Baxter Lives.
From Newsletter #53:
Alexander ‘Sandy' Houston (1957) was born at home in the village of Freuchie in 1944. An only child, he attended the local primary school before attending Bell Baxter.
While at Bell Baxter he captained the football team, played for the rugby team and represented the school in the Scottish schools finals for the triple jump and 100 yard sprint. He was hugely popular and had a great pride in being a former pupil that stayed with him throughout his life, and was always keen to retain his links to the School. He frequently looked out for former Bell Baxter pupils in whatever endeavour they followed, particularly in sport. His love of sport that blossomed at Bell Baxter continued throughout his life, through continuing to play a variety of sports after leaving school and in following his favourite teams, primarily the Scotland rugby team in later years.
After leaving Bell Baxter he went on to study architecture at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design in Dundee from 1963 to 1970 during which time he met his wife Alison, marrying in 1970 in Dundee. Sandy and Alison then headed south following Sandy's architecture career to places such as Berkhamstead and Chelsea, before moving to Whitley Bay where their first daughter Christy was born in 1974. The family then moved to the Helensburgh area and the birth of daughter Linsey and son Michael followed, and the Helensburgh area has remained the family home ever since.
Sandy's great love was his family and he was immensely proud of his children and grandchildren, and he was adored as ‘Dad' and ‘Papa' by all. While his career and his life took him away from his beloved Fife, which he often spoke fondly of as ‘God's Country', he was seldom happier than when back in Fife, particularly in his beloved St Andrews with his family. Sandy was, and always will be, a Fifer, a Freuchie boy, and a Bell Baxter boy at heart.
He is survived and dearly missed by his wife Alison, daughters Christy and Linsey, son Michael and grandchildren James, Lucy, Rory, Harry, Lois and Martha.
Contributed by his son-in-law, Phil Addison.
He was a natural sportsman and athlete performing at national level in the triple jump and was also BBHS football captain in 1962-3.
A full obituary will appear in Newsletter Issue 53 and this will appear later in Bell Baxter Lives.
From Newsletter #53:
Alexander ‘Sandy' Houston (1957) was born at home in the village of Freuchie in 1944. An only child, he attended the local primary school before attending Bell Baxter.
While at Bell Baxter he captained the football team, played for the rugby team and represented the school in the Scottish schools finals for the triple jump and 100 yard sprint. He was hugely popular and had a great pride in being a former pupil that stayed with him throughout his life, and was always keen to retain his links to the School. He frequently looked out for former Bell Baxter pupils in whatever endeavour they followed, particularly in sport. His love of sport that blossomed at Bell Baxter continued throughout his life, through continuing to play a variety of sports after leaving school and in following his favourite teams, primarily the Scotland rugby team in later years.
After leaving Bell Baxter he went on to study architecture at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design in Dundee from 1963 to 1970 during which time he met his wife Alison, marrying in 1970 in Dundee. Sandy and Alison then headed south following Sandy's architecture career to places such as Berkhamstead and Chelsea, before moving to Whitley Bay where their first daughter Christy was born in 1974. The family then moved to the Helensburgh area and the birth of daughter Linsey and son Michael followed, and the Helensburgh area has remained the family home ever since.
Sandy's great love was his family and he was immensely proud of his children and grandchildren, and he was adored as ‘Dad' and ‘Papa' by all. While his career and his life took him away from his beloved Fife, which he often spoke fondly of as ‘God's Country', he was seldom happier than when back in Fife, particularly in his beloved St Andrews with his family. Sandy was, and always will be, a Fifer, a Freuchie boy, and a Bell Baxter boy at heart.
He is survived and dearly missed by his wife Alison, daughters Christy and Linsey, son Michael and grandchildren James, Lucy, Rory, Harry, Lois and Martha.
Contributed by his son-in-law, Phil Addison.
David Arnott
David Arnot (1964) died on 29th April, in hospital. He studied statistics and after graduating, he pursued his career in Ayr College where he remained for much of his career. He is survived by his wife, one son and one daughter.
Alexander K Hood
Alexander (Sandy) Hood (1943) died suddenly, at home on 7th April 2017. Sandy’s life was devoted to music. He graduated Bachelor of Music from Edinburgh University’s Reid School of Music and undertook post graduate study at the Musikhochschule in Hamburg. He did his National Service in the Royal Army Education Corps and spent his working life teaching in Fife, latterly at Kirkcaldy High School, from where he took early retirement in 1987. He was a lifelong resident of Leslie and an active member of Leslie Trinity Church. He remained single and is survived by his niece.
Donald Baird
Donald Baird (1938) in April, suddenly, at home. Donald took a Law Degree on leaving school. He set up his own legal business in Cupar and for a time was the Town Clerk. He was a keen golfer, but his principal interest was in music, particularly Opera. He travelled widely to follow this interest and had a vast collection of records and CDs. His eyesight had been failing for a number of years. He married later in life but was sadly predeceased by his wife. He is survived by his daughter.
Elizabeth Armstrong
Miss Betty Armstrong (1940) of Markinch died on 21 February 2017.
From Newsletter #52:
Miss Elizabeth (Betty) Armstrong (1940), in February, peacefully, in care. Betty went to Moray House to train as a Primary School Teacher and took up a teaching post in Markinch Primary School where she taught for her entire career. Betty had very strong Orcadian connections and that was her frequent holiday destination. She was a kenspeckle figure as she made her way north on the scooter which was her pride and joy for many years. She was very musical and was a member of the local church choir in Leslie Trinity Church and an active member in many other ways. Betty loved animals and was a keen gardener.
From Newsletter #52:
Miss Elizabeth (Betty) Armstrong (1940), in February, peacefully, in care. Betty went to Moray House to train as a Primary School Teacher and took up a teaching post in Markinch Primary School where she taught for her entire career. Betty had very strong Orcadian connections and that was her frequent holiday destination. She was a kenspeckle figure as she made her way north on the scooter which was her pride and joy for many years. She was very musical and was a member of the local church choir in Leslie Trinity Church and an active member in many other ways. Betty loved animals and was a keen gardener.
Robert Houston
Bobby Houston died peacefully at home surrounded by his family on Sunday 19th February 2017. He was aged 70. He is survived by his wife Elsie and children Wendy, Brenda, Penny and Mike. The cremation service will be private followed by a Service of Thanksgiving in Cupar Old and St Michael of Tarvit Parish Church in Kirkgate, Cupar at 11 am on Wednesday 1st March.
From Newsletter #52:
Robert (Bobby) Houston (late 1950s) after a short illness. Bobby was a member of the family who owned the local Iron Foundry and made his career there. He was a skilled craftsman himself and was well known for his ornate iron work. For many years he was in charge of the Property work at Cupar Old Parish Church, where he was an Elder. He frequently organised charity events in the garden of his own home. He is survived by his wife, 2 daughters and a son.
From Newsletter #52:
Robert (Bobby) Houston (late 1950s) after a short illness. Bobby was a member of the family who owned the local Iron Foundry and made his career there. He was a skilled craftsman himself and was well known for his ornate iron work. For many years he was in charge of the Property work at Cupar Old Parish Church, where he was an Elder. He frequently organised charity events in the garden of his own home. He is survived by his wife, 2 daughters and a son.
William Robert Oliver
Dr Bert Oliver, aged 90, retired physics lecturer of St Andrews, died at Lomond View Nursing Home, Falkland, on 17 February 2017. His funeral service will take place at Kirkcaldy Crematorium on Wednesday 1 March. at 11.45 am.
Catherine Ruddiman
Catherine Ruddiman (Mrs Berwick, 1956) died in February. She had been suffering from a chronic lung condition. Catherine worked at the Adamson Hospital for a number of years and had been Treasurer of the League of Friends. She was a popular figure in Cupar and is survived by her husband, daughter and granddaughter.
Eleanor Christie
The funeral of Mrs Eleanor Melvin, who taught mathematics at Bell Baxter in the 1980s and early 90s, will take place on 20 January 2017 at 11 a.m. in Invergowrie Church, Errol Road, Invergowrie, thereafter interment in Birkhill Cemetery at 12 15 p.m., to which all family and friends are respectfully invited. Family flowers only, please, but donations, if so desired, may be given in aid of Rare Dementia Support.
From Newsletter #52:
Mrs Eleanor Melvin (née Christie) on 9th January, after a very long and distressing illness. Eleanor taught Maths first in Grove Academy and then in Bell Baxter. She was an enthusiastic hill walker as long as she was able and enjoyed travel to other countries. She married late in life, towards the end of her teaching career. Sadly she became ill not long after she married.
From Newsletter #52:
Mrs Eleanor Melvin (née Christie) on 9th January, after a very long and distressing illness. Eleanor taught Maths first in Grove Academy and then in Bell Baxter. She was an enthusiastic hill walker as long as she was able and enjoyed travel to other countries. She married late in life, towards the end of her teaching career. Sadly she became ill not long after she married.
Sheila B R Scott
Sheila Scott (1945) died on 8 January in St Andrews House Care home. Sheila, who was unmarried, was a former FPA committee member. Funeral service at Kirkcaldy Crematorium on Thursday, January 26, at 11.45 a.m., to which all family and friends are respectfully invited. Family flowers only, please.
From Newsletter #52:
Miss Sheila B R Scott (1945) on 8 January. On leaving school, Sheila went to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary to train as a nurse. On completing her training she pursued her career as a Principal Nursing Officer in one of the major London hospitals. When she retired, she returned to live in Kingsbarns. She was involved actively in several organisations, serving on the committees of the NE Fife branch of the National Trust and the Pelican Club for retired nurses who trained in Edinburgh. She served as a committee member of the FP Association from 2007-2010..
From Newsletter #52:
Miss Sheila B R Scott (1945) on 8 January. On leaving school, Sheila went to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary to train as a nurse. On completing her training she pursued her career as a Principal Nursing Officer in one of the major London hospitals. When she retired, she returned to live in Kingsbarns. She was involved actively in several organisations, serving on the committees of the NE Fife branch of the National Trust and the Pelican Club for retired nurses who trained in Edinburgh. She served as a committee member of the FP Association from 2007-2010..
James M Lindsay
James Lindsay (1958) of Kirkcaldy died in December 2016.
John Hart
John Hart (1946) died last month. He had been living lately in a care home in St Andrews.
From Newsletter #52:
John Hart (1946) died in December. John’s career was with Shell Oil Company and it took him to many parts of the world. He settled back in Fife in retirement. He was a member of the FP Association Committee for a number of years.
From Newsletter #52:
John Hart (1946) died in December. John’s career was with Shell Oil Company and it took him to many parts of the world. He settled back in Fife in retirement. He was a member of the FP Association Committee for a number of years.
Ian Paton
Ian Paton was a pupil at Bell Baxter in the 60s. He died in a fire in his flat in Bermondsey, London, a few days before Christmas 2016. The incident was widely reported in national media.
From Newsletter #52:
Ian Paton (1962) died on 20 December 2016. Ian died in a fire in his flat in Bermondsey, London, and the incident was widely reported in the media. The précis that follows is taken from the London Evening Standard:
A top barrister and part-time judge who died after a blaze ripped through his Thames-side apartment was a ‘true gentleman’, friends said today (23 December 2016).
Ian Paton, 66, a criminal prosecutor who also sat as a crown court recorder, was in his third-floor flat in Luna House,Bermondsey Wall West, when fire broke out.
Mr Paton, who worked for QEB Hollis Whiteman Chambers, was pulled from the flames by firefighters but pronounced dead shortly after.
Sources said the blaze, which happened at about 5.30pm on Tuesday (20 December), had been investigated to ensure it was not connected to his work and to rule out a revenge attack. Mr Paton’s prosecutions had led to several criminals being jailed.
Friend and former colleague Sally Mertens, 46, a barrister at Atkinson Bevan Chambers, said: ‘He was really well respected, a true gentleman and very fair towards people as a prosecutor. He was a lovely guy and a very good barrister. He also sat as a judge part-time, as a recorder. He worked on a lot of stuff, from murders to frauds.
‘He was a pleasure to work with. It’s incredibly sad. He was incredibly well respected among his colleagues. Being at QEB Chambers, you’re talking about one of the top five to be with, so he was at the top of his game.’
Barrister John Traversi, of 9 Bedford Row Chambers, added: ‘We started at the Bar at about the same time. He was a very bright, capable and unyielding prosecutor. He was hugely respected.
‘Anybody who came across him in court representing the other side knew they would be up against it. He was a formidable opponent and it’s a huge loss to the profession.’
A family friend, who wished not to be named, said: ‘Everyone is devastated. He was a great man who had a young daughter and this is terrible just before Christmas.’ His daughter was too upset to speak.
His Chambers, QEB Hollis Whiteman, posted the following notice:
‘It is with great sadness that we announce that Ian Paton passed away on Tuesday 20th December. Our thoughts are with Ian’s family, Elizabeth and Alexandra, at this extremely difficult time. Ian was a kind, generous, witty, wise, great and defining member of QEB and he shall be terribly missed.
From Newsletter #52:
Ian Paton (1962) died on 20 December 2016. Ian died in a fire in his flat in Bermondsey, London, and the incident was widely reported in the media. The précis that follows is taken from the London Evening Standard:
A top barrister and part-time judge who died after a blaze ripped through his Thames-side apartment was a ‘true gentleman’, friends said today (23 December 2016).
Ian Paton, 66, a criminal prosecutor who also sat as a crown court recorder, was in his third-floor flat in Luna House,Bermondsey Wall West, when fire broke out.
Mr Paton, who worked for QEB Hollis Whiteman Chambers, was pulled from the flames by firefighters but pronounced dead shortly after.
Sources said the blaze, which happened at about 5.30pm on Tuesday (20 December), had been investigated to ensure it was not connected to his work and to rule out a revenge attack. Mr Paton’s prosecutions had led to several criminals being jailed.
Friend and former colleague Sally Mertens, 46, a barrister at Atkinson Bevan Chambers, said: ‘He was really well respected, a true gentleman and very fair towards people as a prosecutor. He was a lovely guy and a very good barrister. He also sat as a judge part-time, as a recorder. He worked on a lot of stuff, from murders to frauds.
‘He was a pleasure to work with. It’s incredibly sad. He was incredibly well respected among his colleagues. Being at QEB Chambers, you’re talking about one of the top five to be with, so he was at the top of his game.’
Barrister John Traversi, of 9 Bedford Row Chambers, added: ‘We started at the Bar at about the same time. He was a very bright, capable and unyielding prosecutor. He was hugely respected.
‘Anybody who came across him in court representing the other side knew they would be up against it. He was a formidable opponent and it’s a huge loss to the profession.’
A family friend, who wished not to be named, said: ‘Everyone is devastated. He was a great man who had a young daughter and this is terrible just before Christmas.’ His daughter was too upset to speak.
His Chambers, QEB Hollis Whiteman, posted the following notice:
‘It is with great sadness that we announce that Ian Paton passed away on Tuesday 20th December. Our thoughts are with Ian’s family, Elizabeth and Alexandra, at this extremely difficult time. Ian was a kind, generous, witty, wise, great and defining member of QEB and he shall be terribly missed.
Eileen W Scotland
We have just learned of the death of Mrs Eileen Adams of Woodriffe Farm, Newburgh. She entered Bell Baxter in 1937 and attended Dunfermline College of Hygiene and Physical Education before teaching in Perth. She was predeceased by her husband and is survived by her son and daughter.
Kathleen Morrison
Mrs Kathleen Rodger, widow of Tom Rodger, died in December 2016. Kathleen was a pupil in the 40s. She graduated MA from St Andrews and taught in a number of Fife schools.
From Newsletter #52:
Kathleen Rodger (1940) (née Morrison) died on 4th December after many years of declining health. She was predeceased by her husband Tom. In retirement Kathleen became very actively involved in the Aberfeldy Mill, which was owned by the Rodgers’ Mills Company and which was restored to active use and became a well-known place of interest for visitors to the town.
From Newsletter #52:
Kathleen Rodger (1940) (née Morrison) died on 4th December after many years of declining health. She was predeceased by her husband Tom. In retirement Kathleen became very actively involved in the Aberfeldy Mill, which was owned by the Rodgers’ Mills Company and which was restored to active use and became a well-known place of interest for visitors to the town.
John Allan Stewart
Allan Stewart died after a short illness on 7 December 2016. He was 74. Allan was School Captain in 1959-60 and joint Dux of School. A former Conservative MP, he retired from politics a number of years ago. An appreciation of his life will be published in Newsletter #52, May 2017.
From Newsletter #52:
Allan Stewart (1954) died on 7 December 2016. This appreciation of his life was sent in by a former classmate, Derek Barrie.
The captain of Bell-Baxter 1959-60 Allan Stewart has died at his home in Neilston in Renfrewshire aged 74. In an era when bursary and scholarship exams were frequently sat and won Allan was rewarded with the most prestigious award – a Harkness Scholarship.
He then attended the University of St Andrews from which he graduated with a first class honours degree in political economy. During his third year he was elected as president of the Students’ Representative Council, much of his time being devoted to the pending ‘divorce’ of Queen’s College to establish the University of Dundee. After graduation Allan spent a year in the United States on a Rotary scholarship to Harvard.
On his return to the UK he took up a lectureship in the political economy department at St Andrews serving under the indomitable Professor Wilkie Nisbet. He was also Warden of John Burnet Hall (previously the Atholl Hotel) where he was very popular with his student charges.
It was at this stage in his career that Allan Stewart moved out of the public sector and took up an appointment in London with the Confederation of British Industries (CBI). as head of its regional development department. During his time in London he won the conservative nomination to the candidature for a ward on Bromley Council defeating his short-listed opponent – John Major – by one vote. This can be seen as the tentative start to his political career. He then returned north of the border still in the employ of the CBI but now as its Scottish Secretary and later Scottish Director.
Allan’s first foray into national politics came when he contested Dundee East in the 1970 General Election, coming within a credible 6% of George Thomson one of Labour’s ‘big hitters’ in Scotland. He was virtually assured of a seat in the Commons when he was selected to succeed the formidable Betty Harvie Anderson as conservative candidate for East Renfrewshire (later known as Eastwood). With a massive 49.9% share of votes cast he took his seat in 1979 which he comfortably retained in 1983, 1987 and 1992. In the latter he achieved the biggest swing of any Tory MP seeking re-election. This was a tribute to his assiduous work as a constituency MP.
He held office as a government minister on two occasions. On both he served as an under-secretary of state in the Scottish Office with responsibility at various times for health, home affairs and environment in the first instance and then industry and education. Allan did not contest Eastwood in the General Election in 1997 on grounds of ill health at the relatively early age of 55. The seat was a conservative loss with a massive 14% swing to Labour’s Jim Murphy. An ancillary reason for standing down must have been his fine for breach of the peace when he confronted a group of anti-motorway protestors wielding a pick axe. Many politicians have fallen on their swords. This is the only recorded example of a politician falling on his pick axe.
Allan Stewart had a reputation for being flamboyant. This picture of him was enhanced by his signature feature of ‘mutton chops’. In 1997 he stood down from active politics. His only involvement seems to have been grassroots activities in Eastwood such as leaflet delivery. In his later years he spent a great deal of his time at his flat on the island of Minorca. His last years saw a debilitating illness – a sad end to an eventful, worthwhile yet colourful career. He will be remembered with affection by all who knew him.
Allan is survived by his wife Susie whom he married in 1974, his son Jack and his daughter Rosa.
A thanksgiving service was held in a packed Neilston Parish Church on the 21st December 2016
From Newsletter #52:
Allan Stewart (1954) died on 7 December 2016. This appreciation of his life was sent in by a former classmate, Derek Barrie.
The captain of Bell-Baxter 1959-60 Allan Stewart has died at his home in Neilston in Renfrewshire aged 74. In an era when bursary and scholarship exams were frequently sat and won Allan was rewarded with the most prestigious award – a Harkness Scholarship.
He then attended the University of St Andrews from which he graduated with a first class honours degree in political economy. During his third year he was elected as president of the Students’ Representative Council, much of his time being devoted to the pending ‘divorce’ of Queen’s College to establish the University of Dundee. After graduation Allan spent a year in the United States on a Rotary scholarship to Harvard.
On his return to the UK he took up a lectureship in the political economy department at St Andrews serving under the indomitable Professor Wilkie Nisbet. He was also Warden of John Burnet Hall (previously the Atholl Hotel) where he was very popular with his student charges.
It was at this stage in his career that Allan Stewart moved out of the public sector and took up an appointment in London with the Confederation of British Industries (CBI). as head of its regional development department. During his time in London he won the conservative nomination to the candidature for a ward on Bromley Council defeating his short-listed opponent – John Major – by one vote. This can be seen as the tentative start to his political career. He then returned north of the border still in the employ of the CBI but now as its Scottish Secretary and later Scottish Director.
Allan’s first foray into national politics came when he contested Dundee East in the 1970 General Election, coming within a credible 6% of George Thomson one of Labour’s ‘big hitters’ in Scotland. He was virtually assured of a seat in the Commons when he was selected to succeed the formidable Betty Harvie Anderson as conservative candidate for East Renfrewshire (later known as Eastwood). With a massive 49.9% share of votes cast he took his seat in 1979 which he comfortably retained in 1983, 1987 and 1992. In the latter he achieved the biggest swing of any Tory MP seeking re-election. This was a tribute to his assiduous work as a constituency MP.
He held office as a government minister on two occasions. On both he served as an under-secretary of state in the Scottish Office with responsibility at various times for health, home affairs and environment in the first instance and then industry and education. Allan did not contest Eastwood in the General Election in 1997 on grounds of ill health at the relatively early age of 55. The seat was a conservative loss with a massive 14% swing to Labour’s Jim Murphy. An ancillary reason for standing down must have been his fine for breach of the peace when he confronted a group of anti-motorway protestors wielding a pick axe. Many politicians have fallen on their swords. This is the only recorded example of a politician falling on his pick axe.
Allan Stewart had a reputation for being flamboyant. This picture of him was enhanced by his signature feature of ‘mutton chops’. In 1997 he stood down from active politics. His only involvement seems to have been grassroots activities in Eastwood such as leaflet delivery. In his later years he spent a great deal of his time at his flat on the island of Minorca. His last years saw a debilitating illness – a sad end to an eventful, worthwhile yet colourful career. He will be remembered with affection by all who knew him.
Allan is survived by his wife Susie whom he married in 1974, his son Jack and his daughter Rosa.
A thanksgiving service was held in a packed Neilston Parish Church on the 21st December 2016
Iain Murray White
Iain White (1956) died after a short illness on 19 October 2016. He was 72. An account of his life will appear in the next update of Bell Baxter Lives, and a tribute was published in Newsletter Issue 51.
From Newsletter #51:
Iain Murray White (1956) died on 19 October after a short illness. He was 72. Sylvia Thomson (née Kyle) (1958) has written a tribute which has been published online in Bell Baxter Lives. Here is an extract.
Iain spent a short time in London after leaving Music College, then moved back to Scotland where he taught violin in Central Region schools. He quickly became heavily involved in helping with and conducting the many orchestras and bands in the area. He then took up the post of Music Administrator which allowed his formidable organisational skills to come to the fore. He spent many years organising timetables, residentials and foreign trips, at the same time dealing with administraton for all the orchestras.
Always close to Iain’s heart was Scottish traditional fiddle music and he initiated an annual Fiddlers’ Gathering for string pupils. He was responsible for organising an annual course for amateur musicians which took place in St Andrews for many years. He was also a member of the Royal Scottish Dancing Society, participating enthusiastically in many of their events.
Of course, he loved playing and was leader of the Rosenethe Orchestra. Until very recently he enjoyed playing in string quartets with friends in Glasgow. He served on the committee of the Central Counties Music Festival, and the Bridge of Allan Music Club was another great interest.
He had many contacts from his early days in London where he had worked at both the Wigmore and Festival Halls. He was to use his legendary charm to persuade musicians of international standing to come and perform at the McRobert Centre in Stirling University. Once, by coincidence, when I was in London for a few days, I bumped into Iain on the bridge leading to the Festival Hall. I was on my way to a concert and he was off to the same concert but in the role of page-turner! He was greatly in demand as a page-turner and was delighted when the great Elisabeth Schwarzkopf rated him so highly that she insisted he also took a bow after her recital!
On retiring from Central Region, Iain made his home in Glasgow where he took up a post with the Pipe Band Association before moving to the Scottish Qualifications Authority. During that time he joined Glasgow Cathedral and became an elder.
About six years ago he decided to return to Stirling to the delight of his many friends there and became a member of the Church of the Holy Rude. He joined the choir and took on the rôle of Session Clerk.
In what was left of his spare time, Iain loved to travel and was very good at keeping in touch with the friends he had made throughout his life. He was well-known for his outspokenness and did not suffer fools gladly. However, his enthusiasm, his work ethic, his compassion, his charm and his wonderful dry sense of humour will be very much missed by everyone whose lives he touched.
From Newsletter #51:
Iain Murray White (1956) died on 19 October after a short illness. He was 72. Sylvia Thomson (née Kyle) (1958) has written a tribute which has been published online in Bell Baxter Lives. Here is an extract.
Iain spent a short time in London after leaving Music College, then moved back to Scotland where he taught violin in Central Region schools. He quickly became heavily involved in helping with and conducting the many orchestras and bands in the area. He then took up the post of Music Administrator which allowed his formidable organisational skills to come to the fore. He spent many years organising timetables, residentials and foreign trips, at the same time dealing with administraton for all the orchestras.
Always close to Iain’s heart was Scottish traditional fiddle music and he initiated an annual Fiddlers’ Gathering for string pupils. He was responsible for organising an annual course for amateur musicians which took place in St Andrews for many years. He was also a member of the Royal Scottish Dancing Society, participating enthusiastically in many of their events.
Of course, he loved playing and was leader of the Rosenethe Orchestra. Until very recently he enjoyed playing in string quartets with friends in Glasgow. He served on the committee of the Central Counties Music Festival, and the Bridge of Allan Music Club was another great interest.
He had many contacts from his early days in London where he had worked at both the Wigmore and Festival Halls. He was to use his legendary charm to persuade musicians of international standing to come and perform at the McRobert Centre in Stirling University. Once, by coincidence, when I was in London for a few days, I bumped into Iain on the bridge leading to the Festival Hall. I was on my way to a concert and he was off to the same concert but in the role of page-turner! He was greatly in demand as a page-turner and was delighted when the great Elisabeth Schwarzkopf rated him so highly that she insisted he also took a bow after her recital!
On retiring from Central Region, Iain made his home in Glasgow where he took up a post with the Pipe Band Association before moving to the Scottish Qualifications Authority. During that time he joined Glasgow Cathedral and became an elder.
About six years ago he decided to return to Stirling to the delight of his many friends there and became a member of the Church of the Holy Rude. He joined the choir and took on the rôle of Session Clerk.
In what was left of his spare time, Iain loved to travel and was very good at keeping in touch with the friends he had made throughout his life. He was well-known for his outspokenness and did not suffer fools gladly. However, his enthusiasm, his work ethic, his compassion, his charm and his wonderful dry sense of humour will be very much missed by everyone whose lives he touched.
Robert McQuilton
Robert McQuilton died very suddenly in September 2016 while on holiday on the Isle of Man. He is survived by his wife, Janet, and two sons and a daughter.
Angus McLellan
Angus McLellan died peacefully in Victoria Hospital after a long illness borne with courage and humour. Gus ran a very successful hairdresser’s business in Cupar for many years. He was a keen golfer. He is survived by his wife, Moira.
Raymond Morison Davis
Raymond Davis (1952) died suddenly on 26 August 2016. He was 78. Ray was a keen member of Auchtermuchty Air Training Squadron and joined the Royal Air Force as an apprentice on leaving School. He won one of the top prizes on his apprenticeship course and was interviewed for a commission on graduation. The interview did not go well, however, and he completed his training as an instrument fitter and joined the engineering wing at RAF Kinloss, working on Shackleton maritime patrol aircraft. He was a member of the RAF Kinloss Mountain Rescue Team.
Ray served for two tours at Kinloss, separated by two years in Aden. He then transferred to 74 Squadron at RAF Leuchars, working on Lightning aircraft, and moved with the squadron when it deployed to RAF Tengah, Singapore, in 1967.
On his return to the UK, Ray changed aircraft to the Victor tanker, based at RAF Marham in Nofolk. His final posting before retiring from the Royal Air Force was as a chief technician at the Central Servicing Development Establishment at RAF Swanton Morley, also in Norfolk.
He worked for a number of civilian firms in an engineering consultancy capacity.
Ray was predeceased by a son from his first marriage and is survived by his third wife and 2 brothers. He lived in Hampshire for the last 20 years or so of his life.
Ray served for two tours at Kinloss, separated by two years in Aden. He then transferred to 74 Squadron at RAF Leuchars, working on Lightning aircraft, and moved with the squadron when it deployed to RAF Tengah, Singapore, in 1967.
On his return to the UK, Ray changed aircraft to the Victor tanker, based at RAF Marham in Nofolk. His final posting before retiring from the Royal Air Force was as a chief technician at the Central Servicing Development Establishment at RAF Swanton Morley, also in Norfolk.
He worked for a number of civilian firms in an engineering consultancy capacity.
Ray was predeceased by a son from his first marriage and is survived by his third wife and 2 brothers. He lived in Hampshire for the last 20 years or so of his life.
Charles Imlach
Chic Imlach (1956) died peacefully on 28 July. He was 72. The funeral service took place at Kirkcaldy Crematorium on Tuesday 9 August 2016.
Mary Hay
Mrs Mary McAra (1943) died in Craighead Nursing Home, Dundee on 31 May 2016. She was 84.
From Newsletter #51:
Mrs Mary McAra (née Hay) (1943) died on 31 May aged 84 years at Craighead Nursing Home, Newport-on-Tay. Mary trained at Moray House Teacher Training College when she left School and began her career in Springfield School. After marriage to Bill she gave up teaching to bring up her family and returned later to teaching at Castlehill. She had many interests and skills. She was actively involved with Cupar Amateur Opera Company for many years and sang also with Cupar Choral Society. She was artistic and a long-term member of Cupar Floral Art Society. Sadly, the last few years of her life were spent in care after she developed dementia. She was predeceased five years ago by her husband, Bill and is survived by her son and daughter, Ken and Lucy.
From Newsletter #51:
Mrs Mary McAra (née Hay) (1943) died on 31 May aged 84 years at Craighead Nursing Home, Newport-on-Tay. Mary trained at Moray House Teacher Training College when she left School and began her career in Springfield School. After marriage to Bill she gave up teaching to bring up her family and returned later to teaching at Castlehill. She had many interests and skills. She was actively involved with Cupar Amateur Opera Company for many years and sang also with Cupar Choral Society. She was artistic and a long-term member of Cupar Floral Art Society. Sadly, the last few years of her life were spent in care after she developed dementia. She was predeceased five years ago by her husband, Bill and is survived by her son and daughter, Ken and Lucy.
Robin Brotherton
Robin Brotherton (1948) died in May 2016. He lived in Kingskettle and is survived by his wife, Lorna. Robin's father was the minister of Cupar Old Parish Church and a School Chaplain.
Anne Downie
Mrs Anne Manson died suddenly in the early hours of Sunday 8 May 2016. Anne was the eldest daughter of English teacher Jimmy Downie and was Dux of School in 1959. She graduated with honours from the University of St Andrews and then took a diploma in education. She taught chemistry at Buckhaven High school. Anne is survived by her husband Joe, a former Chairman of the FP Association and its Membership Secretary for many years.
William Morison Melville
William Morison Melville passed away at the age of 71 on 29 April 2016. He was a beautiful child, with golden curls, blue eyes and an angelic smile. That smile never left Willie, even through his decades-long battle with kidney problems. His sense of humor and zest for life were infectious. His enduring cheerfulness was the subject of constant comment.
Willie came from Balmullo Primary School to Bell-Baxter High School in 1957. When he left school in 1962, he was Dux in Agriculture, being awarded the Elgin Silver Ruler. He attended the East of Scotland Agricultural College in Edinburgh before coming back to join his father in running the farms of Cuplahillls and Lucklaw.
In his younger days, Willie was very active in the Bell-Baxter Agricultural Discussion Society, especially enjoying performing in comedic skits at their annual concert. He played soccer for the young farmers' club and rugby with the Howe of Fife RFC, but excelled at golf and curling. He was an enthusiastic member of the Farmers 70 Golf League and the Leuchars Curling Club.
Willie was a good steward of his land, favouring a sound arable rotation. He kept pesticide use to a minimum to protect wildlife as much as possible. His love of the land prompted him to plant two native woodlands as a way of leaving a positive mark on the landscape and of giving back to nature. These woodlands are very popular with the local community and well used by walkers, bikers and cyclists. When he was robbed of his mobility, nothing brought him more pleasure than riding through the woods on his quad bike.
Willie was keen to ensure that his farm was open and accessible to the public. Schoolchildren from Balmullo regularly visit Willie's Wood as part of their curriculum. In 2009 Willie was recognized as Balmullo's person of the year. He was presented with the George Gray Trophy, in recognition for the services he had provided the village of Balmullo throughout his lifetime. His farm is now in the capable hands of his son, Stephen, who shares his love of nature.
In his later years, Wille's physical limitations did not deter him from leading an active life. He was always happiest on the farm, keeping an eye on the land. Once into retirement, Willie, on his quad bike, accompanied by his trusty Labrador, performed the daily ritual of feeding and watering the hundreds of birds that visited his feeders. He enjoyed observing the ever-changing farming landscape whilst on day trips through the East Neuk and up north to Dunkeld. Willie took great pride in his grandchildren, spending as much time as possible with them.
Willie is survived by Zibby, wife of 41 years, who has been a constant source of strength; three children, Johanna (part of Bell-Baxter's school management team), Stephen and wife Amanda, and Nichola and husband John Paul; six grandchildren; and siblings, Marie and Ron.
Willie came from Balmullo Primary School to Bell-Baxter High School in 1957. When he left school in 1962, he was Dux in Agriculture, being awarded the Elgin Silver Ruler. He attended the East of Scotland Agricultural College in Edinburgh before coming back to join his father in running the farms of Cuplahillls and Lucklaw.
In his younger days, Willie was very active in the Bell-Baxter Agricultural Discussion Society, especially enjoying performing in comedic skits at their annual concert. He played soccer for the young farmers' club and rugby with the Howe of Fife RFC, but excelled at golf and curling. He was an enthusiastic member of the Farmers 70 Golf League and the Leuchars Curling Club.
Willie was a good steward of his land, favouring a sound arable rotation. He kept pesticide use to a minimum to protect wildlife as much as possible. His love of the land prompted him to plant two native woodlands as a way of leaving a positive mark on the landscape and of giving back to nature. These woodlands are very popular with the local community and well used by walkers, bikers and cyclists. When he was robbed of his mobility, nothing brought him more pleasure than riding through the woods on his quad bike.
Willie was keen to ensure that his farm was open and accessible to the public. Schoolchildren from Balmullo regularly visit Willie's Wood as part of their curriculum. In 2009 Willie was recognized as Balmullo's person of the year. He was presented with the George Gray Trophy, in recognition for the services he had provided the village of Balmullo throughout his lifetime. His farm is now in the capable hands of his son, Stephen, who shares his love of nature.
In his later years, Wille's physical limitations did not deter him from leading an active life. He was always happiest on the farm, keeping an eye on the land. Once into retirement, Willie, on his quad bike, accompanied by his trusty Labrador, performed the daily ritual of feeding and watering the hundreds of birds that visited his feeders. He enjoyed observing the ever-changing farming landscape whilst on day trips through the East Neuk and up north to Dunkeld. Willie took great pride in his grandchildren, spending as much time as possible with them.
Willie is survived by Zibby, wife of 41 years, who has been a constant source of strength; three children, Johanna (part of Bell-Baxter's school management team), Stephen and wife Amanda, and Nichola and husband John Paul; six grandchildren; and siblings, Marie and Ron.
Wilma Hastings
From The Courier of 26 February 2016:
Tribute has been paid to a Cupar teacher who died suddenly at the age of 60.Wilma Hastings taught for 24 years at Castlehill Primary School.
She retired two years ago but had returned as a voluntary classroom assistant.
Former head teacher Carol Opdahl described Mrs Hastings as a truly gifted teacher, respected colleague and amazing friend who would be remembered with a smile.
She said: “She touched the lives of many and made a tremendous difference.”
Mrs Hastings attended Castlehill School herself and Bell Baxter High School before training to be a teacher, embarking on her career in 1975.
She taught at Methilhill, Balmullo and Dairsie primary schools before joining the Castlehill team in 1990, specialising in early-years education.
Mrs Opdahl said: “Her commitment, dedication, interest, enthusiasm and determination to give and develop respect and success were of the highest standard.
“Wilma created a warm, safe and interesting environment for her children to learn and they, in turn, thrived under her care and loved her welcoming, inspirational and nurturing ways.
“Her kindness, empathy and thoughtfulness went beyond the classroom to make life easier for children.”
Mrs Hastings, who was an active member of Cupar Old and St Michael of Tarvit Parish Church and its choir, is survived by her husband Bob and daughter Katherine.
From the Fife Herald of 26 February 2016:
Tribute has been paid to a Cupar teacher who died suddenly at the age of 60.Wilma Hastings taught for 24 years at Castlehill Primary School.
She retired two years ago but had returned as a voluntary classroom assistant.
Former head teacher Carol Opdahl described Mrs Hastings as a truly gifted teacher, respected colleague and amazing friend who would be remembered with a smile.
She said: “She touched the lives of many and made a tremendous difference.”
Mrs Hastings attended Castlehill School herself and Bell Baxter High School before training to be a teacher, embarking on her career in 1975.
She taught at Methilhill, Balmullo and Dairsie primary schools before joining the Castlehill team in 1990, specialising in early-years education.
Mrs Opdahl said: “Her commitment, dedication, interest, enthusiasm and determination to give and develop respect and success were of the highest standard.
“Wilma created a warm, safe and interesting environment for her children to learn and they, in turn, thrived under her care and loved her welcoming, inspirational and nurturing ways.
“Her kindness, empathy and thoughtfulness went beyond the classroom to make life easier for children.”
Mrs Hastings, who was an active member of Cupar Old and St Michael of Tarvit Parish Church and its choir, is survived by her husband Bob and daughter Katherine.
From the Fife Herald of 26 February 2016:
Isabel Logan
The death of Isabel Logan was announced in the Courier on 22 February 2016.
From Newsletter #50:
Mrs Isabel Flower (née Logan) in hospital in France, aged 77, on 18th February 2016. Isabel was Head Girl in 1956. She went on to study for her MA degree in Languages at St Andrews University, where she met her future husband John Flower. They married in 1961 and had three sons. While her husband had the chair in French at three different universities, Isabel taught French and German until their last move in 1997. After divorce in 1998 she moved to France, where they had bought a holiday home some years before. She enjoyed gardening, in a fairly large but natural garden, bridge playing and singing in two different choirs. She is survived by her sons. The eldest is an international negotiator with Deloittes, her middle son a translator and teacher of English to French students in Lyon and the youngest is in the French horn business in London. She had six grand-daughters.
From Newsletter #50:
Mrs Isabel Flower (née Logan) in hospital in France, aged 77, on 18th February 2016. Isabel was Head Girl in 1956. She went on to study for her MA degree in Languages at St Andrews University, where she met her future husband John Flower. They married in 1961 and had three sons. While her husband had the chair in French at three different universities, Isabel taught French and German until their last move in 1997. After divorce in 1998 she moved to France, where they had bought a holiday home some years before. She enjoyed gardening, in a fairly large but natural garden, bridge playing and singing in two different choirs. She is survived by her sons. The eldest is an international negotiator with Deloittes, her middle son a translator and teacher of English to French students in Lyon and the youngest is in the French horn business in London. She had six grand-daughters.
James M Dunlop
News has just reached us (22 February) that Dr Jim Dunlop has died. Jim entered BBS in 1942. He lived in East Yorkshire and was a regular contributor to our Newsletter. A full obituary is planned for the May Newsletter.
From Newsletter #50:
Dr James M Dunlop (1942) in February after a long illness. When he left School Jim joined the RAF for his National Service. Jim then started to train as an Actuary with Scottish Provident in Edinburgh. During that time he worked in the evenings at the Laboratory of the Scottish Blood Transfusion Service at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary. He then studied Medicine at Trinity College, Dublin, graduating MA MB BCh BAO. While he was an Assistant GP in Stirling in 1962, he became interested in Public Health and was sponsored to study at Glasgow University from which he graduated DPH DPA, his thesis relating to Blood Groups. He worked then at the County Council Public Health Department for three years. In 1966 he became Chief Assistant County Medical Officer in the North Riding of Yorkshire and for a time was Consultant in Communicable Diseases in the East Riding. This was followed by appointment as Depute Medical Officer of Health in Hull from 1970-74, also acting as Port Medical Officer of Hull and Goole, a post which he retained until 1995. In 1985 he became Director of Public Health with Hull Health Authority until he retired in 1995. During all this time he held many other appointments with local organisations and companies.
Because of his interest in the question of medical priority in housing, he became interested in the Almshouses in the area and from 1986 until 2006 he was the Regional Director.
In the course of his career he was awarded many Fellowships – the Royal College of Physicians, the Faculty of Public Health, the Royal Society of Health, the British Medical Association and published many papers in the BMA Journal and the Lancet.
An important hobby was philately, and he became a Fellow of the Royal Philatelic Society. He published numerous interesting and often amusing articles for the Society’s magazine. His other interests were writing, travelling and reading. He is survived by his wife.
From Newsletter #50:
Dr James M Dunlop (1942) in February after a long illness. When he left School Jim joined the RAF for his National Service. Jim then started to train as an Actuary with Scottish Provident in Edinburgh. During that time he worked in the evenings at the Laboratory of the Scottish Blood Transfusion Service at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary. He then studied Medicine at Trinity College, Dublin, graduating MA MB BCh BAO. While he was an Assistant GP in Stirling in 1962, he became interested in Public Health and was sponsored to study at Glasgow University from which he graduated DPH DPA, his thesis relating to Blood Groups. He worked then at the County Council Public Health Department for three years. In 1966 he became Chief Assistant County Medical Officer in the North Riding of Yorkshire and for a time was Consultant in Communicable Diseases in the East Riding. This was followed by appointment as Depute Medical Officer of Health in Hull from 1970-74, also acting as Port Medical Officer of Hull and Goole, a post which he retained until 1995. In 1985 he became Director of Public Health with Hull Health Authority until he retired in 1995. During all this time he held many other appointments with local organisations and companies.
Because of his interest in the question of medical priority in housing, he became interested in the Almshouses in the area and from 1986 until 2006 he was the Regional Director.
In the course of his career he was awarded many Fellowships – the Royal College of Physicians, the Faculty of Public Health, the Royal Society of Health, the British Medical Association and published many papers in the BMA Journal and the Lancet.
An important hobby was philately, and he became a Fellow of the Royal Philatelic Society. He published numerous interesting and often amusing articles for the Society’s magazine. His other interests were writing, travelling and reading. He is survived by his wife.
Alex G Craik
Alex G Craik (1953) died in January 2016. Alex had lived in Eaglesham near Glasgow for a number of years.
Grahame Sutherland
From The Courier of 27 November 2015:
Grahame Sutherland, a well-known character in rugby and cricket circles in Fife and the Borders, has died suddenly in hospital at the age of 55.
The former Cricket Scotland umpire, who latterly lived in Hawick, was a long-standing and popular member of Howe of Fife Rugby Club and an avid fan of both sports.
He umpired cricket matches including at junior international level and was a referee coach with the Border Rugby Referees Society.
Mr Sutherland was born in Perth in 1959 and spent his early childhood in Muthill before the family moved to Springfield.
He attended the village primary school and Bell Baxter High School, Cupar, where he began playing rugby for the school team.
He also played for Howe of Fife for a spell and was the rugby club’s match secretary and a committee member for many years.
A Scottish Court Service officer for 38 years at courts including Cupar, Dunfermline, Peebles, Jedburgh and Selkirk, he travelled far and wide for his love of sport.
His work took him from Fife to Hawick in 1992, where he was able to continue his involvement with rugby as a member of Hawick Trades, playing once for them in their final competitive match in 2004.
He leaves behind brother Gordon and sister-in-law Madge. At his funeral at Kirkcaldy Crematorium, mourners were invited to wear rugby or cricket tops or club ties.
Grahame Sutherland, a well-known character in rugby and cricket circles in Fife and the Borders, has died suddenly in hospital at the age of 55.
The former Cricket Scotland umpire, who latterly lived in Hawick, was a long-standing and popular member of Howe of Fife Rugby Club and an avid fan of both sports.
He umpired cricket matches including at junior international level and was a referee coach with the Border Rugby Referees Society.
Mr Sutherland was born in Perth in 1959 and spent his early childhood in Muthill before the family moved to Springfield.
He attended the village primary school and Bell Baxter High School, Cupar, where he began playing rugby for the school team.
He also played for Howe of Fife for a spell and was the rugby club’s match secretary and a committee member for many years.
A Scottish Court Service officer for 38 years at courts including Cupar, Dunfermline, Peebles, Jedburgh and Selkirk, he travelled far and wide for his love of sport.
His work took him from Fife to Hawick in 1992, where he was able to continue his involvement with rugby as a member of Hawick Trades, playing once for them in their final competitive match in 2004.
He leaves behind brother Gordon and sister-in-law Madge. At his funeral at Kirkcaldy Crematorium, mourners were invited to wear rugby or cricket tops or club ties.
Iain Andrews
Iain Andrews (1950), a long-term resident of Athens and Australian passport holder, died in November. He is survived by four children. We hope to publish a full obituary in the May Newsletter.
From Newsletter #50:
Iain Andrews (1950) died very suddenly at home in Greece on 22 November 2015. His family and friends circulated a fulsome appreciation of his life on 1 April 2016, which would have been his 78th birthday. It has been incorporated into his entry in Bell Baxter Lives. George Taylor, a life-long friend from Bell Baxter, included this limerick:
There was a young man from Fife
Who led such a colourful life
He was permanently ‘game’
No two days were the same
He caused mayhem, and laughter and strife.
From Newsletter #50:
Iain Andrews (1950) died very suddenly at home in Greece on 22 November 2015. His family and friends circulated a fulsome appreciation of his life on 1 April 2016, which would have been his 78th birthday. It has been incorporated into his entry in Bell Baxter Lives. George Taylor, a life-long friend from Bell Baxter, included this limerick:
There was a young man from Fife
Who led such a colourful life
He was permanently ‘game’
No two days were the same
He caused mayhem, and laughter and strife.
Ronald Walker
Ron Walker (1953), erstwhile Head of Music at Forfar Academy, was taken into hospital a few days ago with suspected pneumonia. He died of a heart attack on Saturday 20 November. A full obituary will appear in the May edition of our Newsletter.
From Newsletter #50:
Ronald Walker (1953) on 20 November 2015, suddenly, after a short illness. Ron studied music at the Scottish Royal Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow and qualified as a teacher. He returned to teach in Bell Baxter. From there he moved to be Principal Teacher of Music at St Columba’s High School in Dunfermline and then to Stranraer Academy before finally settling in Forfar. Apart from his work as a teacher, Ron will be remembered for his contribution to the musical life of Angus, where he founded the Tayside Symphony Orchestra. He stepped down as conductor of the orchestra just a few months ago. He was also a church organist, starting in Bonnygate Church in Cupar when he returned to teach in Bell Baxter. Ron is survived by his wife, Marion (whom he met when she was a Maths teacher in Bell Baxter) and two sons.
From Newsletter #50:
Ronald Walker (1953) on 20 November 2015, suddenly, after a short illness. Ron studied music at the Scottish Royal Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow and qualified as a teacher. He returned to teach in Bell Baxter. From there he moved to be Principal Teacher of Music at St Columba’s High School in Dunfermline and then to Stranraer Academy before finally settling in Forfar. Apart from his work as a teacher, Ron will be remembered for his contribution to the musical life of Angus, where he founded the Tayside Symphony Orchestra. He stepped down as conductor of the orchestra just a few months ago. He was also a church organist, starting in Bonnygate Church in Cupar when he returned to teach in Bell Baxter. Ron is survived by his wife, Marion (whom he met when she was a Maths teacher in Bell Baxter) and two sons.
Edith J Wilson
Dr Edith Pink (1943) of the Gauldry died earlier this month (November). A full obituary will appear in the May edition of our Newsletter.
From Newsletter #50:
Dr Edith Pink (née Wilson) (1943) died on 11th November 2015. Edith was Head Girl in her sixth year and then studied medicine at St Andrews University, graduating in 1955. She worked in various hospitals in Scotland before deciding to specialise in anaesthesia. In 1964 she emigrated to Canada and, we understand, figured in a photograph accompanying a newspaper article on ‘the Brain Drain’. She settled in Toronto and married in 1966, continuing to work as a Consultant. In 1969 she was awarded a Fellowhip in Anaesthesia. In 1977 she returned to Scotland to work as Consultant Anaesthetist in the new Monklands Hospital in Airdrie and at Bellshill Maternity Hospital, where she became known as ‘the Epidural Queen’ for her expertise and precision in her speciality. For health reasons Edith retired early and in 1990 she returned to Fife to live in the Gauldry. She took a great interest in family history. She was a firm believer in hard work, grit and determination. She was predeceased by her husband.
From Newsletter #50:
Dr Edith Pink (née Wilson) (1943) died on 11th November 2015. Edith was Head Girl in her sixth year and then studied medicine at St Andrews University, graduating in 1955. She worked in various hospitals in Scotland before deciding to specialise in anaesthesia. In 1964 she emigrated to Canada and, we understand, figured in a photograph accompanying a newspaper article on ‘the Brain Drain’. She settled in Toronto and married in 1966, continuing to work as a Consultant. In 1969 she was awarded a Fellowhip in Anaesthesia. In 1977 she returned to Scotland to work as Consultant Anaesthetist in the new Monklands Hospital in Airdrie and at Bellshill Maternity Hospital, where she became known as ‘the Epidural Queen’ for her expertise and precision in her speciality. For health reasons Edith retired early and in 1990 she returned to Fife to live in the Gauldry. She took a great interest in family history. She was a firm believer in hard work, grit and determination. She was predeceased by her husband.
Isobel Cairns
News has just reached us that Mrs Isobel Donaldson (1942) latterly of Kirknewton, West Lothian, has died. A full obituary will appear in the May edition of our Newsletter.
From Newsletter #50:
Mrs Isobel Donaldson (née Cairns) (1942) died on 31 October 2015. After School she went to Dundee Teacher Training College. She had several teaching jobs, but, when she accompanied her husband, Gilbert Donaldson, to Kirknewton, Midlothian, where he was appointed head of the local primary school, she too, was appointed to a primary headship in nearby Livingston. She was a keen member of the FP Association and organised a Reunion for her year in 2000. Isobel was predeceased by her son and is survived by her daughter and her brother, Gavin, and family.
From Newsletter #50:
Mrs Isobel Donaldson (née Cairns) (1942) died on 31 October 2015. After School she went to Dundee Teacher Training College. She had several teaching jobs, but, when she accompanied her husband, Gilbert Donaldson, to Kirknewton, Midlothian, where he was appointed head of the local primary school, she too, was appointed to a primary headship in nearby Livingston. She was a keen member of the FP Association and organised a Reunion for her year in 2000. Isobel was predeceased by her son and is survived by her daughter and her brother, Gavin, and family.
Michael McLauchlan
Michael McLauchlan died on 27 August 2015. Mike was a member of the Maths Department staff for many years until he retired. Some years ago he was very seriously injured in a motorcycle accident from which he never fully recovered. He was an outdoors enthusiast and a keen member of the Mountain Bothies Asssociation. He is survived by his partner, Jill Dhanjal, and one son.
Cecilia Kirk
Mrs Cecilia Goldie (née Kirk), after a short illness. Cecily was always very musical and was invited to play the organ in Cupar Old Parish Church and in Springfield when she was just 14 and she taught local children to play the piano. Cecily was a gifted floral artist and became a national demonstrator. On one occasion she created a suspended floral wall in Canterbury Cathedral but her special interest was Ikebana, a Japanese floral art form. She studied for 3 years and sat exams in London, becoming an Associate Master of the Ichiyo School of Ikebana. Later she took up painting and was a very active member of Cupar Art Club. Each year she produced a calendar of her paintings to raise funds for CHAS. She was the founder Secretary of St John’s Church Young Women’s Group and was a Sunday School Teacher for many years. She is survived by her husband and two sons.
Joyce Rogers
Mrs Joyce Beattie (1942) died in the autumn of 2015. She lived in Freuchie.
John Gorrie
John Gorrie (1944) died on 14 July 2015. John was the second in a family of 3 girls and 3 boys. As a boy he helped his father, a master baker, in the making and delivering of the morning rolls. At school he enjoyed literature, languages, Maths and Science. When he left School he joined a local firm to train as an electrician until he joined the RAF for National Service. Stationed in Wiltshire, he trained in radio and radar. On leaving the RAF he moved to Chelmsford where he worked with Marconi, teaching in their college. He travelled for the company to various destinations, notably to Genoa. This prompted him to learn Italian to a high standard which allowed him to do translation work. When John retired, he took up new hobbies - cross-stitch embroidery, jigsaw puzzles and Scottish Country Dancing, for which he devised some new dances (one of which he sent us many moons ago). He was also a founder member of Maldon Croquet Club. He is described by a friend as ‘a cheerful, charming man but also a great organiser and a driving force in giving others the chance to enjoy themselves at either the dancing or playing croquet’ and at other social functions. He is survived by his wife.
Euan King
Euan King (1989) died on 12 July 2015 as the result of a road accident. He was a keen biker and was a member of the Fife Charity Motorcycle Runs which raises thousands of pounds each year for local charities. Euan worked with Fair City Amusements, based in Perth. He is survived by his parents and his partner, Lynne Duncan.
Ian Davidson
From The Courier
By Cheryl Peebles, 16 May 2015 9.46am.
A former Royal Marine with 22 years of service, and who had links to Fife, has died in the Phillipines.
Warrant Officer II Ian Davidson died at the age of 67, two years after being diagnosed with cancer.
He had moved to Tagatay, near Manila, after visiting Filipino friends he made while working on cruise ships.
Born in 1947 in Romford, Essex, Mr Davidson moved to Newport as a child and attended Newport Primary and Bell Baxter High School, Cupar.
He joined the Royal Marines in 1970 and was posted to 45 Commando.
Tours of duty included Northern Ireland, the Falkland Islands, Arctic Norway and the Kurdish relief operation in northern Iraq.
For the final four years of his military career, he was a company sergeant major responsible for around 100 men.
On retirement from the military, he began working as a security officer then security trainer on cruise ships.
He made friends with many Filipino colleagues and on a visit fell in love with their home country.
About two-and-half years ago he was diagnosed with throat cancer, which later spread to his lungs.
He passed away in hospital in Tagatay on April 19 and was cremated in the Phillipines.
He leaves behind his son and siblings Alec and Jean.
He also had an older brother who died some years ago.
By Cheryl Peebles, 16 May 2015 9.46am.
A former Royal Marine with 22 years of service, and who had links to Fife, has died in the Phillipines.
Warrant Officer II Ian Davidson died at the age of 67, two years after being diagnosed with cancer.
He had moved to Tagatay, near Manila, after visiting Filipino friends he made while working on cruise ships.
Born in 1947 in Romford, Essex, Mr Davidson moved to Newport as a child and attended Newport Primary and Bell Baxter High School, Cupar.
He joined the Royal Marines in 1970 and was posted to 45 Commando.
Tours of duty included Northern Ireland, the Falkland Islands, Arctic Norway and the Kurdish relief operation in northern Iraq.
For the final four years of his military career, he was a company sergeant major responsible for around 100 men.
On retirement from the military, he began working as a security officer then security trainer on cruise ships.
He made friends with many Filipino colleagues and on a visit fell in love with their home country.
About two-and-half years ago he was diagnosed with throat cancer, which later spread to his lungs.
He passed away in hospital in Tagatay on April 19 and was cremated in the Phillipines.
He leaves behind his son and siblings Alec and Jean.
He also had an older brother who died some years ago.
Margaret Hendry
The funeral of a popular and well-known figure in Cupar was held in the town’s St John’s Church during the last week of May. Margaret Hendry, who worked for many years in the family’s former Hendry’s Giftware business, had been ill for some time. She was 82. Born and raised in Elgin, Margaret went on to work as secretary for the director of education for Moray and Nairn. Married to John in 1956, the couple moved to Ayr before settling in Cupar a year later. It was in 1967 that they opened their gift shop, initially in the Crossgate, before moving to larger premises at the Cross. A highly active person who loved the outdoors, Margaret was a very keen tennis player, still enjoying games into her 60s with the Duffus club in Cupar. A member of Bell Baxter FP hockey team in the 1960s, she was to start climbing the country’s Munros the same decade. Not content with reaching the top of all 282 mountains over 3000 feet, she was to repeat the feat, completing the second round of climbs with John in 2003. Margaret also enjoyed attending, until fairly recent years, Scottish country dancing classes in Cupar and Ceres. One of her sons, Douglas, said: ‘She only had two speeds - flat out, and slightly faster than that. In her 70s, she was still cycling, hill walking, going to country dancing, and just generally being a human dynamo, disguised as a senior citizen.’ She is survived by John, sons Alan, Douglas and Gary, and grandchildren. A collection taken after the service, conducted by the Rev Jan Steyn, raised over £1000 for Alzheimer Scotland.
William Steven
Bill Steven, who lived at Westport, Falkland, died on 5 May 2015.
Anne McGrath
Mrs Anne McParland (1956) passed away suddenly but peacefully on Sunday 19 April 2015 after a short illness. She was 70 years old. A funeral service will be held at St Columba's Chuch, Cupar, at 9.50 on Monday 27 April followed by interment at Cupar cemetery.
Lindsay Wilson
Lindsay Wilson (1941), on 3rd April, in hospital. Lindsay served throughout his career in the West Fife section of Fife Police. He is survived by a daughter and a son and was predeceased by his wife and a son.
Duncan Clark
Duncan Clark died in March 2015. No further details to hand.
Andrew Deans
Andrew Deans, Methodist Presbyter from Bridgend, Glamorgan, died on 13 March 2015. He had been suffering from cancer.
Andrew will be cremated at 1:15pm, family only. Then a thanksgiving service at Bridgend United Church at 2pm on Friday 27th March. No flowers, donations to Y Bwthyn Newydd in Bridgend who took such good care of him in his final days.
Andrew will be cremated at 1:15pm, family only. Then a thanksgiving service at Bridgend United Church at 2pm on Friday 27th March. No flowers, donations to Y Bwthyn Newydd in Bridgend who took such good care of him in his final days.
Alexander R C Scott
Sandy Scott (1943) died on 9 March 2015 after a long illness. He was 83 and had been suffering from leukemia. Sandy was a native of Kingskettle, who never forgot his youth in that Howe village. He also never forgot his schooldays at Bell Baxter, though he was not always complimentary about the education he received. A founder member of the FP Association, Sandy was a regular contributor to our Newsletter and even conducted an open correspondence through its pages with Jimmy Reid, a contemporary from Bell Baxter who lived in Canada.
The funeral is private. A memorial service is scheduled in St Giles Cathedral, Edinburgh, at 2 p.m. on Friday 20 March.
From FPA Newsletter #48:
Alexander (Sandy) Scott (1943) on 9th March, in hospital, after several months of illness. Following National Service at the Army Education Centre in Catterick, Sandy studied Music at Edinburgh University, where he was much involved in the University Opera Society. He was awarded the Bucher Travelling Scholarship which enabled him to study conducting in Hamburg for 2 years. He worked with Cedric Thorpe Davie at the Edinburgh Festival production of The Highland Fair, a reworking of an 18th century ballad opera. He attended the International Summer Academy in Salzburg, in the distinguished company of Daniel Barenboim, Herbert Blomstedt and Bryden Thomson.
In 1957 he returned to study for an Honours Degree in the History of Music and then trained at Moray House. He taught for 2 years at Dunfermline High School, then for 5 years as Principal Teacher of Music at St Columba’s High School in Kirkcaldy.
In 1966 he became a lecturer at Moray House while also studying for a PhD. In 1970 he was appointed Principal Lecturer in Music at Moray House, a post which he held until he retired in 1993. He then became Principal Examiner for Certificate of Sixth Year Studies Music and returned to serve again as National Development Officer for the Scottish Curriculum Service. Latterly Sandy had been the concert and opera reviewer for the Edinburgh Evening News. On 2 occasions he was the Adjudicator at the Centenary Music Competition involving Bell Baxter, Madras College and Waid Academy.
Throughout his career Sandy was much involved in other aspects of music life, conducting the Edinburgh Choral Union, taking Workers’ Educational Association classes for the Edinburgh University Department of Extra Mural Studies and editing operas. Sandy is survived by his wife and one son and one daughter.
The funeral is private. A memorial service is scheduled in St Giles Cathedral, Edinburgh, at 2 p.m. on Friday 20 March.
From FPA Newsletter #48:
Alexander (Sandy) Scott (1943) on 9th March, in hospital, after several months of illness. Following National Service at the Army Education Centre in Catterick, Sandy studied Music at Edinburgh University, where he was much involved in the University Opera Society. He was awarded the Bucher Travelling Scholarship which enabled him to study conducting in Hamburg for 2 years. He worked with Cedric Thorpe Davie at the Edinburgh Festival production of The Highland Fair, a reworking of an 18th century ballad opera. He attended the International Summer Academy in Salzburg, in the distinguished company of Daniel Barenboim, Herbert Blomstedt and Bryden Thomson.
In 1957 he returned to study for an Honours Degree in the History of Music and then trained at Moray House. He taught for 2 years at Dunfermline High School, then for 5 years as Principal Teacher of Music at St Columba’s High School in Kirkcaldy.
In 1966 he became a lecturer at Moray House while also studying for a PhD. In 1970 he was appointed Principal Lecturer in Music at Moray House, a post which he held until he retired in 1993. He then became Principal Examiner for Certificate of Sixth Year Studies Music and returned to serve again as National Development Officer for the Scottish Curriculum Service. Latterly Sandy had been the concert and opera reviewer for the Edinburgh Evening News. On 2 occasions he was the Adjudicator at the Centenary Music Competition involving Bell Baxter, Madras College and Waid Academy.
Throughout his career Sandy was much involved in other aspects of music life, conducting the Edinburgh Choral Union, taking Workers’ Educational Association classes for the Edinburgh University Department of Extra Mural Studies and editing operas. Sandy is survived by his wife and one son and one daughter.
Andrew Logan, farmer and pioneering vegetable grower
Published in the Dundee Courier 6 February 2015 7.39am
Farmer Andrew Logan, who died last week, was a larger than life character who approached all he did with great enthusiasm and energy.
He was one of the pioneers of vegetable growing in Scotland in the 1970s and saw this grow from small beginnings to the major industry it is today.
He was born and brought up on the family farm at Dairsie Mains in Fife before heading off to Strathallan School in Perthshire.
After school, he gained a diploma at East of Scotland College of Agriculture.
On his return home, he joined Bell Baxter Agricultural Discussion Society and was chairman when it won the Allan Howie award for best club in the country.
The closure of the nearby sugar beet factory at Cupar in 1970 triggered the search for replacement cash crops and he and a number of like-minded farmers set up a cooperative growing peas, cauliflower, carrots and broccoli. Some 40 years and several name changes and amalgamations later, this business, now East of Scotland Growers, is one of the largest growers of broccoli in Western Europe.
He is survived by Margie, whom he married in 1966, their three sons and daughter, their spouses and eight grandchildren.
Farmer Andrew Logan, who died last week, was a larger than life character who approached all he did with great enthusiasm and energy.
He was one of the pioneers of vegetable growing in Scotland in the 1970s and saw this grow from small beginnings to the major industry it is today.
He was born and brought up on the family farm at Dairsie Mains in Fife before heading off to Strathallan School in Perthshire.
After school, he gained a diploma at East of Scotland College of Agriculture.
On his return home, he joined Bell Baxter Agricultural Discussion Society and was chairman when it won the Allan Howie award for best club in the country.
The closure of the nearby sugar beet factory at Cupar in 1970 triggered the search for replacement cash crops and he and a number of like-minded farmers set up a cooperative growing peas, cauliflower, carrots and broccoli. Some 40 years and several name changes and amalgamations later, this business, now East of Scotland Growers, is one of the largest growers of broccoli in Western Europe.
He is survived by Margie, whom he married in 1966, their three sons and daughter, their spouses and eight grandchildren.
Alma Smith
Mrs Alma Smith, former member of the Art Department staff, in January, in hospital following some months of illness. Alma, who belonged to Leven, taught first in Kirklands High School and then became a peripatetic teacher in primary Schools until she joined the staff of Buckhaven High School in the 1970s. She was promoted to the post of Assistant Principal Teacher in Bell Baxter in 1979 and then in the late 1980s she was appointed Principal Teacher of Art in Madras College. She moved to the Borders in 1996 where she ran a popular exhibition gallery at Ettrickbridge. Her specialty was batik art. She continued to act as a marker in Higher Art for several years. In 2007 she returned to Auchtermuchty to live. Alma was an inspirational teacher with great enthusiasm and enjoyment of life. She was predeceased by her first husband and is survived by her son.
Mavis Fleming
Mrs Mavis Brook (née Fleming) (1941), on 24th January 2015, suddenly, in hospital. Mavis continued her studies after School at Teacher Training College and taught in Newburgh Primary School. She had a life-long interest in the Girl Guide movement. She also enjoyed indulging her interest in handicrafts and embroidery. She is survived by 2 sons and 2 daughters and was predeceased by her husband, Duncan, and one son.
John Duncan
John Duncan (1946), in hospital, in January 2015. When he left School he worked first in a local butcher’s shop and then became a steel erector and crane driver with Houston’s in Cupar. Around 35 years ago he became a window cleaner and continued working until shortly before his death. In his spare time he enjoyed walking in the Highland countryside. He is survived by his wife and family.
Andrew Walker
Andrew Walker (1964) on 9th January, in hospital. When he left School he began work in Fife Council’s architects’ department. He was a retained fireman while working in Cupar and then went to serve with Tayside Fire Service in Dundee. From there he worked in various trades, installing gas mains and building slurry stores. Following a serious accident he worked with his brother’s distribution business, driving throughout Europe. He was involved in 3 trips to Peru with a work party from Cupar Old Parish Church. Latterly he was a volunteer at Cupar Age concern, mainly driving the minibus. He is survived by his wife and their family.
MacGregor Williamson
MacGregor Williamson (1945) died during the first week of 2015. Gregor was a founder member of the FP Association.
From FPA Newsletter #48:
MacGregor Williamson (1945), in January, after a short illness. Gregor was a communications engineer throughout his career, to begin with at Hawklaw, the sub-station of GCHQ and, after his Military Service was completed, with the Post Office, where he was in charge of the exchanges. He did have connections, too, with the Secret Bunker near Crail. He was a DIY enthusiast and built and sailed model boats. He also had a model railway. He and his wife enjoyed foreign travel and also their caravan at Loch Faskally, where he had a motor boat. He is survived by his wife and 2 daughters and one son.
From FPA Newsletter #48:
MacGregor Williamson (1945), in January, after a short illness. Gregor was a communications engineer throughout his career, to begin with at Hawklaw, the sub-station of GCHQ and, after his Military Service was completed, with the Post Office, where he was in charge of the exchanges. He did have connections, too, with the Secret Bunker near Crail. He was a DIY enthusiast and built and sailed model boats. He also had a model railway. He and his wife enjoyed foreign travel and also their caravan at Loch Faskally, where he had a motor boat. He is survived by his wife and 2 daughters and one son.
Peter Berwick
Peter Berwick, farmer, died in hospital on 27 December 2014. He entered BBS in 1940. . Peter was the youngest and the only boy in the well-known local farming family. He worked the farm himself until he moved to the Forfar area.
John Roger
John Roger (1938) in December 2014. John worked on and then, on the death of his father, took over the farm at Rumgally where he had been brought up. He was a leading figure in farming circles for many years and served as a Director of the Highland Show and twice as President of the Fife Show. He was a member of several producer groups and also, in the 1980s, established Rumgally Transport which developed to the point of having more than a dozen lorries. His other great interest was horses, and he became one of the top carriage drivers. At the age of 10 he turned up at Kemback School on a pony and trap. He was Joint Master of the Fife Hunt. He competed in Show Jumping and later driving a pair of hackneys. He competed in the world and European Championships, and won the National Championship at Sandringham and twice at Royal Windsor. He took clinics in the USA and in Argentina and spent some time working with gauchos on a cattle ranch. Towards the end of the 1990s he was invited by Sir Brian Souter of Stagecoach fame to drive his historic mail coach, pulled by 4 horses. The coach was often to be seen on the back roads in this area. John continued driving it until a year before his death. He is survived by his wife, Doris (also an FP), and a son and a daughter.
Mrs Ray Halford
From the Dundee Courier:
A highly respected Cuparian with a true love of her town and its people has died in Adamson Hospital at the age of 85.
Ray Halford supported many local organisations and causes as a volunteer over the years.
She was well known for having an amazing knowledge of the town in which she was raised.
Born in her grandmother’s house on South Union Street, Cupar, Mrs Halford attended Castlehill and Bell Baxter schools, before joining the Potato Marketing Board in 1944 as a clerkess, a post she held for six years.
She had wanted to join the police, but was deemed too short. Determined to serve in some other way helping the public, she joined the Women’s Royal Voluntary Service.
From 1950 until the early 1960s, Mrs Halford was a clerkess with the former Fife County Council, working for the county treasurer, then joined Elmwood College in Cupar for six years as secretary to the principal.
A life-long supporter of the Conservative Party, Mrs Halford went on in the 1980s to become secretary and was in full charge of the Tories’ office in Crossgate, Cupar, until the appointment of an agent.
Taking a great interest in local education, she became a parent representative on Cupar School Council, also serving as vice-chairman.
She was also treasurer of Cupar and District Mental Health Association.
Her husband Bob, who had Halford Court named after him, died in 1986.
Mrs Halford is survived by her daughter Jess, son-in-law Szabolcs and grandchildren Thomas, 13, Lily, 10, and Bridget, 6.
From FPA Newsletter #48:
Mrs Ray Halford, 1941, died peacefully in hospital aged 85 on 13 December following a short illness. On leaving School, Ray joined the Potato Marketing Board as clerkess and worked there for 6 years. Her ambition had been to join the Police, but her ambition was thwarted when she was told she was too short of stature. While working with the Board, she joined the WRVS in order to contribute to the life of the community. In 1950 she joined the County Treasurer’s Department and then in the early 1960s she moved to become the Principal’s Secretary at Elmwood College. In 1967 Ray married Bob Halford and they had one daughter, Jess. In the early 80s she became the Secretary in charge of the Conservative Party Office in Crossgate until an agent was appointed. Ray had many interests outside her work. She was for a time a Parent Representative on Cupar School Council and she was Treasurer of Cupar and District Mental Health Association. As a near neighbour of the Adult Training Centre at Dalgairn, she was active in helping with fund-raising events there. Over the years she gathered a vast store of information about Cupar and collected postcards of the town. She loved nature and walking in the countryside. Ray was predeceased by her husband in 1986 and is survived by her daughter and son-in-law and their 3 children.
A highly respected Cuparian with a true love of her town and its people has died in Adamson Hospital at the age of 85.
Ray Halford supported many local organisations and causes as a volunteer over the years.
She was well known for having an amazing knowledge of the town in which she was raised.
Born in her grandmother’s house on South Union Street, Cupar, Mrs Halford attended Castlehill and Bell Baxter schools, before joining the Potato Marketing Board in 1944 as a clerkess, a post she held for six years.
She had wanted to join the police, but was deemed too short. Determined to serve in some other way helping the public, she joined the Women’s Royal Voluntary Service.
From 1950 until the early 1960s, Mrs Halford was a clerkess with the former Fife County Council, working for the county treasurer, then joined Elmwood College in Cupar for six years as secretary to the principal.
A life-long supporter of the Conservative Party, Mrs Halford went on in the 1980s to become secretary and was in full charge of the Tories’ office in Crossgate, Cupar, until the appointment of an agent.
Taking a great interest in local education, she became a parent representative on Cupar School Council, also serving as vice-chairman.
She was also treasurer of Cupar and District Mental Health Association.
Her husband Bob, who had Halford Court named after him, died in 1986.
Mrs Halford is survived by her daughter Jess, son-in-law Szabolcs and grandchildren Thomas, 13, Lily, 10, and Bridget, 6.
From FPA Newsletter #48:
Mrs Ray Halford, 1941, died peacefully in hospital aged 85 on 13 December following a short illness. On leaving School, Ray joined the Potato Marketing Board as clerkess and worked there for 6 years. Her ambition had been to join the Police, but her ambition was thwarted when she was told she was too short of stature. While working with the Board, she joined the WRVS in order to contribute to the life of the community. In 1950 she joined the County Treasurer’s Department and then in the early 1960s she moved to become the Principal’s Secretary at Elmwood College. In 1967 Ray married Bob Halford and they had one daughter, Jess. In the early 80s she became the Secretary in charge of the Conservative Party Office in Crossgate until an agent was appointed. Ray had many interests outside her work. She was for a time a Parent Representative on Cupar School Council and she was Treasurer of Cupar and District Mental Health Association. As a near neighbour of the Adult Training Centre at Dalgairn, she was active in helping with fund-raising events there. Over the years she gathered a vast store of information about Cupar and collected postcards of the town. She loved nature and walking in the countryside. Ray was predeceased by her husband in 1986 and is survived by her daughter and son-in-law and their 3 children.
William Gillespie
Bill Gillespie of Dairsie died in November 2014. He was an FP of about 1959 vintage.
Shari Wrigglesworth
Mrs Shari Bruce (née Wrigglesworth) in early November. Shari was a wonderful dancer when she was young and her hope had been to become a ballerina. She did pursue a career in dancing for a time, but after she married and had her family her health deteriorated. She had been in a Residential home for some time. She is survived by her husband and her two daughters.
Sheila Montgomery
Mrs Sheila Shepherd (née Montgomery, then Mrs Syme) in September. She is survived by her two sons, Ian and Alister, both also FPs.
Finlay Urquhart
Finlay Urquhart (1961) in hospital, after a very long illness. Finlay trained at Jordanhill PE College and taught in Balwearie High School, Kirkcaldy. Sadly he fell prey to early onset dementia and had spent many years in hospital. He is survived by his wife and family.
Grant Balfour, gentleman of the merchant trade
On market days in the post-Second World War years, Cupar Corn Exchange was a hive of activity with farmers and merchants buying and selling grain, potatoes, seeds and fertilisers.
Week in week out, Grant Balfour, who died in July 2014, could be seen in the booth where he represented the family firm of seed merchants Laird & Smith.
Even in those days where one’s word was one’s bond, Grant was universally recognised as one of the real gentleman in the merchant trade.
After leaving Bell Baxter where he proudly wore a Grant tartan kilt, he joined the firm with its shop in St Catherine’s Street and its store in Bobber Wynd.
It was in this latter building that he learned the skills of producing grass seed mixtures to suit specific instructions from farmers.
He joined up for war time service initially with the Royal Armoured Corps prior to heading off to Sandhurst for officer training and then, as a second lieutenant in the Fife and Forfar Yeomanry, he trained crews to operate Churchill and Crocodile tanks.
Then he went over to mainland Europe to take part in the final push to end the war and served as a lieutenant in the Hussars until April 1946.
Back in civilian life he not only resumed his work as a seed merchant but either competed in or followed a number of sports.
He helped Wormit Tennis Club in getting new courts and with his membership of Scotscraig Golf Club he established the Farmers v Merchants annual golf match.
He was also a keen hill walker and he and Mary, whom he married in 1950, often combined their love of the hills with motoring around Scotland.
A man of many interests, in his retirement his time was spent in his garden, playing bridge, listening to classical music and attending Newport Probus Club.
He is survived by Mary, his son David and daughters Rosemary and Catherine, and their spouses and families.
From FPA Newsletter #47:
Grant Balfour (1937), at the beginning of July, in hospital, following an accident. When he left School, Grant went to work in the firm of Laird and Smith, Seeds Merchants, which his father managed. In 1943 he enlisted as a Trooper in the Royal Armoured Corps. He was then selected for Officer Training at Sandhurst and from there he joined the Fife and Forfar Yeomanry where he trained tank crews, before being sent to serve in Europe towards the end of the war. He finished his military service with the 13th/18th Hussars. After he was demobbed he returned to work with Laird and Smith until he retired in 1990. He was a member of the Bell Baxter Young Farmers' Club and of Cupar Rotary Club of which he was President in 1972-73. He was a keen tennis player and was actively involved in the creation of the new courts in Wormit. He also played golf and curling, enjoyed hill walking and played bridge. He was an active member of Wormit Parish Church, of which he was Treasurer for some years, and latterly of Newport Parish Church. With his wife and family he spent many caravanning holidays throughout Scotland. Grant is survived by his wife, Mary, (née Spence) and his son and two daughters, all of whom are FPs of Bell Baxter.
Week in week out, Grant Balfour, who died in July 2014, could be seen in the booth where he represented the family firm of seed merchants Laird & Smith.
Even in those days where one’s word was one’s bond, Grant was universally recognised as one of the real gentleman in the merchant trade.
After leaving Bell Baxter where he proudly wore a Grant tartan kilt, he joined the firm with its shop in St Catherine’s Street and its store in Bobber Wynd.
It was in this latter building that he learned the skills of producing grass seed mixtures to suit specific instructions from farmers.
He joined up for war time service initially with the Royal Armoured Corps prior to heading off to Sandhurst for officer training and then, as a second lieutenant in the Fife and Forfar Yeomanry, he trained crews to operate Churchill and Crocodile tanks.
Then he went over to mainland Europe to take part in the final push to end the war and served as a lieutenant in the Hussars until April 1946.
Back in civilian life he not only resumed his work as a seed merchant but either competed in or followed a number of sports.
He helped Wormit Tennis Club in getting new courts and with his membership of Scotscraig Golf Club he established the Farmers v Merchants annual golf match.
He was also a keen hill walker and he and Mary, whom he married in 1950, often combined their love of the hills with motoring around Scotland.
A man of many interests, in his retirement his time was spent in his garden, playing bridge, listening to classical music and attending Newport Probus Club.
He is survived by Mary, his son David and daughters Rosemary and Catherine, and their spouses and families.
From FPA Newsletter #47:
Grant Balfour (1937), at the beginning of July, in hospital, following an accident. When he left School, Grant went to work in the firm of Laird and Smith, Seeds Merchants, which his father managed. In 1943 he enlisted as a Trooper in the Royal Armoured Corps. He was then selected for Officer Training at Sandhurst and from there he joined the Fife and Forfar Yeomanry where he trained tank crews, before being sent to serve in Europe towards the end of the war. He finished his military service with the 13th/18th Hussars. After he was demobbed he returned to work with Laird and Smith until he retired in 1990. He was a member of the Bell Baxter Young Farmers' Club and of Cupar Rotary Club of which he was President in 1972-73. He was a keen tennis player and was actively involved in the creation of the new courts in Wormit. He also played golf and curling, enjoyed hill walking and played bridge. He was an active member of Wormit Parish Church, of which he was Treasurer for some years, and latterly of Newport Parish Church. With his wife and family he spent many caravanning holidays throughout Scotland. Grant is survived by his wife, Mary, (née Spence) and his son and two daughters, all of whom are FPs of Bell Baxter.
Rosemary Law
Rosemary Wotherspoon (née Law ) (1957), on 17th June, in hospital, after a very short illness. Rosemary studied at Teacher Training College and taught in Kennoway to start her career. However, marriage followed very soon and she became ‘a minister’s wife’, serving as Guild president in each of her husband’s charges. Her husband’s ministry took them to Ayrshire, Ladybank and then briefly to Lisbon. The serious illness of one of the children forced an early return from Lisbon and they had a short spell in Edinburgh before they moved to the Borders. Her husband’s final charge before retirement was in Coatbridge. They moved back to Cupar, where Rosemary became an active member of the Inner Wheel of Rotary. She also greatly enjoyed an Art class, gardening and travelling. Rosemary is survived by her husband, two daughters and a son.
Albert Cochrane
Principal Teacher of Music from the early 1970s until he retired in the early 1980s;died in early June 2014.
Joan Adamson
Mrs Joan Shirras (nee Adamson) died in May 2014. She had been suffering from cancer. Joan entered first year in 1949. Joan was very involved in hockey and tennis while she was at School. When she left school, she took up a post with the GPO as a telephonist until her marriage in 1961, when she and her husband moved to Glenrothes. After the family grew up she became an invigilator at Glenrothes College, finally becoming Chief Invigilator until she retired. She was keenly interested and active in the Girl Guide movement and became District Commissioner. After she retired, in 1995 she became a volunteer in the work of Oxfam and continued in this work until she died in May. Joan loved to travel and achieved two of her dreams when she visited the Great Pyramid of Giza and then St Petersburg. With her friend, Isobel Riddle (Mrs Carratt), another dream was fulfilled - three times, in fact - when they managed to obtain tickets for Wimbledon. Joan was predeceased many years ago by her husband and is survived by her two daughters.
George Laing, longest serving retained fire fighter in Fife
There was a huge turnout in Cupar Old Parish Church last Friday (1 May 2014) for the funeral of George Laing who, it is believed, was the longest serving retained fire fighter in Fife.
George (66), who died at home on April 25, joined Cupar Fire Station as an 18-year-old.
He served for 37 years until 2002, when he had to retire from the service at the maximum age of 55.
Born in Kirkcaldy, George lived in Cupar most of his life and was involved with many organisations in the town.
Educated at Dairsie and Castlehill primary schools before attending Bell Baxter High in Cupar, George went on to join the engineering firm Houstons of Cupar when he was 16.
Initially a steel fabricator, George became workshop foreman of the company, which was based in the town for many years before moving to an industrial unit at Cupar Muir.
It was shortly after George joined the firm that his foreman, the late Maurice Smith, persuaded him to become a retained fireman
George loved his time as a firefighter and attended many big blazes, including one of Cupar’s biggest, at the former Rodger’s Mill in Burnside in the 1970s. When he retired from the service as station officer, he was presented with several awards.
A noted footballer in his youth, George actually trained with Raith Rovers under manager George Farm and turned out for Cupar YM, Pitlessie, Cupar Hearts and St Andrews United. Cupar Hearts, however, were his real passion, which he continued to support for many years - including some time as chairman - after failing knees put paid to his playing career.
Over the years George was a fantastic fundraiser for the club and a very much “hands-on” committee member, driving forward plans to upgrade the Duffus Park pavilion and other facilities at the football ground.
A keen cricketer, he played for a number of years for the now disbanded Cupar club and enjoyed many of their tours, including several to England.
He was also closely involved with the Howe of Fife Rugby Club, who marked his passing with a minute’s silence at last Saturday’s sevens tournament at Duffus Park.
An occasional social curler, his other interests included his garden and greenhouse. He was also a member of Masonic Lodge St Regulus No 77.
His greatest love, however, was his family - wife Anna, son Trevor and granddaughters, Naomi, Ellie and Hannah.
Regular holidays with Anna were enjoyed, particularly to Tenerife and Turkey, although the couple also made the most of weekend breaks.
A photo of George on the Cupar Community Fire Station Facebook page had 2500 views by the middle of this week.
George (66), who died at home on April 25, joined Cupar Fire Station as an 18-year-old.
He served for 37 years until 2002, when he had to retire from the service at the maximum age of 55.
Born in Kirkcaldy, George lived in Cupar most of his life and was involved with many organisations in the town.
Educated at Dairsie and Castlehill primary schools before attending Bell Baxter High in Cupar, George went on to join the engineering firm Houstons of Cupar when he was 16.
Initially a steel fabricator, George became workshop foreman of the company, which was based in the town for many years before moving to an industrial unit at Cupar Muir.
It was shortly after George joined the firm that his foreman, the late Maurice Smith, persuaded him to become a retained fireman
George loved his time as a firefighter and attended many big blazes, including one of Cupar’s biggest, at the former Rodger’s Mill in Burnside in the 1970s. When he retired from the service as station officer, he was presented with several awards.
A noted footballer in his youth, George actually trained with Raith Rovers under manager George Farm and turned out for Cupar YM, Pitlessie, Cupar Hearts and St Andrews United. Cupar Hearts, however, were his real passion, which he continued to support for many years - including some time as chairman - after failing knees put paid to his playing career.
Over the years George was a fantastic fundraiser for the club and a very much “hands-on” committee member, driving forward plans to upgrade the Duffus Park pavilion and other facilities at the football ground.
A keen cricketer, he played for a number of years for the now disbanded Cupar club and enjoyed many of their tours, including several to England.
He was also closely involved with the Howe of Fife Rugby Club, who marked his passing with a minute’s silence at last Saturday’s sevens tournament at Duffus Park.
An occasional social curler, his other interests included his garden and greenhouse. He was also a member of Masonic Lodge St Regulus No 77.
His greatest love, however, was his family - wife Anna, son Trevor and granddaughters, Naomi, Ellie and Hannah.
Regular holidays with Anna were enjoyed, particularly to Tenerife and Turkey, although the couple also made the most of weekend breaks.
A photo of George on the Cupar Community Fire Station Facebook page had 2500 views by the middle of this week.
Clement Moxham Robertson
Mr Clement Moxham Robertson (Clem) died peacefully at home after a long illness, aged 90.
A Scot, born in Newburgh, Fife, Clem’s working life began, as for so many Scottish children, with the “tattie picking” (potato picking) and raspberry picking, before graduating to working with the Tay Salmon Fisheries Company. These part-time jobs did not distract Clem from his schooling; academically gifted, he achieved his first Batchelor of Science degree aged 19 and enjoyed a lifelong pattern of learning, obtaining further degrees in Chemistry, Mathematics and Geology.
In 1940 Clem joined the Civil Service in a career that continued until his retirement. As an analytical chemist he worked in laboratories in Scotland and England firstly studying and developing explosives and propellants, then rubbers and plastics. He joined the Royal Arsenal chemical inspectorate department, Woolwich, London, ultimately being promoted to Deputy Chief Scientific Officer of the company.
A keen amateur musician who played clarinet well, Clem met his wife, Margaret, when he joined Catford Co-operative Orchestra where she played violin. They married in 1952 and eventually retired to Shanklin in 1987, becoming active members of several local organisations including the Motor Caravan Club, Caledonian Society and Age Concern. Margaret passed away in 2009.
To those who knew him, Clem has always been described as a true gentleman; a kind, patient and gentle man with many and varied hobbies, who lived life to the full. He will be very sadly missed by his children, grandchildren great-grandchildren, extended family and friends. He is survived by his younger brother Charles who now lives in Australia.
A Scot, born in Newburgh, Fife, Clem’s working life began, as for so many Scottish children, with the “tattie picking” (potato picking) and raspberry picking, before graduating to working with the Tay Salmon Fisheries Company. These part-time jobs did not distract Clem from his schooling; academically gifted, he achieved his first Batchelor of Science degree aged 19 and enjoyed a lifelong pattern of learning, obtaining further degrees in Chemistry, Mathematics and Geology.
In 1940 Clem joined the Civil Service in a career that continued until his retirement. As an analytical chemist he worked in laboratories in Scotland and England firstly studying and developing explosives and propellants, then rubbers and plastics. He joined the Royal Arsenal chemical inspectorate department, Woolwich, London, ultimately being promoted to Deputy Chief Scientific Officer of the company.
A keen amateur musician who played clarinet well, Clem met his wife, Margaret, when he joined Catford Co-operative Orchestra where she played violin. They married in 1952 and eventually retired to Shanklin in 1987, becoming active members of several local organisations including the Motor Caravan Club, Caledonian Society and Age Concern. Margaret passed away in 2009.
To those who knew him, Clem has always been described as a true gentleman; a kind, patient and gentle man with many and varied hobbies, who lived life to the full. He will be very sadly missed by his children, grandchildren great-grandchildren, extended family and friends. He is survived by his younger brother Charles who now lives in Australia.
Clem Robertson never actually visited Collessie, although he belonged to Newburgh and lived out his life on the Isle of Wight, but his ancestors are buried here in the churchyard. Clem, born in 1923, died on February 5, aged 91. He was friends with Marjory and Lesley, having known Marjory’s mother at Bell Baxter, and latterly also friends by correspondence with your correspondent here, M. Lines, and a great supporter and avid reader of the Collessie column of the Fife Herald. Clem absolutely loved Collessie. He often wrote that he thought of Collessie as the most beautiful little village ever, a ‘perfect magical place’. Such is the power of words and perhaps homesick longings interest in all activities in Collessie led him to donate to Friends of Collessie Church in its fundraising efforts. His heritage lives on, as his father Andrew Robertson was a local photographer and postman in Newburgh and published postcards of local views which are still to be found in the books, Old Newburgh and Bygone Newburgh. Relatives of the Robertsons still live in Newburgh, and his daughter on the Isle of Wight. Only late on did he discover that his great grandmother Elizabeth Henderson was born in Collessie in 1823, and married Andrew Robertson in Kettle in 1847 where Clem’s grandfather was born, one of three children. Marjory’s keen genealogical study of Collessie Churchyard and its valuable Churchyard Book has revealed that Elizabeth Henderson’s parents and some brothers and sisters are also buried in the churchyard. Such secrets we have here beneath our sacred earth in Collessie. So. finally, here’s to a great man, Clem Robertson, an ‘ancestral son’ of Collessie who was delighted to know that he had a real Collessie connection.
Robert Baxter Meikle
This obituary appeared in the Fife Herald on 2 May 2014.
Former Bell Baxter teacher dies at 80
A former highly-respected teacher at Bell Baxter High School has died at the age of 80.
Born in Lothian, Robert Meikle studied geography at Edinburgh University before going on to train as a teacher at Moray House College of Education.
During his National Service, Mr Meikle seriously considered an army career but the draw to teaching was stronger.
He was appointed to Bell Baxter in 1958, and he enjoyed a strong, disciplined apprenticeship among a staff of excellent teachers.
He stayed in Cupar, where, as a keen sportsman, he developed a love of golf, until 1964, leaving to take up a principal teacher position at Montrose Academy.
He went on to become the first rector of Alness Academy and retired in 1993 having seen 3000 youngsters go through the school.
His career also included shaping the school syllabus in the teaching of geography and he lectured nationally and helped produce new teaching materials.
As well as sport, Mr Meikle had a love of music and for many years was involved in amateur operatics.
He met his wife Adrianne, who played hockey with Bell Baxter FP Ladies, when they collided during a match. They were married for 55 years and had a daughter, Karen, and son, Sean.
Former Bell Baxter teacher dies at 80
A former highly-respected teacher at Bell Baxter High School has died at the age of 80.
Born in Lothian, Robert Meikle studied geography at Edinburgh University before going on to train as a teacher at Moray House College of Education.
During his National Service, Mr Meikle seriously considered an army career but the draw to teaching was stronger.
He was appointed to Bell Baxter in 1958, and he enjoyed a strong, disciplined apprenticeship among a staff of excellent teachers.
He stayed in Cupar, where, as a keen sportsman, he developed a love of golf, until 1964, leaving to take up a principal teacher position at Montrose Academy.
He went on to become the first rector of Alness Academy and retired in 1993 having seen 3000 youngsters go through the school.
His career also included shaping the school syllabus in the teaching of geography and he lectured nationally and helped produce new teaching materials.
As well as sport, Mr Meikle had a love of music and for many years was involved in amateur operatics.
He met his wife Adrianne, who played hockey with Bell Baxter FP Ladies, when they collided during a match. They were married for 55 years and had a daughter, Karen, and son, Sean.
George (BOD) Gray
George Gray, known as Bod, passed away peacefully at his home in France on Saturday 15th February 2014. He was 45. His heart just stopped in his sleep, sadly. George is to be cremated on Wednesday 19th Febrary. His family is planning a memorial service for him in due course. They are also hoping to have his ashes returned to be interred with his grandparents in Cupar cemetery
Margot Fettes (Mrs Gibson)
Former Head Girl and PE Teacher Margot Fettes died peacefully in Ninewells Hospital on 28 November 2013. Funeral service at Perth Crematorium on Monday 9 December at 1130 am, to which all family and friends are warmly invited.
Elizabeth R Swan (Mrs Myskow)
As many of our readers will know, Mrs Eizabeth Myskow died earlier this year in May. This was not reported on our website, but her obituary from the Dundee Courier has just been added to her entry in Section I of Bell Baxter Lives.
The photograph was taken on her 90th birthday.
Tracey McKenzie
Tracey McKenzie (38) of Cupar died suddenly earlier this month. A report of her death can be found in the News Items section.
Margaret Logie (Mrs Peattie)
Margaret Peattie (née Logie) died on 8 November 2013. She was the widow of John Peattie of Galloway's outfitters
Catherine Cousland (Mrs Forwell)
Mrs Kate Forwell, who lived in St Andrews, died recently. Catherine Cousland started at BBS in 1941.
Jean Kinnell (Mrs Lucas)
Mrs Jean Lucas, nee Kinnell, who entered Bell Baxter in 1943, died earlier this month. Her funeral took place on Friday 25 October 2013. Jean lived in St Andrews.
Martin Bell
Martin Bell, who came from Brunton and also attended Madras College, died aged 40 in October 2013. A fuller report is on our News page.
William Anderson
Bill Anderson, who entered BBS around 1934, died around the middle of October 2013. He was a teacher by profession and became Rector of Inverness High School.
Marshall Meek CBE died peacefully on 7 August 2013 after a short illness. He was 88. A modest man, he claimed in his autobiography There go the ships that one of his few claims to fame was to have been born in the Royal Burgh of Auchtermuchty. He joined the Caledon shipyard in Dundee after one term in sixth year at Bell Baxter, and this led to a distinguished career in merchant shipping. He spent his last years in Morpeth, Northumberland.
Ian W Paterson (Pepsi)
Ian W Paterson died on Saturday 19th October 2013 following heart surgery. Ian was in the year group of 1963 and his nickname was Pepsi. Ian is survived by his wife Sheila and daughter Suzi.
Kenny Nicoll
ord has reached us in the past few days that Ken Nicoll has died. We hope to post an obituary here in the near future and will give details of his funeral service when known.
In the meantime, we shall post some memories of him here. Feel free to contribute by filling in one of our contact forms. Tributes wil be posted in the order they are received, with the newest at the top. Please indicate if what you hve to say should be unattributed.
Thank you for the sad news of the passing of Neil Cameron,Mr. Nicoll, and Miss Swan and I remember all. In the words of the poem Remember
Remember me when I am gone away,
Gone far away into the silent land; Lines 1 and 2 From Page 191 The Oxford Library of English Poetry Volume III
Moira Clacher
Sad news indeed - I first met Kenny as a pupil in 1953 on entering BB as a quivering 1st year and kept up a kind of semi-tangible friendship with both himself and Sandy Ad until a few years ago when Jock Methven and I used to visit them in Sandy's home in the Baxterpark area of Dundee.
I knew them both as pupil and also as member of staff on my return in that role in 1963 - Kenny's passion was of course his love of golf and many stories are told about staff v pupil matches at scotscraig golf club in Tayport. However, as we all knew, Kenny was a batchelor and was known for his reluctance to put his hand in his pocket at the bar afterwards, always maintaining that he was 'hard up' - that myth lasting until it came out that he had been contacted by Fife County Council who wished to know 'why he had not cashed his double salary cheque' - this at some point, as I recall, heading towards the time when it no longer would be valid!!! Typical Kenny Nic.
This is just one example of the man that I recall - there will be many more from others who knew him better than myself so I won't take up time or space - rest in peace Ken.
Ronnie Walker
Sad to hear that . My memories of school are dim I hate to say but fond memories of Sandy Ad and Kenny Nick . Jan Hyland /janice johnston.
Maybe some others will comment but he took about 12 of us o/seas to Denmark by boat from Newcastle then the train to Copenhagen in I think 1956
We went also from Copenhagen to Oslo and back
So were abroad for I think about 2 weeks
I am sure for all of us it was the first time O/seas
Iain Andrews
In the meantime, we shall post some memories of him here. Feel free to contribute by filling in one of our contact forms. Tributes wil be posted in the order they are received, with the newest at the top. Please indicate if what you hve to say should be unattributed.
Thank you for the sad news of the passing of Neil Cameron,Mr. Nicoll, and Miss Swan and I remember all. In the words of the poem Remember
Remember me when I am gone away,
Gone far away into the silent land; Lines 1 and 2 From Page 191 The Oxford Library of English Poetry Volume III
Moira Clacher
Sad news indeed - I first met Kenny as a pupil in 1953 on entering BB as a quivering 1st year and kept up a kind of semi-tangible friendship with both himself and Sandy Ad until a few years ago when Jock Methven and I used to visit them in Sandy's home in the Baxterpark area of Dundee.
I knew them both as pupil and also as member of staff on my return in that role in 1963 - Kenny's passion was of course his love of golf and many stories are told about staff v pupil matches at scotscraig golf club in Tayport. However, as we all knew, Kenny was a batchelor and was known for his reluctance to put his hand in his pocket at the bar afterwards, always maintaining that he was 'hard up' - that myth lasting until it came out that he had been contacted by Fife County Council who wished to know 'why he had not cashed his double salary cheque' - this at some point, as I recall, heading towards the time when it no longer would be valid!!! Typical Kenny Nic.
This is just one example of the man that I recall - there will be many more from others who knew him better than myself so I won't take up time or space - rest in peace Ken.
Ronnie Walker
Sad to hear that . My memories of school are dim I hate to say but fond memories of Sandy Ad and Kenny Nick . Jan Hyland /janice johnston.
Maybe some others will comment but he took about 12 of us o/seas to Denmark by boat from Newcastle then the train to Copenhagen in I think 1956
We went also from Copenhagen to Oslo and back
So were abroad for I think about 2 weeks
I am sure for all of us it was the first time O/seas
Iain Andrews
Alexander McLaren
Former Rector Dr McLaren died on 2 September. The funeral is to be held on Tuesday 17 September at Kirkcaldy Crematorium at 12.45 pm.
A number of comments about Dr McLaren have been posted on our facebook page. Here is a selection:
A number of comments about Dr McLaren have been posted on our facebook page. Here is a selection:
- Peter Dorans Sad:( I liked him
- Kevin Hamil RIP must have been before or after my time but thoughts are with the family
- Grace Sturrock sad news x
- Robert Duff Sad news
- He was there when i went
- Lynne Nish Sad news, I remember him well
- Robert Duff I left in '83. And I think.but not sure. He retired within a few years of then.
- My memory of him is walking along the corridors of the senior, with his black Cape flowing. ...christopher lee style......but he always said hello.
Does anyone know how old he was? - Bryan Bissett I also remember his cape flowing behind him. A friendly gent. Thoughts to his family and friends
- Audrey Peebles Black cape and sixth year boys relocating his car at the end of term he took it in good spirit
- Fiona Thomson So sad, he was a lovely man with his black gown on always. My thoughts are with his family.
- Derek McIntosh ...old school fair and very kind. The cape? We (the leavers of 70/71) used to whistle the comic hit of the day, renamed I Was Kaiser Batman's Bill, when Jim Cunningham the jannie hove into sight....
- Kate Dargie I remember the black gown - he must have been a good age
- Deborah Sager Lovely gentleman . R.I.P . I remember the black cape too
- Kathleen Litts-Dean I wanted a robe like the head and therr we go twenty years later I wore one .
- Kathleen Litts-Dean rip sir
- Robert Duff In 1966 Dr. Dunlop retired and was succeeded by Dr. Alexander McLaren. In 1980 the school roll topped 2000 pupils for the first time. Dr. McLaren retired in 1984 to be replaced by Douglas Campbell.
- Found rhat info online... knew it was soon after I left he retired
- Kate Dargie Robert i left in 1982 - the black robe scared me !! Image teachers wearing them today ... i think bell baxter has changed a lot - i havent been back since 82 . Who remembers miss dymock ?? She gave me a hug when i left !!!
- Kenneth Petrie Sad news.
- Pamela Thomson RlP sir thoughts with your family
- Angela Redpath Sad news.
- Georgina Mcfadzean So sad
- Andy Jones He was a true gent and earned the respect of many.
- Anne Thoms Sad news, I left in 1985 so I remember him and the cape.
- Linda Reid I remember the black gown a very respected gentleman
- Evelyn Hutton RIP Dr McLaren. He was always a gentleman.
Alistair Graham
Alistair Graham of the Class of '56 died in Ninewells Hospital earlier this month. His funeral was held in St John's Church, Cupar on 15 August.
Pam MacPherson
Patricia Ann Margaret Higgins died on 4 April 2013. She contracted pneumonia some two years ago and had been ill ever since.
Born at Stornoway, Isle of Lewis, Pam joined Class 2a1 in 1957 from Morrison's Academy, Crieff. She said of her time at Bell Baxter that she was not high profile, often to be found skulking in Mr Rodger's art room. She had always been called Pam, but at school was known by her proper name, Patricia.
Her family left Fife in 1963, since when she had been back only twice, the second time for the Golden Reunion in 2006. She moved to England in 1968 and lived in various places before settling permanently in Chesterfield, Derbyshire in 1978, on the edge of the glorious Peak District. She was a retired infant teacher, married to Malcolm (Higgins) with a son, daughter & one grandson.
Pam retired from teaching in 2002 to devote more time to her and Malcolm's interest in showing and breeding Border Terriers - an activity they got into completely by accident, having bought two as pets, and then finding out that one was a good show prospect. Buoyed up by success, they were soon travelling all over the UK on the show circuit. She enjoyed reading, tapestry and knitting. She was artistic, enjoying painting and drawing and was a member at the local art club. She enjoyed the company of her Border Terrier dogs which were part of her life from showing days. Pam and her brother Stewart never tired of talking about Bell Baxter school days.
Born at Stornoway, Isle of Lewis, Pam joined Class 2a1 in 1957 from Morrison's Academy, Crieff. She said of her time at Bell Baxter that she was not high profile, often to be found skulking in Mr Rodger's art room. She had always been called Pam, but at school was known by her proper name, Patricia.
Her family left Fife in 1963, since when she had been back only twice, the second time for the Golden Reunion in 2006. She moved to England in 1968 and lived in various places before settling permanently in Chesterfield, Derbyshire in 1978, on the edge of the glorious Peak District. She was a retired infant teacher, married to Malcolm (Higgins) with a son, daughter & one grandson.
Pam retired from teaching in 2002 to devote more time to her and Malcolm's interest in showing and breeding Border Terriers - an activity they got into completely by accident, having bought two as pets, and then finding out that one was a good show prospect. Buoyed up by success, they were soon travelling all over the UK on the show circuit. She enjoyed reading, tapestry and knitting. She was artistic, enjoying painting and drawing and was a member at the local art club. She enjoyed the company of her Border Terrier dogs which were part of her life from showing days. Pam and her brother Stewart never tired of talking about Bell Baxter school days.
Jennifer Rodger
Dr Jennifer Watson (nee Rodger) of the Class of '55 died peacefully in her sleep last month. A fuller obituary will appear in the next FPA Newsletter.
Jefferson Kettles
THE funeral is due to take place tomorrow (Saturday 16 February) of 18-year-old Falkland man Jefferson Kettles, who was tragically killed in a road accident outside Cupar last Monday morning.The ceremony is due to take place at Kirkcaldy crematorium at 10.15am.Last Friday many of Jefferson's friends held a minutes' silence at Bell Baxter High School to remember the foimer pupil.
One of his friends told the Fife Herald that she expected the funeral would include a huge turnout from Bell Baxter High School.
Jefferson, whö worked at GS Brown in Ladybank, was a keen amateur footballer who played for Auchtermuchty Bellvue 19s, captaining the team in their first Scottish Cup tie in September.
Angela MacDonald
Church packed as 350 pay tribute to popular music teacher
Tributes to the girl who loved life
by DAVE SCOTT
[email protected]
Around 350 friends gathered in Cupar Baptist Church on Tuesday 8 January 2013 for a service of thanksgiving and celebration for the life of popular Bell Baxter music teacher Angela Macdonald.
Angela (31), who died at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee on December 30, was the only daughter of retired Cupar Baptist minister, the Rev Bill Macdonald, and his wife, Morag.
A teacher at Bell Baxter for six years, Angela was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in December 2011 and, after undergoing chemotherapy at Ninewells, was given the all clear last April. Despite further treatment, she suffered a relapse at 'the end of September.
A former Bell Baxter pupil, Angela went on to teach as a probationer at Beath High in Cowdenbeath before moving to Glenwood High in Glenrothes, then returning to her old school as a member of staff.
Paisley-born Angela moved to Cupar in 1982 aged 16 months after her father was appointed Baptist Church minister at Cupar.
Her musical talents became evident early, with Angela beginning to play the piano when she was around four or five years old, then progressing to the clarinet.
She was a member of Castlehill Primary School orchestra, in which she played the viola, and went to join Bell Baxter Wind Band as well as Fife Youth Orchestra.
After completing an honours degree in music at Napier University in Edinburgh, she studied for a one-year postgraduate secondary school teaching diploma at Moray House.
An active member of Cupar Baptist Church, she also ran Scripture Union at Bell Baxter and played in Christian orchestras Origin and New Scottish.
A keen photograher, Angela's other hobbies included driving and jet skiing.
A photographic celebration of Angela's life was shown before and after Tuesday's service, which was conducted by the Rev David Paton, minister of Largo Baptist Church and the Rev Dr Brian Talbot, minister of Broughty Ferry Baptist Church.
After the welcome and a focus on the details of Angela's life, David introduced the first three parts of the tribute to her...Angela loved life, loved music and loved people.
Rebecca Hardie, a friend, sang a hymn called Come to Me before Dr Talbot concluded the service with a focus on Angela's faith.
Following a service at Cupar cemetery, around 150 friends gathered for refreshments in the Baptist Church.
Mr Macdonald said that at this time of sadness and loss, the love and support of so many friends was a great comfort.
Donations totalling £1329.65 were received for Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy in Scotland.
Tribute to Angela was paid this week by Bell Baxter rector Phil Black, who said everyone at the school was "deeply saddened by her untimely death and our thoughts are with her family during this difficult time."
He continued: "Angela was a talented teacher and a dedicated professional.
"She played an important part in school life and gave willingly of her time to support a wide range of extra curricular activities and school events.
"Angela was highly regarded by colleagues and very well respected by parents and pupils. She will be sadly missed by us all."
Tributes to the girl who loved life
by DAVE SCOTT
[email protected]
Around 350 friends gathered in Cupar Baptist Church on Tuesday 8 January 2013 for a service of thanksgiving and celebration for the life of popular Bell Baxter music teacher Angela Macdonald.
Angela (31), who died at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee on December 30, was the only daughter of retired Cupar Baptist minister, the Rev Bill Macdonald, and his wife, Morag.
A teacher at Bell Baxter for six years, Angela was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in December 2011 and, after undergoing chemotherapy at Ninewells, was given the all clear last April. Despite further treatment, she suffered a relapse at 'the end of September.
A former Bell Baxter pupil, Angela went on to teach as a probationer at Beath High in Cowdenbeath before moving to Glenwood High in Glenrothes, then returning to her old school as a member of staff.
Paisley-born Angela moved to Cupar in 1982 aged 16 months after her father was appointed Baptist Church minister at Cupar.
Her musical talents became evident early, with Angela beginning to play the piano when she was around four or five years old, then progressing to the clarinet.
She was a member of Castlehill Primary School orchestra, in which she played the viola, and went to join Bell Baxter Wind Band as well as Fife Youth Orchestra.
After completing an honours degree in music at Napier University in Edinburgh, she studied for a one-year postgraduate secondary school teaching diploma at Moray House.
An active member of Cupar Baptist Church, she also ran Scripture Union at Bell Baxter and played in Christian orchestras Origin and New Scottish.
A keen photograher, Angela's other hobbies included driving and jet skiing.
A photographic celebration of Angela's life was shown before and after Tuesday's service, which was conducted by the Rev David Paton, minister of Largo Baptist Church and the Rev Dr Brian Talbot, minister of Broughty Ferry Baptist Church.
After the welcome and a focus on the details of Angela's life, David introduced the first three parts of the tribute to her...Angela loved life, loved music and loved people.
Rebecca Hardie, a friend, sang a hymn called Come to Me before Dr Talbot concluded the service with a focus on Angela's faith.
Following a service at Cupar cemetery, around 150 friends gathered for refreshments in the Baptist Church.
Mr Macdonald said that at this time of sadness and loss, the love and support of so many friends was a great comfort.
Donations totalling £1329.65 were received for Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy in Scotland.
Tribute to Angela was paid this week by Bell Baxter rector Phil Black, who said everyone at the school was "deeply saddened by her untimely death and our thoughts are with her family during this difficult time."
He continued: "Angela was a talented teacher and a dedicated professional.
"She played an important part in school life and gave willingly of her time to support a wide range of extra curricular activities and school events.
"Angela was highly regarded by colleagues and very well respected by parents and pupils. She will be sadly missed by us all."
- by Dave Scott
- [email protected]
- There was a big turnout at Kirkcaldy crematorium for the funeral of popular Cupar window clearer John (Sneck) Duncan.
Born, raised and educated in Cupar, where he spent his entire 81 years, Sneck worked in a butcher’s shop in the town after leaving Bell Baxter School.
Before starting out on his own as a window cleaner 35 years ago, he was a steel erector and crane driver with local engineers Houston’s, as well as a labourer with building companies.
He was still working until last year, keeping all his clients in the Cupar area up to date with the latest local news and gossip.
An all-round handyman, Sneck would readily offer his services to anyone in need.
During his time at Adamson Hospice – where he passed away – he kept fellow patients and staff entertained with his wise-cracking and constant stream of jokes.
A keen walker in the glens with his wife, Annie, Sneck is survived by his family, grandchildren and great-grandson.
Born, raised and educated in Cupar, where he spent his entire 81 years, Sneck worked in a butcher’s shop in the town after leaving Bell Baxter School.
Before starting out on his own as a window cleaner 35 years ago, he was a steel erector and crane driver with local engineers Houston’s, as well as a labourer with building companies.
He was still working until last year, keeping all his clients in the Cupar area up to date with the latest local news and gossip.
An all-round handyman, Sneck would readily offer his services to anyone in need.
During his time at Adamson Hospice – where he passed away – he kept fellow patients and staff entertained with his wise-cracking and constant stream of jokes.
A keen walker in the glens with his wife, Annie, Sneck is survived by his family, grandchildren and great-grandson.
William Russell
Billy Russell, who was 58, died following a massive stroke in January 2005.
Billy had worked as a Communications Officer for both the Home Office and the BBC for many years.
He was living in Camden in London at the time.
This information came from his sister, Mrs Elizabeth Ingham, who is also an FP (1961).
Billy had worked as a Communications Officer for both the Home Office and the BBC for many years.
He was living in Camden in London at the time.
This information came from his sister, Mrs Elizabeth Ingham, who is also an FP (1961).
John Duncan
Kenneth J Vaughan
Kenneth J. Vaughan December 1947 - November 2012
Better known as 'Ken' he attended BBHS in the mid 60s, then graduated with a degree in geology from the University of St Andrews. He worked for Burroughs Computers and resided in Cumbernauld. He is survived by his children Veronica, Kevin, Melanie and Andrea.
Ian Munro
Published in the Courier : 12.10.12
Published online : 12.10.12 @ 03.54pm
Ian Munro, the former editor of the Bunty, has died after a long illness.
Born in Springfield, Fife, in 1937, Mr Munro was educated at Castlehill Primary School and Bell Baxter in Cupar before joining DC Thomson as a sub-editor in children's publications in 1954.
His first position in the department was on the staff of the Adventure. A year later he was called up to do his National Service, serving in the RAF at airbases near Reading and Louth.
On returning to Dundee, Mr Munro married wife Doreen in 1956 and had spells on the Dandy and Sparky before moving to the Bunty.
Mrs Munro said journalism had always been her husband's chosen profession.
She said: ''He always read a tremendous amount and when he was older he wrote a history of our church and a book on the lodge that he was in. He liked writing so he always thought that way.
''He did Desperate Dan and other characters. He was what they called the ideas man. He would tell the writers what to write and what pictures he wanted drawn.
''He would observe people, family and friends and if anything funny happened he would try to turn it around into an idea for a story situation. He based a lot of the stories on things that our own kids did.
''One of the kids had a hula hoop and he used the idea in a Korky the Kat story. It was just silly things that would give him an idea. Our kids thought it was great.''
Mr Munro moved to the Bunty in 1970 where he remained until taking early retirement in August 1992 after 10 years as editor.
Mrs Munro said: ''He was really pleased when he became editor and said his greatest claim to fame was changing the Four Mary's out of their old-fashioned things.''
Mr Munro had lived with his wife in Broughty Ferry for over 50 years. He is survived by wife Doreen, children Dena, Rod and Karen, nine grandchildren, three great-grandchildren, sister May and brother-in-law Donald.
Robert Davidson
Published in The Herald on 29 September 2012
Johnston McKay
Former Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland;
Born: March 30, 1927; Died: September 22, 2012.
Professor Robert Davidson, who has died at the age of 85, had the distinction not only of being Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, but also having taught in all four of the ancient Scottish universities.
He was born in Markinch in Fife and educated throughout the years of the Second World War at Bell Baxter School in Cupar. In 1945 he went to the University of St Andrews where he took a first class honours MA in classics and then studied divinity at St Mary's College, where he graduated BD with distinction. In 1953, just a year after graduating, he was appointed lecturer in biblical studies at the University of Aberdeen, and ordained by the Presbytery of Aberdeen in 1956.
His first book, The Bible Speaks, which reflected the general courses he had taught until then, was published in 1959, and the following year he returned to St Andrews as lecturer in Hebrew and Old Testament studies. St Mary's College, home of the divinity faculty, was unique in that although students for the ministry were trained there, it had no church college alongside it, and so was able to concentrate on scholarship without over concern for ministerial formation. However Robert Davidson was someone who was always a churchman as well as a university lecturer.
In 1967 he moved to New College in Edinburgh as lecturer and two years later was appointed senior lecturer. In 1972 he was appointed to the chair of Old Testament Language and Literature in the University of Glasgow. His later colleague and friend Robert Carroll once commented somewhat chauvinistically: "Thus by an inexorably upward journey through the ancient universities of Scotland, Robert arrived at last in the land and graced that chair until his retirement in 1991."
Robert Davidson was a brilliant teacher. A former student wrote that "his gentle delivery and one-handed juggling with chalk in time with the flow of his ideas did not disguise the thread of determination like steel bracing that ran through his approach to his work. There was no doubting what he really thought and aimed to transmit."
More books were published on The Old Testament (1964), Biblical Criticism (1970), commentaries on Jeremiah, the Song of Songs and Lamentations, and in 1983 what was arguably his most influential book, The Courage To Doubt. By careful examination of the witness of Old Testament writers, this was a passionate expression of how constant and absolute certainty is not part of the Judaeo-Christian tradition, and that, as Tennyson put it: there is more faith in honest doubt than in half the creeds.
In 1990, Glasgow was European City of Culture, and the year also marked the 300th anniversary of the last occasion the General Assembly met in Glasgow and re-established Presbyterianism in Scotland in 1690. It was expected that someone with connections to the city would be elected Moderator of the General Assembly, and many had assumed the minister of Glasgow Cathedral, Dr William Morris, would be chosen. But the nomination went to Robert Davidson. He chaired the General Assembly with firmness and grace and was a delightful guest in congregations, presbyteries and abroad. His reputation as a host in the Moderator's then residence in Edinburgh's Charlotte Square was marked, not always with pleasure, by the entire absence of alcohol!
After his moderatorial year and his retirement from his chair in 1991, Robert Davidson chaired a number of General Assembly committees and commissions. He spent a year as interim secretary of the Church's Board of Education and in 2003 a commission he chaired into "the theology of land and covenant" examined the use of biblical evidence in the claims to land of both Israelis and Palestinians. Always sympathetic to the Palestinian cause, he promoted what became known as "alternative pilgrimages" to the Holy Land.These visited Jewish settlements and Palestinian refugee camps.
Robert Davidson was someone of great personal warmth. Some of his former students produced their own tribute to him, Words At Work, published in 1994, to join the 1992 academic symposium in his honour, Test As Pretext: Essays In Honour Of Robert Davidson. He is survived by his wife Elizabeth, four sons and three daughters.
Johnston McKay
Former Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland;
Born: March 30, 1927; Died: September 22, 2012.
Professor Robert Davidson, who has died at the age of 85, had the distinction not only of being Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, but also having taught in all four of the ancient Scottish universities.
He was born in Markinch in Fife and educated throughout the years of the Second World War at Bell Baxter School in Cupar. In 1945 he went to the University of St Andrews where he took a first class honours MA in classics and then studied divinity at St Mary's College, where he graduated BD with distinction. In 1953, just a year after graduating, he was appointed lecturer in biblical studies at the University of Aberdeen, and ordained by the Presbytery of Aberdeen in 1956.
His first book, The Bible Speaks, which reflected the general courses he had taught until then, was published in 1959, and the following year he returned to St Andrews as lecturer in Hebrew and Old Testament studies. St Mary's College, home of the divinity faculty, was unique in that although students for the ministry were trained there, it had no church college alongside it, and so was able to concentrate on scholarship without over concern for ministerial formation. However Robert Davidson was someone who was always a churchman as well as a university lecturer.
In 1967 he moved to New College in Edinburgh as lecturer and two years later was appointed senior lecturer. In 1972 he was appointed to the chair of Old Testament Language and Literature in the University of Glasgow. His later colleague and friend Robert Carroll once commented somewhat chauvinistically: "Thus by an inexorably upward journey through the ancient universities of Scotland, Robert arrived at last in the land and graced that chair until his retirement in 1991."
Robert Davidson was a brilliant teacher. A former student wrote that "his gentle delivery and one-handed juggling with chalk in time with the flow of his ideas did not disguise the thread of determination like steel bracing that ran through his approach to his work. There was no doubting what he really thought and aimed to transmit."
More books were published on The Old Testament (1964), Biblical Criticism (1970), commentaries on Jeremiah, the Song of Songs and Lamentations, and in 1983 what was arguably his most influential book, The Courage To Doubt. By careful examination of the witness of Old Testament writers, this was a passionate expression of how constant and absolute certainty is not part of the Judaeo-Christian tradition, and that, as Tennyson put it: there is more faith in honest doubt than in half the creeds.
In 1990, Glasgow was European City of Culture, and the year also marked the 300th anniversary of the last occasion the General Assembly met in Glasgow and re-established Presbyterianism in Scotland in 1690. It was expected that someone with connections to the city would be elected Moderator of the General Assembly, and many had assumed the minister of Glasgow Cathedral, Dr William Morris, would be chosen. But the nomination went to Robert Davidson. He chaired the General Assembly with firmness and grace and was a delightful guest in congregations, presbyteries and abroad. His reputation as a host in the Moderator's then residence in Edinburgh's Charlotte Square was marked, not always with pleasure, by the entire absence of alcohol!
After his moderatorial year and his retirement from his chair in 1991, Robert Davidson chaired a number of General Assembly committees and commissions. He spent a year as interim secretary of the Church's Board of Education and in 2003 a commission he chaired into "the theology of land and covenant" examined the use of biblical evidence in the claims to land of both Israelis and Palestinians. Always sympathetic to the Palestinian cause, he promoted what became known as "alternative pilgrimages" to the Holy Land.These visited Jewish settlements and Palestinian refugee camps.
Robert Davidson was someone of great personal warmth. Some of his former students produced their own tribute to him, Words At Work, published in 1994, to join the 1992 academic symposium in his honour, Test As Pretext: Essays In Honour Of Robert Davidson. He is survived by his wife Elizabeth, four sons and three daughters.
Bob Bonthrone
Bob Bonthrone (1948) passed away on Saturday 8th September 2012
There was a celebration of his life on Thursday 27th September in Dollar Parish Church followed by refreshments in the Burnside Hall Dollar.
There was a celebration of his life on Thursday 27th September in Dollar Parish Church followed by refreshments in the Burnside Hall Dollar.
Anne Angus
Anne Angus, a former pupil who started at Bell Baxter in 1947, died recently. She had been in declining health for some time. Her funeral was held on 6th August 2012 in St Monans. Anne was appointed to the committee of the FP Association in March 2001 and served until 2010. She was unmarried.
Peter R Dew
Peter Dew died on 7 June 2012. He had been ill for some time.
Peter was a retired master mariner and lived in Wormit. He was a member of the FP Association and served as its Treasurer for a number of years.
A fuller account of Peter's life will be published in the November 2012 FPA Newsletter.
Funeral service in Wormit Parish Church on Friday 15th June 2012 at 1.15 p.m. followed by cremation service at Dundee Crematorium at 2.45 p.m. A collection at church and crematorium was divided between cancer research and R.N.L.I.
Peter was a retired master mariner and lived in Wormit. He was a member of the FP Association and served as its Treasurer for a number of years.
A fuller account of Peter's life will be published in the November 2012 FPA Newsletter.
Funeral service in Wormit Parish Church on Friday 15th June 2012 at 1.15 p.m. followed by cremation service at Dundee Crematorium at 2.45 p.m. A collection at church and crematorium was divided between cancer research and R.N.L.I.
Clouston McIntyre
Businessman and farmer Clouston McIntyre, the driving force behind Kettle Produce, one of the biggest vegetable prepackers in the country, died suddenly while on holiday in Italy.
No longer would the housewife want to buy dirty field-grown vegetables, preferring instead to pick up a ready-to-use prepack.
Getting a toehold into supplying the major retailers was very difficult, but in that first year of 1976 there was one piece of good fortune, as that was the year of the big drought.
Traditional suppliers in the east of England saw their crops shrivel and disappear, then the buyers became aware that Fife and the east of Scotland provided another supply option.
Another helping factor was the demise of the sugar beet factory in Cupar, which left farmers looking for another cash crop to supplement their income.
The growth of the company was largely down to Mr McIntyre spending long hours overseeing the details of a business supplying fresh produce 365 days a year — a tough industry in which competition is fierce and standards high.
He was in the office or prowling along the packing lines from early in the morning to late at night.
His belief and passion for growing, and the high standards he set, were seen and shared by the local farming community and the major multiples.
Mr McIntyre's parents were both of farming stock and highly respected in the farming industry.
His father, known to many as Charlie Mack, was a college advisor and had a major influence on farming in Fife in the middle years of last century.
His mother, Florrie, was an Orcadian and was a well-respected poultry advisor and a keen and knowledgeable gardener — a gift she passed on to her son.
Mr McIntyre was born and brought up in Wormit, and after attending the local primary school he went to Bell Baxter High School where he gained a scholarship to Cambridge.
This he turned down in preference of Aberdeen University, where he took his honours degree in agriculture and where he also gained a lifetime's affection for his alma mater.
After gaining his degree he returned to Fife where he took up a post as a farm manager and then the tenancy of a farm near Ladybank. There he startled his more traditional neighbours by growing strawberries — not an acre or two, but a staggering 40 acres.
This was his introduction to supplying fresh produce to markets.
Then, along with three other farmers, he set up Eden Bulbs, with the intent of growing tulips.
When asked why, his response was: ''Because they are so difficult to grow no one else will try.''
Tulips were grown successfully with 12 acres of spring flowers brightening up the Fife landscape.
The venture disbanded when rising oil prices increased the heating costs for the glasshouse growers in the Clyde Valley, making the production of blooms for Christmas unviable.
Before he left to set up Kettle Produce, he was also the general manager of Fife Growers, a farmers' cooperative that initially grew a large acreage of vining peas.
This group has now transformed itself into East of Scotland Growers, one of the largest growers of broccoli in western Europe and a major supplier to Kettle Produce.
He was never a businessman who sought the limelight, either for himself or the company, but in 2010 he received a lifetime achievement award from one of the major multiples in recognition of his efforts in the produce industry.
In his scarce leisure time, he enjoyed socialising and loved a good party. He enjoyed playing bridge at all levels and always liked to win.
His foreign travel also gave him great pleasure, and his family all enjoyed many weekend breaks to various cities.
He developed a love of art and particularly enjoyed visiting national and local galleries, always favouring Scottish artists.
His garden gave him great joy and he rarely had a day out without returning with a boot load of ''really magnificent specimens.''
He is survived by his wife, Elspeth, daughter, Susie, and son, Andrew.
- Published in the Courier : 24.05.12
- Published online : 24.05.12 @ 03.53pm
No longer would the housewife want to buy dirty field-grown vegetables, preferring instead to pick up a ready-to-use prepack.
Getting a toehold into supplying the major retailers was very difficult, but in that first year of 1976 there was one piece of good fortune, as that was the year of the big drought.
Traditional suppliers in the east of England saw their crops shrivel and disappear, then the buyers became aware that Fife and the east of Scotland provided another supply option.
Another helping factor was the demise of the sugar beet factory in Cupar, which left farmers looking for another cash crop to supplement their income.
The growth of the company was largely down to Mr McIntyre spending long hours overseeing the details of a business supplying fresh produce 365 days a year — a tough industry in which competition is fierce and standards high.
He was in the office or prowling along the packing lines from early in the morning to late at night.
His belief and passion for growing, and the high standards he set, were seen and shared by the local farming community and the major multiples.
Mr McIntyre's parents were both of farming stock and highly respected in the farming industry.
His father, known to many as Charlie Mack, was a college advisor and had a major influence on farming in Fife in the middle years of last century.
His mother, Florrie, was an Orcadian and was a well-respected poultry advisor and a keen and knowledgeable gardener — a gift she passed on to her son.
Mr McIntyre was born and brought up in Wormit, and after attending the local primary school he went to Bell Baxter High School where he gained a scholarship to Cambridge.
This he turned down in preference of Aberdeen University, where he took his honours degree in agriculture and where he also gained a lifetime's affection for his alma mater.
After gaining his degree he returned to Fife where he took up a post as a farm manager and then the tenancy of a farm near Ladybank. There he startled his more traditional neighbours by growing strawberries — not an acre or two, but a staggering 40 acres.
This was his introduction to supplying fresh produce to markets.
Then, along with three other farmers, he set up Eden Bulbs, with the intent of growing tulips.
When asked why, his response was: ''Because they are so difficult to grow no one else will try.''
Tulips were grown successfully with 12 acres of spring flowers brightening up the Fife landscape.
The venture disbanded when rising oil prices increased the heating costs for the glasshouse growers in the Clyde Valley, making the production of blooms for Christmas unviable.
Before he left to set up Kettle Produce, he was also the general manager of Fife Growers, a farmers' cooperative that initially grew a large acreage of vining peas.
This group has now transformed itself into East of Scotland Growers, one of the largest growers of broccoli in western Europe and a major supplier to Kettle Produce.
He was never a businessman who sought the limelight, either for himself or the company, but in 2010 he received a lifetime achievement award from one of the major multiples in recognition of his efforts in the produce industry.
In his scarce leisure time, he enjoyed socialising and loved a good party. He enjoyed playing bridge at all levels and always liked to win.
His foreign travel also gave him great pleasure, and his family all enjoyed many weekend breaks to various cities.
He developed a love of art and particularly enjoyed visiting national and local galleries, always favouring Scottish artists.
His garden gave him great joy and he rarely had a day out without returning with a boot load of ''really magnificent specimens.''
He is survived by his wife, Elspeth, daughter, Susie, and son, Andrew.
The former president of Howe of Fife Rugby Club and Fife architect Ian Webster Stewart has died. He was 84.
- By Leeza Clark
- Published in the Courier : 23.04.12
- Published online : 23.04.12 @ 02.29pm
On leaving school he studied architecture at Dundee College of Art.
He had to break off from his studies to undertake his national service. He joined the Royal Navy and served three years onboard HMS Swiftsure. Afterwards, he returned to his studies and graduated in 1951.
Mr Stewart joined Fife Council and worked from Cupar County Buildings. After local government reorganisation, his offices moved to Fife House where he became assistant director for architecture.
Over his working life he was involved in designing many notable projects, including being the project architect on the Madras College Kilrymont site which opened in 1967.
He also designed the Lochgelly Centre with its theatre, sports facilities and exhibition rooms. It was opened in 1976 by the Duke of Edinburgh.
In the fifties, he played in goal for Thanes of Fife hockey team and in the sixties joined the Howe of Fife RFC where he played on the wing.
He used his architectural skills to help the club develop their club rooms and their Duffus Park site. He also designed the Howe badge worn with pride by so many players over the years.
The club honoured him by electing him club president from 1969-71.
In the late sixties and seventies, with his rugby playing days over, Mr Stewart rekindled his interest in hockey and became coach for the Bell Baxter FP women's team.
He also had a passion for genealogy and he researched the family tree back to 1625 in Aberlemno.
Through his endeavours many family links were re-established in the UK and also from as far as North America and New Zealand.
Another passion was for poetry and he was published in a collection of Scottish poets in 1995.
In the late eighties, he developed rheumatoid arthritis and had to retire from architecture.
Mr Stewart was married to Rose and was father of Rorie and the late Fionn.
He is also survived by his three grandsons David, Thomas and Cameron, his sisters and brother and their families.
Son Rorie paid tribute, saying: ''Throughout his life he showed great kindness with a keen wit and a no-nonsense outlook on life.
''He leaves many visible treasures behind — buildings, drawings, caricatures, poetry — but the most important to himself was his family.''
Margaret Fisher
THE funeral of Margaret Smith, well-known local businesswoman and mother of Artie Trezise MBE of Singing Kettle fame, took place in St Andrews.
Mrs Smith, who was 89, died peacefully in the town's Gibson House nursing home on April 13 2012, having moved there from her home in Argyle Court in 2009.
Born Margaret Fisher in the flat above her parents' business of Fisher and Donaldson, Cupar, Mrs Smith spent her early years in Crail while her father ran the East Neuk branch of the bakers.
The family moved back to Cupar in 1928 and she attended Kirkgate, Castlehill and Bell Baxter schools, leaving at the age of 15 to join the family business.
She spent a year training at Goodfellow and Steven in Dundee then went on to domestic science school in Glasgow where she graduated in the cordon blue course.
At the outbreak of war in 1939, Margaret was back working in Cupar, and Fisher and Donaldson's restaurant was taken over by the county council as a British restaurant serving local workers.
Margaret managed the restaurant for a time before joining the WRNS and was posted to Easthaven, near Carnoustie, where her accommodation consisted of rat- infested nissen huts.
In August 1944, she met a Cornish mining engineer, James Trezise, who was visiting Carnoustie on leave from Nigeria. They were engaged a week later and they married in St John's Church, Cupar, on Christmas Day 1945, just after the war ended.
Margaret bought M. Duncan Ltd., fruit and flower shop in the Crossgate (now Gregg's the Baker), and continued to run the shop after the birth of their first son, Arthur (now better know as Artie) in 1947. Eventually Jimmy gave up engineering and joined his wife in the shop.
Two more children arrived, Jennifer and John, and they moved from their first home in Castlefield to live above the shop in the Crossgate. A second branch of the shop opened immediately across the street.
PASSION
Margaret continued to be an active member of St John's Church and took part in a number of Gilbert and Sullivan productions in the chorus of Cupar Opera.
She also took up golf, which became a life-long passion when she joined Cupar Golf Club in 1963. Highlights of her golfing career were winning the Burns Cup and beating future professional, Dale Reid, at a competition in Ladybank.
What she described as the 'best day of my life' came later in the 1980s when she scored for Tom Watson, Bernard. Langer, and Greg Norman at the Open in St Andrews, made even better by the fact that Tom Watson remembered her name.
Along with Margaret Coupar and Sybil Johnston, she formed Cupar Floral Art Club in 1957 and some 10 years ago was made a life member.
Sadly Jimmy, her husband, died suddenly from a heart attack, aged 57, in May 1977. By this time part of the business had been sold off to the Bradford and Bingley Building Society and she eventually retired from the business in January 1978.
In January 1978, Margaret married Pat Smith, the accountant at the Royal Bank in St Andrews, and they set up home at Grange Road in the town.
By this time her family had left home and she had time to indulge her passion for golf, bridge schools, carpet bowls and travel.
Margaret and Pat made trips to the Canadian Rockies and to the Masters Golf Tournament in Augusta for the 1985 and 1987 tournaments. Together they enjoyed a full social life and, when he died in 1998, she moved into the sheltered housing complex at Argyle Court.
As well as three children, Margaret leaves seven grandchildren and 11 step-grandchildren, one great grandchild and six great grandchildren.
Mrs Smith, who was 89, died peacefully in the town's Gibson House nursing home on April 13 2012, having moved there from her home in Argyle Court in 2009.
Born Margaret Fisher in the flat above her parents' business of Fisher and Donaldson, Cupar, Mrs Smith spent her early years in Crail while her father ran the East Neuk branch of the bakers.
The family moved back to Cupar in 1928 and she attended Kirkgate, Castlehill and Bell Baxter schools, leaving at the age of 15 to join the family business.
She spent a year training at Goodfellow and Steven in Dundee then went on to domestic science school in Glasgow where she graduated in the cordon blue course.
At the outbreak of war in 1939, Margaret was back working in Cupar, and Fisher and Donaldson's restaurant was taken over by the county council as a British restaurant serving local workers.
Margaret managed the restaurant for a time before joining the WRNS and was posted to Easthaven, near Carnoustie, where her accommodation consisted of rat- infested nissen huts.
In August 1944, she met a Cornish mining engineer, James Trezise, who was visiting Carnoustie on leave from Nigeria. They were engaged a week later and they married in St John's Church, Cupar, on Christmas Day 1945, just after the war ended.
Margaret bought M. Duncan Ltd., fruit and flower shop in the Crossgate (now Gregg's the Baker), and continued to run the shop after the birth of their first son, Arthur (now better know as Artie) in 1947. Eventually Jimmy gave up engineering and joined his wife in the shop.
Two more children arrived, Jennifer and John, and they moved from their first home in Castlefield to live above the shop in the Crossgate. A second branch of the shop opened immediately across the street.
PASSION
Margaret continued to be an active member of St John's Church and took part in a number of Gilbert and Sullivan productions in the chorus of Cupar Opera.
She also took up golf, which became a life-long passion when she joined Cupar Golf Club in 1963. Highlights of her golfing career were winning the Burns Cup and beating future professional, Dale Reid, at a competition in Ladybank.
What she described as the 'best day of my life' came later in the 1980s when she scored for Tom Watson, Bernard. Langer, and Greg Norman at the Open in St Andrews, made even better by the fact that Tom Watson remembered her name.
Along with Margaret Coupar and Sybil Johnston, she formed Cupar Floral Art Club in 1957 and some 10 years ago was made a life member.
Sadly Jimmy, her husband, died suddenly from a heart attack, aged 57, in May 1977. By this time part of the business had been sold off to the Bradford and Bingley Building Society and she eventually retired from the business in January 1978.
In January 1978, Margaret married Pat Smith, the accountant at the Royal Bank in St Andrews, and they set up home at Grange Road in the town.
By this time her family had left home and she had time to indulge her passion for golf, bridge schools, carpet bowls and travel.
Margaret and Pat made trips to the Canadian Rockies and to the Masters Golf Tournament in Augusta for the 1985 and 1987 tournaments. Together they enjoyed a full social life and, when he died in 1998, she moved into the sheltered housing complex at Argyle Court.
As well as three children, Margaret leaves seven grandchildren and 11 step-grandchildren, one great grandchild and six great grandchildren.