Soldier and farmer; Born February 7, 1921; Died July 14, 2007.
LORD Bruntisfield, who has died aged 86, was a Tory peer and wartime hero whose actions in Italy won him the Military Cross, and whose valourous conduct, according to sources, actually merited a VC.
Like a stick of rock, Lord Bruntisfield could have been lettered "Edinburgh" throughout, such was his devotion to and connection with the capital. John Robert Warrender - his surname is remembered as a street name - was 2nd Baron Bruntisfield of Boroughmuir, lived in Warriston and served with distinction in the Royal Scots Greys, the city regiment.
With his broad frame he cut a dashing figure, and topping 6ft 3in, stood out for the best of reasons when on ceremonial duty with the Royal Company of Archers (Queen's Bodyguard in Scotland).
He moved through Edinburgh circles with ease, always remaining in love with the city he was born into and died in.
Only his baronetcy - he was 9th since granting of the title on ancestor George Warriston, lord provost of Edinburgh in 1715 - carried reference outside Edinburgh, and that came from nearby Dunbar.
His cheerful attitude to life reflected his part in the Italian campaign of 1942. In November that year as a 21-year-old lieutenant, he led his troops under heavy fire to capture an enemy position, as well as several guns and 200 prisoners. He also rescued the crew of a tank. The previous months, he featured prominently in bridgehead operations over a minefield. There were some in the regiment who thought that the resultant MC ought to have been a Victoria Cross.
John Bruntisfield picked his ancestry well. Descended from generations of soldiers and Edinburgh gentry, he cheerfully fell into the family mould, choosing Sandhurst after Eton and making a distinguished career in the military in the cavalry of the Royal Scots Greys.
Peacetime soldiering was another matter, and post-war after spells as ADC to the governor of Madras and with the Territorials in Somerset, he went into farming. The lure of land was strong in his blood - his father Sir Victor, 1st Lord Bruntisfield, was one of those who assisted Dr George Waterston to fit Fair Isle to the nation in 1954, and he himself became a council member of the National Trust for Scotland.
He put his best efforts into everything he tackled, rather following the family motto recorded by his ancestor Sir George, 6th baronet in 1897 - Industria Everit (Hard work promotes).
Only in politics did effort applied yield less than his usual success. He contested the constituency of Pontypridd as a Tory in 1964, territory where traditionally Labour votes were weighed rather than counted - with the inevitable result. But when he succeeded to the title - his father had been a wartime minister in Churchill's government - he became a diligent Conservative peer. He was appointed OBE in 1963.
Bruntisfield married three times, being predeceased by Moireen Campbell and Shirley Crawley, and is survived by his third wife, Joanna (Jan) Chancellor. He is survived by two sons and two daughters, and is succeeded in the title by the Hon Michael Warrender as 3rd baron and 10th baronet.
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