Herald Obituaries

“Kenny was always there.” John Swinney’s words at the funeral of the Glasgow councillor Kenny McLean, which summed up a presence and commitment whose loss will be keenly felt across the SNP and beyond. The packed service in the Maryhill Crematorium, with representatives from across the political spectrum and the wider city community, was a testimony to the impact an unassuming but determined character had on the causes and places he loved.

Niall McKillop, who has died aged 76, was a mariner, naturalist and author who passionately defended the Wild Atlantic Salmon. He came from generations of Highlanders and was a true polymath.

Charles Munro, who has died aged 90, had a long and distinguished career in broadcasting at home and abroad. He was head of sport at BBC Scotland, helping to bring on new talent, and masterminded the broadcast of a number of Commonwealth Games.

Andrew Kerr, who has died aged 84, was a solicitor and naval historian who became a leading figure in the fight to conserve the historic centre of Edinburgh. He was also much in demand as a consultant and speaker on Scottish naval history, particularly the British Grand Fleet’s base at Scapa Flow in Orkney.

The Scot established a thriving travel business which set new industry standards and helped make foreign holidays accessible to all.

Professor Alexander Femister Garvie was one of the most talented British Hellenists of his generation. He lectured at Glasgow University for 39 years, latterly in a personal chair of Greek, and in that time built up an international reputation for his studies of Greek Tragedy and Greek Epic.

Sir John Campbell, who has died aged 90, was based for most of his life at Glenrath in Peebleshire’s Manor Valley. From small beginnings there, he and his wife Cathy, later joined by their family, built up one of Britain’s largest and most successful egg-laying and packing businesses. Its annual turnover now exceeds £80m and it produces and packs the daily production from around two million hens. With 240 employees, Glenrath is now the biggest private employer in the Scottish Borders.

Richard Alexander Barrie – or “RAB” – was much more than a litigator or solicitor. He was one of that special breed of court lawyers that Glasgow manages to produce. He was a fixer. A street fighter. Sporting his trademark thick-rimmed glasses and an immaculate designer suit, it was Richard to whom so many clients large and small, famous and obscure, turned when they had their back against a wall.

Dr Peter W Kershaw, who has died aged 89, was a pioneer of NHS treatment services for alcohol dependence in the West of Scotland. Addiction was always his particular area of interest and he published on topics such as spontaneous recovery from alcohol dependence and the prevalence of alcohol dependence in “industrial Clydeside”.

Len Richardson, who has died aged 76, was a community activist who co-founded and chaired a groundbreaking club to widen grassroots participation in sport by the disabled.