OBITUARIES DONALD MACBETH THOMSON (65-69) BORN 30 JANUARY 1950, DIED 30 APRIL 2021, AGED 71
D
onald spent his formative years in Aberdeen, but moved with his family to Newcastle in 1965. His time at the RGS between 1965 and 1969 was a brief interlude in the overall scheme of things, but led to many deep and enduring friendships. He brought to Newcastle an encyclopaedic knowledge of the Scottish Highlands, especially the Cairngorms – and outstanding musical talents. He was a Grade 8 cello player and member of the school orchestra, but above all a brilliant guitar player and singer. He was equally at home with hard-driving 12 bar blues, Scottish ballads (sometimes performed without instrumental accompaniment) and the intricate finger picking styles coupled with unconventional tunings inspired by Davy Graham and Bert Jansch. He was a regular performer at the South Tyne Folk and Blues Club in South Shields and with his friend Peter Day recorded the CD Hooks, Lines and Thinkers based on his performances there. He also delivered the best version of ‘Angie’ ever heard in the club. Donald did not think much of the rounded and boggy hills on offer in Northumberland, but he did instigate ON outings into the Cheviots on Boxing Days, alternating between Hedgehope Hill and The Cheviot itself. This became an annual ritual for several years in the 1970s. Further north and on home ground, he introduced many of us to the delights of the Cairngorms, Torridon, The Fannichs,
and other regions of the Highlands. After completion of a degree in Economics at Newcastle University, he qualified as a chartered accountant, before moving back to Aberdeen with the North of Scotland Hydro Electric Board. Donald maintained a wide range of interests including music, skiing and climbing. He served in the Aberdeen mountain rescue team and with them enjoyed several trips to the Alps. He got to the top of Mont Blanc and Barre des Ecrins, amongst other challenging peaks. Donald subsequently moved to Glasgow in the early 1990s to work in hospital management and was later promoted to become Director of Finance within the then Greater Glasgow Community Mental Health Trust. His work involved development of facilities under the Private Finance Initiative, although he was never truly comfortable with the public-private procurement methods of successive governments. In Glasgow he met Morag Macleod and they married in 1993. Their son, Jamie, was born the next year and went on to study Civil Engineering at Edinburgh University. Donald spent the rest of his life in Glasgow, retiring in 2010. He and Morag followed their many interests including bridge, singing and travel. He continued to play guitar and singing a wide variety of music with different choirs, including performances in Glasgow Cathedral, Glasgow City Hall and Kelvingrove Museum with the Bearsden Choir. His concerns for the environment led to him joining the Scottish Green Party. He became a very active member and he played a major role in getting a local Green candidate elected to the Scottish Parliament. Donald maintained his love of the outdoors and for his native Scotland, particularly the island of Islay, which he visited frequently with ON friends. A highlight of these visits was Donald performing his wide range of songs and playing the guitar, latterly accompanied
ONA | OLD NOVOCASTRIANS’ ASSOCIATION MAGAZINE | ISSUE 111 | SPRING 2022
by his son Jamie – their renditions of Dire Straits’ songs will live long in the memory. In 2020 Donald was given a diagnosis of terminal cancer. In typical fashion, he set all his affairs in order and took the opportunity to chat and say goodbye to all his family and wide circle of friends. He died peacefully at his home in April 2021 with Morag at his side. His funeral, despite covid restrictions, was marked by a large turnout and celebration of his life. He is survived by his wife Morag, his son Jamie and siblings, Kenneth, Alan and Julie. By Russell Egdell (63-69), Kenneth Clarke (59-69), Julie Irvine (née Thomson)
GUY MORTIMER (52-60) BORN 1941, DIED 2021, AGED 80
G
uy attended RGS before going on to Birmingham University to study Metallurgy. He subsequently joined the Royal Navy as an Instructor Lieutenant. His career was varied starting in 1968 as marketing manager at Texas Instruments. He took an MBA at Cranfield Business School and then moved onto roles at Total and Bahrain State Oil. In 1981 he became General Manager at Gateway Building society and then Marketing Manager at TSB. In 1996 he retired to the Languedoc, where he and his wife Wendy lived, until his death, surrounded by thousands of acres of vineyards. He leaves two children and six grandchildren. By David Mortimer (63-65)
29
