Seaforth
Alexander (Alex) died on 6 December 2019 aged 84 years in Tain.

He served with the Seaforth Highlanders.

Seaforth
Colin died on 3 May 2020 at home in Hampshire after a long illness.

Colin came from a distinguished “Caithness – Seaforth Highlanders family – his father Brigadier George Murray DSO MC commanded 2 Seaforth and 152 Brigade in North Africa in WW2.

Colin himself was a National Serviceman, serving with 11th Battalion (TA) Seaforth Highlanders. He was also very supportive of the Cuidich ‘n Righ Club and highly regarded in the City of London.

Seaforth
Ernest (Ernie) died on 1 February 2020 aged 94 years.

Born in Bonar Bridge, Sutherland he went on to list in the Seaforth Highlanders in 1944. Ernie was a staunch supporter of the RBL Scotland and served with a number of Branches in and around Dundee where he set up home in the 1950’s.

QO Hldr

Adam passed away on 22 August 2019 aged 79 years.

He served in the Queen’s Own Highlanders from 1960 – 1976.

Seaforth
World War II veteran Andrew Macleod of Dornoch died on 30 March 2020 at the age of 98.

A Seaforth Highlander, Mr Macleod fought against Rommel in North Africa and was part of the Allied invasion of Sicily in 1943, going on to fight in Italy.

He received the Legion d’honneur in 2018 – France’s highest honour.

After the war, Mr Macleod worked as a painter and decorator and was heavily involved in the community, serving as president of Dornoch Highland Games for many years.

A keen golfer, he was still caddying at the age of 90 and in high demand because of his knowledge of the game.

Cameron, QO Hldr

Norrie, as he was known throughout his career died on 26 September 2020 aged 79 years. 

He joined the Camerons in March 1960 serving with them for a short time before the amalgamation in 1961.  In the QO HLDRS where his brother Sid also served, he was known mainly for his service in the Motor Transport Platoon where he filled several appointments.  He reached the rank of WO2 and completed his service in March 1982 at the Scottish Infantry Depot Bridge of Don where he held the dual appointments of CSM HQ Company and MTO.

On leaving the Army he lived in Kildary Ross and Cromarty and worked for Highland Council.  Despite Covid restrictions, the Regiment was well represented at his funeral on a beautiful morning at the very well maintained Rosskeen Cemetery.  He is survived by wife Joan. 

QO Hldr
John was born in Glasgow on 15 April 1957 and died on 26 September 2020 aged 63 years.
John carried out his basic training at Glencorse in Edinburgh, he enlisted on 16 February passing out on 25 June 1976 as a member of Dargi Platoon. He joined the 1st Battalion Queen’s Own Highlanders in Edinburgh as a member of 5 Platoon B Company. John was affectionately known as Woody. He moved from B Company to S Company and was a member of the Anti-Tank Platoon for many years before moving to HQ Company as Ration Storeman seeing service in the UK, N Ireland, Hong Kong and Belize.
He was a recipient of the NI and Falklands Medals. John ended his service in 1988 after 12 years and moved to Glasgow with his wife and their family. In 2004 John and Linda moved to London where John was Head Porter at Park Side Hospital for 16 years. John was an active member of the Southern Branch and attended many reunions and marched on several occasions at the Cenotaph.

Hamish H M, Sutherland

Cameron

Major Hamish Sutherland died on 28 October 2020 aged 87. He held a National Service commission in The Queens’s Own Cameron Highlanders from 1954 serving with the 1st Camerons in Korea before transferring to the Army Catering Corps in 1957. He followed Major George Burns as Chairman and Treasurer of the Cameron Highlanders Branch of the Queen’s Own Highlanders Association and ran the Annual Gathering and other events with great success until 2018. His family owned the Cuchullin Lodge Hotel in Inverness.

Cameron

Bernard was born on 7 May 1927 and died on 3 November 2020 aged 93 years.

He served in the Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders from 31 January 1944 – 7 November 1952.

He also served with The Liverpool Scottish.

Seaforth

 

John Vivian Ritchie was born in Aldershot on 30 Oct 1928 into a military family.  His father, Maj Stewart ‘Jack’ Ritchie, Seaforth Highlanders won the Military Cross in 1918, but was killed at St. Valery in 1940.  At nine-years-old John was sent to live with his maternal grandmother and was enrolled at Brightlands Preparatory School, where his grandfather had been headmaster.  He later went on to Clifton College and left school in 1946.  He entered Sandhurst destined for the Seaforth Highlanders and was joined there by fellow Seaforth and life-long friend, James Grant.  They passed out together on 22 Dec 48.  At the time 1 Seaforth was in Malaya and in Jan 49 the two young officers sailed out to join their battalion.  On arrival John took command of 2 Platoon, A Company.  His platoon spent many months arduously patrolling the jungle in search of and ambushing communist infiltrators.  When 1 Seaforth moved home to Redford Barracks, Edinburgh in 1952 John was appointed Mortar Platoon Commander.  He won regimental colours for rugby, captained his company’s boxing team winning the inter-company boxing and continued this success driving the cross-company team to victory, by virtue of chasing them around the course in his car.  In Apr 52, the Battalion moved out to Buxtehude in Germany and in Feb 53 John was posted to the Seaforth Depot, Fort George, where he took on the role of training National Service intakes.  He remained at the Fort until he retired from the Army in 1955.  Five years later John joined a new advertising firm, Collett Dickenson Pearce (CDP).  For thirty years the agency set the gold standard in British Advertising, winning more creative awards than any other and being a nursery for several creatives who later became household names: Charles Saatchi, Sir Alan Parker, Sir Ridley Scott and Lord Puttnam.  Stories of his determined loyalty to his clients are still legend and their trust in him led to commercials like ‘Happiness is a cigar called Hamlet’ and the ground-breaking B&H Gold images, which changed advertising for ever.  John retired from CDP as Deputy Chairman before Dentsu purchased the company in 2000.  John retained many regimental friendships and was a huge supporter of the Cuidich’n Righ Dinner Club.  He loved his fishing, shooting and dancing too.  He was an excellent cook, loved wine, sunshine and people.  He is survived by his first wife Amber whom he married in 1964.  They had two children, Tabitha and Guy.  Having divorced in 1973, John married Shireen, Baroness Ritchie of Brompton in 1982.  She pre-deceased him in 2012.

Seaforth

In August Rugby Union mourned the loss of one of its great players, Iain Hugh Page Laughland.  Iain was born in Bombay in 1935, where his father was a banker.  He moved to Scotland at the age of 9 to attend Croftinloan Preparatory School near Pitlochry after which he went on to Merchiston Castle School in Edinburgh.  Iain excelled at all manner of sports and besides playing rugby, he captained Scottish Schools at cricket in 1953.

After leaving school he was called up in 1954 for national service and joined the Seaforth Highlanders as a private.  He travelled to Fort George for his 10 weeks’ basic training catching a bus from Grantown-on-Spey and hitched a lift in a farm tractor for the last two miles.  While based at Fort George Ian played both rugby for the Depot and football for Nairn County FC.  After basic training he was sent to Eaton Hall but failed his W.O.S.B. for a commission first time round.  He was therefore posted in 1955 to the 1^st Battalion as a private in 6 Platoon, B Company and served in Egypt, Aden and Gibraltar where he was promoted to Lance Corporal.  He was later to tell amusing stories about his time in Aden: particularly one about a Glaswegian who tossed a grenade into a pond to stop the frogs croaking at night and nearly started a war.  He passed W.O.S.B. at the second attempt and was commissioned in September 1956 just before being transferred to the Reserve for the remainder of his five and half years’ service commitment.

During a successful in business he headed up Benn Brothers Publications, an international trade journal publisher.  Other sporting interests included golf and he held a 3 handicap.  But it was in rugby that he excelled.  Iain was a stalwart of London Scottish, which he was able to join for the 1956/57 season on his return to civilian life as a reservist.  He was club captain for the 1959-60 season and, unusually, for a second stint in 1963-64.  In his time, London Scottish excelled at the short form of the game and Iain was known to be supremely agile and fast, a creative genius who revitalised Rugby Sevens.  When the club won the Middlesex Sevens tournament five years out of six, added the Melrose Sevens in two of those years, and on two more occasions collected runners-up trophies, he was ever present and more often than not also captain.

 Selected to play for Scotland, Iain (known as “Logie”) was capped 31 times between 1959-1967 playing fly half and centre.  He captained Scotland in two matches for his country in 1966, most notably winning the Calcutta Cup at Murrayfield, having played in the side that also beat England two years before.  His last international was in 1967 again against England.  The commentator, Bill McLaren later paid him the accolade of selecting him as his fly half and captain for the all-time greatest Scottish side from those who played between 1950 and 2003.  He was also elected President of the Scottish Rugby Union for 2000-01.

Iain loved his time based at Fort George and being a Seaforth.  Fellow London Scot, Scotland International and British Lion, Stewart Wilson recalled¹: “Asked once about how he acquired his phenomenal speed off the mark, he attributed it to the day he had been sitting on the latrine in Aden with the Army, when an Arab sniper put a bullet between his legs!”  [¹ Reproduced with kind permission of Paul McFarland from the obituary published for London Scottish.)

Seaforth

 Mr Watson who served with the Seaforth Highlanders died in 2020.

Seaforth

 Norman Neil Campbell Lockhart, son of General Sir Rob Lockhart KCB CIE MC, was born in Edinburgh on 1^st June 1925 and died in Gillingham, Dorset on 1^st May 2020.  He was educated at Cargilfield School, Edinburgh and Marlborough College, where he represented the school at rugby and cricket.  On leaving school in 1943, Neil enlisted at Fort George and went on to pass his War Office Selection Board.  Shortly after he sailed out to India to complete officer training and commissioning.  He joined 1 Seaforth in Oct 44, then part of 23 Indian Division in Burma.  Appointed OC 4 Platoon, B Company, Neil returned to India with the battalion before VJ Day for assault landing training and were then despatched on Operation Zipper to recapture Malaya and Singapore.  After a few months, the Battalion were embarked at Port Dickson for Batavia to secure the Dutch East Indies.  After about 10 days there, Neil was blown up accidentally by a brother officer’s booby-trap and wounded.  He recovered and re-joined his platoon before, in early 1946, attending the Far East Regular Commissions Board in Singapore.  He returned in time to suppress fighting which broke out between the Indonesians and Japanese Forces in West Java.  Neil then left the Battalion for 9 months to be ADC to his father, now GOC Southern Command India.  He returned to 1 Seaforth in Dec 46 as 2i/c A Company and was promoted acting Captain.  In 1947, Neil returned to Scotland stopping off first in Bombay to be married to Audrey.  He then had a succession of training posts at Pinefield Camp in Elgin, Holywood near Belfast, Fort George with 1 HLI and the Highland Brigade Training Centre there before it moved to Cameron Barracks.  In 1951, Neil was posted to East Africa Command and joined the Northern Rhodesia Regiment in Lusaka as a training officer.  Having been away from the Seaforths for 6 years, Neil opted to transfer to the Royal Army Pay Corps, although in his heart he remained a Seaforth.  He served on as a paymaster successfully for 24 years and retired from the Army in 1979 in the rank of Lt Col.  Neil married Audrey at Malabar Hill, near Bombay in 1947 and had three daughters.  On Neil’s retirement they settled down in Kington Magna, Dorset where they were involved with the church and he taught Scottish Country Dancing.  Woe betide anyone who was out of step!

Seaforth

Colin, son of a distinguished Seaforth officer, Brig George Murray CBE DSO MC, who came of a very old Caithness family, was born in Edinburgh on Waterloo Day, 18^th June 1932 and died at home after a long illness on 3rd May 2020.  Educated first at Belhaven Hill, the school was evacuated to Dinnet House during the Second World War, he went on to Wellington College.  In 1950 he enlisted for National Service in the Seaforth Highlanders at Fort George, then commanded by a family friend, Maj (Later Major-General) Ian Robertson.  Colin passed selection for a National Service Commission and trained at Eaton Hall Officer Cadet School. On passing out he was seconded to 1^st Bn King’s African Rifles based in Lusaka and Blantyre, then in Nyasaland.  His battalion was posted, on active service, to Malaya and aged 19, following jungle training, commanded the defence platoon operating against Chinese Communists in the Bentong district of Malaya.  Following National Service, Colin joined 11^th Bn Seaforth Highlanders (TA) to which  Battalion he, with a select number of other “Piccadilly Highlanders”, gave loyal service, frequently travelling (First Class of course as long as the Adjutant signed the Voucher) on the old Night Sleeper from Euston for Training Weekends (more popularly attended if coinciding with the Shooting Season or the Northern Meeting Balls). 

In 1953 joined C T Bowring, a large firm of insurance brokers at Lloyd’s of London.  After ten years, he moved to R J Kiln, a newly formed underwriting syndicate and in 1985 became its chairman.  During this time Colin was appointed Deputy Chairman of Lloyd’s of London, supported Lloyd’s Volunteer Forces Fund and maintained his interest in music by supporting the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.  In 1992 he was honoured by being appointed a member of the Society of Lieutenants for the City of London and retired in 1995 but continued to work part-time for Equitas.  In 2002 he was appointed High Sherriff of Hampshire and remained active as a school governor and President of Hampshire Youth Clubs.  Colin was a member of the Cuidich’n Righ Dinner Club for many years and is survived by Precelly, whom he married in 1964, their three children and seven grandchildren.

Colin was far from being just a “City Boy”; he was a Countryman at heart, loved his beautiful garden and his visits back to Scotland. He cast a straight line and was a good shot.  A most generous host, he remained, having as a child in the late 1930 when Ian Robertson was his Father’s Adjutant, played on The Fort’s Ramparts, a loyal Seaforth to the end.

Seaforth

 John who served in the Seaforth Highlanders died on 24 November 2020 aged 80 years.

Seaforth

Cedric who served in the Seaforth Highlanders died on 19 November 2020 aged 92 years.

Iain M, Morrison
QO Hldr
Iain Morrison died on 17 December at his beloved Home on the Isle of Lewis after a long illness. Iain was a renowned Piper and joined The Queen’s Own Highlanders (Seaforth & Camerons) Pipe Band.

In 1968 he attended the Army School of Bagpiping and Drumming on the Pipe Majors Course, under the instruction of John A MacLellan (Seaforth Highlanders) and Pipe Major Donald MacLeod another Seaforth stalwart. Iain went on to be Pipe Major of 1st Battalion the Queen’s Own Highlanders (Seaforth & Camerons) from 1975 to 1980.

Iain Morrison was a Gold Medal winner in 1969 in the Strathspeys and Reels division of the Northern Meeting Piping Competition whilst a Corporal at the Army School of Bagpiping and Drumming. That year he took 14 First prizes, 6 seconds, 5 thirds, 7 fourths and 1 fifth prize
at Piping and Highland Games around Scotland.

In 1980 he was appointed as Pipe Major to the Scottish Divisional School of Music in Aberdeen and went on to win the Senior Piobaireachd at Oban, the Inverness Clasp, the Mod Gold Medal and the Glenfiddich Championship.

Pipe Major Iain Morrison was a master of Ceol Mor and a brilliant exponent of Ceol Beag with a highly musical style of his own. In his memories, the Canadian Piper Bill Livingstone recalled him playing in mesmeric fashion at an Eagle Pipers recital “I idolised Iain’s playing and to this day regard him as one of the most beautiful light music players I have ever heard”. The Queen’s Own Highlanders Cabar Feidh music collection describes him as ‘one of the outstanding pipers of his generation’.

On retiring from the Army, Pipe Major Morrison returned to his native Back on the Isle of Lewis. Over the years he taught many pipers including Pipe Major Alasdair Gillies (late Queen’s Own Highlanders and a Gold Medal winner) and is a noted composer.

Cabar Feidh Gu Brath.

QO Hldr

Hugh was born in 1959 and raised in the Highlands in a family renowned for stalking and Highland lore.  He was educated at the Abbey School, Fort Augustus school where he was a prefect and CSM of the School CCF.  He was commissioned into the Queen’s Own Highlanders in 1981 joining B Company in Hong Kong for the last 6 months of the 1^st Battalion’s posting to the Far East.  In command of 6 Platoon he moved with the Battalion to Tidworth and deployed to the South Atlantic on Operation Corporate in 1982.  Hugh was fortunate to be deployed to South Georgia at the beginning of the operation and then some months later transferred over to the Falkland Islands, where he is remembered for being tough enough to survive being hit by lightning twice far out in the hills of West Falkland while on the Battalion exercise on one particularly stormy night.  The story has it that climbing a hill to an orders group;  he was knocked to his knees by the first strike; staggered on and was brought down by the second bolt hitting into the aerial of the clansman radio that he was carrying.  Battalion medics kept him stable throughout a rough night before he was evacuated by helicopter to hospital in Stanley the following morning and much to his annoyance subsequently sent back to the UK.  After moving with the battalion to Aldergrove in Northern Ireland Hugh was posted to command 21 Cadet Training Team in Inverness in 1984 and returned to the battalion in late 1987 as 2IC A Company at Fort George and then in Munster.  In 1990 he was posted to an SO3 staff appointment at HQ 1BR Corps in Germany before returning to command D Company on the Battalion’s 1992 Belfast tour.

Hugh left the Army in 1994 and moved back to the Highlands developing a career in estate management and forestry.  He also briefly served with the Cadets before joining the landmine clearance charity, The HALO Trust in the late 1990s.  Hugh was deployed to programmes in the South Caucasus and Somaliland before being appointed as a desk officer based in Dumfries overseeing programmes in Africa.  After HALO, Hugh returned to the Highlands to work on various business endeavours in the Regimental Area and gained a Masters degree in Middle East Security.

Hugh married Seonaid Hope in 1987 and was a private man intensely proud of his Highland heritage, the Regiment and his family.  He died aged 61 on 13 December 2020 and is survived by his four children.

Cameron

Bob was born on 22 April 1929 in Edinburgh to Brigadier HJDL McGregor CBE (Camerons) and Mrs AS McGregor (nee Reeves) and died in 2020 aged 91 years. (Belated entry).

He was educated at Merchiston Castle School, Edinburgh and at Intake 3 at RMA Sandhurst.  Bob was commissioned on 14 Jul 1949 in 1st Camerons. As a 2^nd Lieutenant he went to 1 Camerons and was a Platoon Commander in Tripoli / Egypt from Jul 49 to Oct 51.  Promoted to Lieutenant he took on the role of Signals Officer in Austria / Luneburg from Jan 52 to Mar 55.  He was posted to Depot Camerons, Inverness in Mar 55 to Aug 57 as Captain and Adjutant.  He returned to 1 Camerons as B Company 2IC in Aden from Sep 57 to Apr 58. Promoted to Major he was posted as an Instructor to the Signals Wing, School of Infantry, Hythe from May 58 to Sep 60.  From one end of the country to another, his next post was a

1-year stint as Training Major, St Andrews University OTC, St Andrews until Sep 61. He attended as a Student the Army Staff College – Camberley from Dec 61 to Dec 62.

On successful completion of the Staff Course he embarked on his first Staff job as SA A in HQ 28 Commonwealth Bde in Malaya from Jan 63 to Mar 64.  He remained in the Far East moving to Singapore as DAAG, in HQ Singapore Base Area from Mar 64 to Jan 66.  After years away from the Battalion he was posted back to 1 QO Hldrs as HQ Coy Commanders in Osnabruck and Berlin from Feb 66 to Feb 68.  Bob remained in West Germany moving to Lubecke as the DAA & OMG in HQ 2 Division from Mar 68 to Nov 70.  His final posting was to London where he was DAQMG, D of CP in MOD(A)

Bob retired on 18 January 1973 and went to work immediately in the Road Haulage industry before becoming a Director and Company Secretary of Vandome & Hart Ltd, dealing in the sale of machinery, industrial equipment, ships and aircraft in the South East of England.  He married Jill Pratten Tyler on 12 February 1966 and had 3 children – Alison, Nicola and Andrew and was for a short time a Councillor for Chigwell District Council, Essex 1975-79.