Professor John Boag
William Graham
Magnus Magnusson
Lord Lambton
Tommy Connor
Eric Ridehalgh
Iverach McDonald
Professor John Boag
BY TOM FLEMING
PROFESSOR EMERITUS JOHN BOAG Research scientist, former head of the Institute of Cancer Research
Born: 20 June, 1911, in Elgin. Died: 2 January, 2007, in Edinburgh, aged 95.
WITH the death of Jack Boag, Scotland has lost one of its most distinguished and innovative sons in the realm of physics as applied to medicine. He was also a tireless campaigner in the cause of the peaceful uses of scientific knowledge and research.
His father had served aboard sailing vessels and latterly became a first officer on Clan Line Ships sailing out of Glasgow. Boag attended Queen's Park High School, where he won a gold medal and several bursaries which enabled him to attend Glasgow University and obtain a degree in electrical engineering. He became an apprentice with British Thompson-Houston at Rugby in 1930 and in 1933 won a scholarship to spend a year at St John's College, Cambridge, where he worked with John Cockcroft in the Cavendish Laboratory. This resulted in the award of a travelling scholarship which took him to Braunschweig University in Lower Saxony. There he undertook research into designing new types of rectifiers. However, the worsening political situation in Germany forced him to leave his research work in 1936 and return to British Thomson-Houston in Rugby.
Boag bought his first car, an old Triumph (which he called "Pegasus"), to enable him to pursue his courtship of Isabel Petrie, a highly intelligent fellow Scot he had met at Cambridge, who was now teaching at Hinckley, 15 miles from Rugby. They were married in 1938.
When war broke out, Boag was classified as being in a reserved occupation but he nevertheless registered as a conscientious objector. In 1941, he worked at the Radon Centre, in Bedfordshire, and in 1942 joined the radiotherapeutics unit at Hammersmith Hospital where he worked on the development of the 2MeV Van der Graff accelerator and contributed with characteristic originality to the clinical trial of X- versus gamma-rays in the treatment of cancer. His contributions to solid state dosimetry and the efficiency of ion collection in pulsed radiation fields are regarded as landmarks.
In 1953, Boag was visiting scientist at the National Bureau of Standards in Washington DC, working on aspects of radiation biology. In 1954, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by Glasgow University and during 1955-57 worked with Professor Joseph Rotblat (later Sir Joseph and Nobel Peace Prize winner), at St Bartholomew's Hospital. Boag's long association with the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs dates from this time.
In 1958, he was invited by his close friend and former colleague at Hammersmith, Dr LH (Hal) Gray to join the British Empire Cancer Campaign research unit in radiobiology at Mount Vernon Hospital, in Northwood. It was here, during the next seven years, that some of his most significant work was done. In collaboration with Dr Ed Hart, a chemist from Argonne National Laboratory, he first observed the spectrum of the hydrated electron which had been predicted years earlier. In 1964, he became the Royal Society (Leverhulme) visiting professor to Poland, working with Dr David Shugar in Warsaw. (Shugar had had to leave Canada during the McCarthy era in the United States.)
In 1965, Boag was appointed professor of physics as applied to medicine at the Institute of Cancer Research, University of London, and the Royal Marsden Hospital, Surrey. Until his retirement, in 1976, his genius for recruiting brilliant colleagues and his continuing zest for innovation were much in evidence. His principal interest was in the study and measurement of the interactions of ionising radiation with biological tissues. He embarked on a major investment in a linear accelerator and Cobalt-60 irradiation unit with laboratory buildings to house them, and also in developing electrostatic-imaging (the Xerox type process of X-ray imaging which gave much better contrast).
In 1990, he jointly published Kapitza in Cambridge and Moscow - Life and Letters of a Russian Physicist (Pyotr Leonidovich Kapitza).
A former president of the International Association for Radiation Research, the British Institute of Radiology and chairman of the Hospital Physicists Association, Jack Boag continued well into his eighties to contribute important papers to learned journals and was much in demand as a lecturer to scientific bodies.
In recent years, he organised a symposium for the British Pugwash Group at the Edinburgh Science Festival, and, in 2000, contributed to the International Pugwash conference in Cambridge on "Eliminating the Causes of War". A devout pacifist and member of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), he appeared as an expert witness at the trials of several peace protesters in Scottish courts.
Jack and Isabel owned a holiday cottage on the Isle of Skye for over 40 years where they entertained friends from all over the world most generously. In 1992, they had moved north from Sutton to Edinburgh. Isabel, his beloved wife of 68 years, died last July. Jack had devoted his last years to caring for her. It seems somehow appropriate that Jack Boag's own long life, dedicated to the medical use of radiation, should end, so very peacefully, in a hospice bearing the name of his distinguished predecessor, Marie Curie.
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William Graham
BY JIM CAIRNS
WILLIAM GRAHAM Drama teacher
Born: 31 January, 1936, in Laurieston. Died: 30 December, 2006, in Grangemouth, aged 70.
BILL Graham, who nurtured the talent of thousands of stage-struck youngsters in Central Scotland, was also admired throughout the British amateur drama world and beyond for his vision, creativity and innovative productions.
But it is for his work with Falkirk Children's Theatre that he will be chiefly remembered. For 30 years, Bill was the director of their annual Christmas show, bringing high-quality entertainment to the stage of the town hall. Featuring a huge cast of local children who filled the stage with colour, energy and enthusiasm, the shows were eagerly anticipated by Falkirk audiences and were always sold out. Standing ovations were not uncommon, and the show always ended with a rendition of Holly Jolly Christmas, with mums, dads and grandparents joining in the fun. Scottish Television recognised the outstanding quality of the shows and broadcast many early in the New Year.
It was fitting that, in 1998, Bill should receive a "Great Scot" award from the Sunday Mail for his services to Scottish theatre, with particular reference to his work with Falkirk Children's Theatre. The trophy proclaimed him as an "unsung hero".
His talents were seen in many other ways. Falkirk District particularly benefited from his enthusiastic participation as an actor, adjudicator, speech and drama teacher, producer of Larbert High School Former Pupils' Dramatic Society (LHSFDPS) and Tryst Theatre.
Born in 1936, Bill made many notable stage appearances from an early age. Receiving the Edinburgh Schools' Festival "AB Harley" Trophy in the mid 1950s alongside other illustrious actors including Alastair Sim and Betty Clark, clearly demonstrated his exceptional talent for performance.
From St Andrew's Day, 1959, when he joined the staff at Larbert High School as drama teacher, Bill was committed to promoting the dramatic arts. His first full-length production in Larbert High, at Christmas 1961, was Charley's Aunt, a resounding success.
Thereafter, year on year, the Larbert public was assured that their Christmas festivities had the best possible start by their attending the annual LHS December production. His role expanded to include involvement in Falkirk District Council's "Accent on Schools" and Forth Valley Music Festivals, culminating in his appointment as honorary vice-chairman, all of which contributed to the rich tapestry of theatre in Falkirk District and gave generations of local young people the self-confidence to perform in public.
In 1985, he reunited many Larbert former pupils for a very successful review to celebrate the school's centenary.
Shortly after he joined the staff at Larbert High School, Bill founded and directed the Former Pupils' Drama Society and within a short time the club was winning festival awards across Scotland. In 1979, the club was re-formed as Tryst Theatre, and it is still going strong today.
The following year, Bill's production of Equus won the British One-Act Festival and further success - at the Scottish Community Drama Association (SCDA) one-act Scottish Finals - was achieved with Childhood (1987), Teechers (1991) and September in the Rain (1995).
Bill encouraged the club to widen its horizons and participate in festivals across the UK; Welwyn, Dundalk and the Isle of Man were among the audiences who enjoyed Tryst's productions. In 1991, he travelled with Tryst to the IATA world festival in Halden, Norway, to perform A Night in the Ukraine and a few years later toured Israel with a full-length production of September in the Rain, to great critical acclaim.
Before he founded Larbert HSFPDS, he was an active actor member of Laurieston Players, Erskine Players and Falkirk Theatre Arts, and in 1976 he appeared on the Edinburgh Fringe with SCDA Edinburgh District alongside Marilyn Gray in The Warld's Wonder.
Bill's early talents as a producer were demonstrated in the 1960s, when, with Bob Tait as musical director, he ventured into musicals with Bo'ness Amateur Operatic Society in The Desert Song, Oklahoma and King's Rhapsody in which he also played the lead.
During his time as a long-serving member of SCDA, Bill was chairman of Falkirk District and, at the time of his death, was honorary president of Falkirk District.
No Burns' Supper was complete without Bill performing Tam O' Shanter. His performance of Burns' most famous poem was a memorable tour de force - not just for his astonishing ability to remember all the words, but because he acted out the narrative so vividly.
In his role as a gifted teacher and mentor, Bill has left not just a huge legacy, but a living legacy. Around the world today there are many people who, entirely as a result of his inspired guidance and encouragement, have made the stage and the performing arts a large part of their lives on both an amateur and professional basis.
Bill truly was an "unsung hero", Falkirk's irreplaceable "Mr Drama".
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Magnus Magnusson
BY ALASDAIR STEVEN
MAGNUS MAGNUSSON KBE (Hon) Broadcaster and historian
Born: 12 October, 1929, in Iceland. Died: 7 January, 2007, in Balmore, Dunbartonshire, aged 77.
WITH his ready smile, avuncular and kindly nature he was for 25 years an institution on television. From 1972-97 Magnus Magnusson presented Mastermind - the programme that sat a contestant in that forbidding black leather chair while Magnusson fired questions thick and fast. The questions varied from the contestant's chosen subject to general knowledge. It was always done with a wit and style that gave the programme its central energy. Magnusson himself was a learned and well-read man, so he knew when to accept an answer. But it was his warm and genial personality that enlivened the programme; he came across as a benevolent senior master who was willing his pupils to do well.
The catchphrases came to him by chance - he never sought such accolades - but the nation knows both "I've started so I'll finish" and "you may answer". They were delivered in a silken, suitably serious, tone. The nervous contestants, however, saw a more relaxed and openhearted side. His last words of reassurance to calm them down was invariably a jolly: "Remember, it's only a bloody game!"
Magnus Magnusson was the son of the Icelandic consul-general to Scotland and although he spent most of his life in Scotland, he retained his Icelandic nationality and was proud of it. He spoke fluent Icelandic and returned to the country often. He was, however, brought up in Edinburgh and attended the Edinburgh Academy where he enjoyed an outstanding few years: being dux of the school in 1948.
Contemporaries remember his appearance as Little Buttercup in HMS Pinafore in 1945. "Even his treble voice cracking on the day of the performance didn't deter Magnus" recalls a friend. "He got an encore for his solo arias and the audience gave him a great ovation." The school's Chronicle wrote approvingly of Magnusson's singing and ended with a contrast between Magnusson's subtle Buttercup and "JJ Clyde's Josephine. The Academy has never had better leading ladies." JJ Clyde is now Lord Clyde.
Magnusson won a scholarship to read English at Jesus College, Oxford, (and later studied Old Norse, for good measure) and joined the Scottish Daily Express as their Highlands and Islands correspondent in 1953. He moved to The Scotsman as an assistant editor in 1961 and was responsible mostly for leader writing but was one of a talented trio (with Gus Macdonald and David Kemp) who headed a team of bright young journalists which investigated political and social issues. Magnusson started doing television at this time and was often seen on STV before fronting documentaries for BBC TV Scotland.
His calm and relaxed manner on screen resulted in Magnusson being offered a post with the national early evening Tonight programme in London. Again, he joined a campaigning group of reporters who were fronted by the jolly Cliff Michelmore and had stars such as Chris Chataway, Alan Wicker, Fyfe Robertson and Kenneth Allsop. They conducted incisive and searching interviews in the studio and covered the often downright unusual around the country. The programme's editor, Alasdair Milne, ensured that a fine mix of light and serious items made up a cocktail of exacting television.
In 1968, Magnusson became the founder-presenter of Chronicle, a monthly programme devoted to discovering (and uncovering) archaeological facts. It inquired into some of the more controversial aspects of history and it allowed Magnusson to pursue two of his most favoured subjects: the Holy Land and the Viking Age.
In 1965, Tonight was axed by the BBC and although he was asked to stay on for its late night successor (Twenty Four Hours), Magnusson by then had a young family and wanted to bring them up in Scotland. He returned to The Scotsman to write leader columns but was still no stranger to television viewers. He was a reporter for Current Account from 1968, and then presented, also for BBC Scotland, Mainly Magnus from 1971-73.
In the ongoing Chronicle series, he presented a much-acclaimed episode entitled Vikings!, which expanded on several of his earlier programmes.
But it was the advent of Mastermind in 1972 that firmly seated Magnusson in the nation's living rooms. It was an ideal marriage. Magnusson brought a cultured ease to the programme and responded to the contestants' speed of answering with his questioning. When the answers came flying back to him Magnusson seemed to go into verbal overdrive. It made for exciting television and the viewers were able to pit their own knowledge throughout.
The programme visited many historic locations and Magnusson was always keen to return to Scotland. He greatly enjoyed presenting one edition from the McEwan Hall, in Edinburgh, in 1986, and the final programme (1997) was recorded in St Magnus's Cathedral, in Kirkwall. It was a tight fit and much of the set had to be cut up. "But since it was the last programme," Magnusson wrote "it didn't matter".
Before he went into the cathedral, Magnusson was given a letter from John Birt, the BBC's then director-general, who called the programme "a national institution ... it has been a marvellous combination of entertainment and erudition, expertly hosted by Magnus." At the end of that programme, Magnusson was presented with the black leather chair.
The prize never varied: a Caithness Glass rose bowl. Magnusson was always proud that "to my certain knowledge no winner has ever sold it, given it away or broken it."
Magnusson maintained his Scottish connections and became involved in many aspects of the arts and sciences. He was, among many other public appointments, Lord Rector of Edinburgh University 1975-78, on the boards of the Scottish Youth Theatre (1976-78), Age Concern Scotland, National Museums of Scotland (1985-89) and founder chairman of Scottish Churches Archaeological Heritage (1978-85). Heritage and ecological matters were important to him and he served on a working party on the Cairngorms in 1992 and was a most active chairman of Scottish Natural Heritage 1992-99.
It was in the latter capacity, he had an enjoyable reunion with his old colleague from The Scotsman Gus Macdonald (by then Lord Macdonald) in August 1998. The two went to Nethy Bridge to open the local visitor centre, Explore Nethy Bridge. The new footpath by the river up the Dell Road was walked by the two friends and they planted a tree together, by all accounts amid much hilarity.
Magnusson was a prolific writer, covering a wide range of subjects: these included Scotland: The Story of a Nation; Fakers, Forgers and Phoneys: Famous Scams and Scamps; Lindisfarne; Iceland Saga; The Vikings; Treasures of Scotland; The Nature of Scotland; Keeping Your Words: An Anthology of Quotations; I've Started So I'll Finish, the story of Mastermind; and The Family Quiz Book. One of his more quirky books was The Clacken of the Edinburgh Academy, a history of his old school on whose board of directors he also served. He also co-authored numerous biographies and books on Scottish and Icelandic history.
Because he maintained his Icelandic nationality, his knighthood (in 1989) had to remain honorary but it was presented to him in a ceremony at Edinburgh Castle. He received many honorary degrees (Edinburgh 1978, Strathclyde 1993, Paisley 1993, Napier 1994 etc) and was voted Scottish TV Personality of 1974. He was also chairman of the Mastermind Club.
The poet Roger Woddis wrote a poem to celebrate the 1980 series.
All roads lead to the seat of anguish,
The bitten lip and the nervous knee -
All for the sake of a smile from Magnus,
All the joy of the third degree.
He broke down the barriers of academia and entertainment with that smile. Magnusson contributed much to life in Scotland and was an enthusiastic Scot in all but name. His lifelong passion was the preservation of the Scottish countryside and maintaining its flora and fauna: his knowledge of the bird life, the plants in the Cairngorms and the west coast was legion. Magnusson had a charm and a wit that made an instant impression: he was a wonderful companion and devoted to his family. It was his unfailing modesty and courtesy, which is remembered with affection by friends and colleagues.
Magnusson married Mamie Baird in 1954. She and their son and three daughters survive him: all of whom work in the media. Another son died in 1973.
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Lord Lambton
Lord Lambton (formerly 6th Earl of Durham) Politician and author
Born: 10 July, 1922, in Northumberland. Died: 30 December, 2006, in Tuscany, aged 84.
FOR a few frantic months in 1973 Lord Lambton was the centre of political attention. He had been exposed in the News of the World after being caught in bed with two call girls and the newspapers were full of his every move. "Top People's Vice Ring" was a typical headline.
Ted Heath's government, terrified another Profumo scandal was about to unfold, sent in MI5 and searched Lambton's flat, where they found some minor drugs. Lambton resigned in ignominy from the government and as MP for Berwick-upon-Tweed and spent the rest of his life in some obscurity, writing in Tuscany.
Anthony Claud Frederick Lambton was a member of an old Borders family and was a first cousin of Lord Home of the Hirsel (Sir Alex Douglas Home). Lambton was educated at Harrow School and joined the Hampshire Regiment during the war. He was, however, invalided out within a year and for three years did war work in a factory.
In the 1945 and 1950 general elections he stood unsuccessfully in safe Labour seats (Chester-le-Street and Bishop Auckland), but in 1951 he won Berwick-upon-Tweed for the Tories.
By then he had gained valuable experience in local government as a councillor with Durham County Council.
Lambton was a colourful member of the Commons: he had an agile brain, good looks and a courteous manner. He slowly built up a reputation as a reliable and well-informed speaker.
Lambton served for two years as parliamentary private secretary to Selwyn Lloyd, the foreign secretary, but courageously resigned over the British invasion of Egypt during the Suez crisis.
In 1970 he was restored to government in a junior post at the Defence Ministry by the prime minister, Edward Heath.
It was in 1970 that Lambton was embroiled in a constitutional matter that haunted him for the rest of his life. Lambton's father died in 1970 and he automatically succeeded to the Earldom of Durham. Lambton, though, chose to disclaim the title, as his cousin, Lord Home, had done a decade earlier so he could succeed Harold Macmillan as prime minister.
Lambton wanted to retain his seat in the Commons and maintain the courtesy title of Viscount Lambton.
Lambton displayed a certain obduracy in his dealings with the constitutional authorities. The Speaker ruled against him and Lambton started a lengthy process to overturn the ruling. Lambton appealed to the new Speaker (Selwyn Lloyd) in 1972 and was allowed to be known as Lord Lambton.
Then in 1973 his career fell apart. He was photographed through a keyhole in bed with two prostitutes and clearly smoking cannabis. The News of the World, which had set up the sting (and, allegedly, placed a microphone in a teddy bear's nose) printed the story and named Lambton as the man.
In fact the vice squad had already been alerted to an official Daimler often parked outside a flat in Maida Vale. The police had established that the flat belonged to a prostitute named Norma Levy.
After the scandal broke, Levy was interviewed and willingly spilled the beans. She admitted Lambton was "one of my sugar-daddies". Worse, she admitted her husband dealt in drugs and had taken the photographs through the keyhole.
There was consternation in Whitehall and Heath demanded Lambton's immediate resignation. Heath had been a junior minister at the time of the Profumo crisis and presumed if he took resolute action the trouble might go away. As a result of the Lambton exposé, however, Lord Jellicoe, leader of the House of Lords, who had been involved with the other girl in the photograph, also resigned.
Lambton then submitted himself to a grilling on television by Robin Day. He was asked why he used prostitutes and in an assured and off-hand manner replied: "I think that people sometimes like variety. I think it is as simple as that and I think the impulse is probably understood by everybody. Don't you?"
He was then interviewed by MI5 at some length as the authorities were terrified that he might have been the subject of blackmail. To them, Lambton said his actions were a means of coping with the pressures he had endured during the three-year battle to resolve the situation of his title. He had, he told MI5, been thrown "into a frenzied round of vigorous gardening and debauchery".
He ruefully added that his work as a junior minister was undemanding. MI5 concluded he was on the verge of a mental collapse.
Lambton went to Italy with his wife and family and bought Villa Cetinale, a 400-year-old estate. There he wrote political novels, including The Abbey in the Woods, and family biographies - most notably The Mountbattens in 1989.
Lambton always had a rather raffish and mysterious image. He delighted in wearing heavy black glasses (long before they were fashionable) and insisted upon being addressed as "Viscount Lambton" despite, in the eyes of British law, being Mr Lambton.
Lambton married Belinda Blew Jones in 1942: she predeceased him three years ago. He is survived by their five children one of whom, Lucinda, is a television presenter. His son Ned will inherit the title.
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Tommy Connor
BY BRIAN DONALD
Boxer
Born: 18 August, 1940, in Cambuslang.
Died: 7 December, 2006, in Blantyre, aged 66.
AT HIS peak, from 1958-68, Tommy Connor was one of Scotland's outstanding fly and bantamweight boxers who fought some of the biggest names in amateur and professional boxing circles at his weight during those years.
As a boy, Connor was enthralled by tales about local bantamweight fighter Jim O' Neill.
But it was after joining the Scottish National Club in Bridgeton, in Glasgow's east end, that the young Connor showed some of the prodigious ring talents of his boyhood hero.
The "National" in Bridgeton was the home gym owned by Jim Gilmour and his son Tommy - both major figures in Scottish boxing management and promotion.
Rubbing shoulders and sparring on a daily basis with such luminaries as Chic Calderwood, the only Scot to win a British light-heavyweight title, John McDermott, the 1962 Perth Commonwealth Games featherweight gold medallist, and Bobby Mallon, the 1962 Commonwealth flyweight gold winner, helped the young Connor to progress rapidly through the amateur ranks. Ironically though, it was Mallon who stood in the way of Connor's winning any Scottish amateur titles.
On turning professional, Connor, who possessed a formidable left jab, produced some outstanding performances, beating highly rated fellow Scots Tommy Burgoyne and Henry Hoey and giving the future British and Empire flyweight champion from Hamilton, John McLuskey, two hard fights.
However, it was the draw with the outstanding Londoner and British and European bantamweight champion, Johnny Clark, at London's Albert Hall in 1966 that saw Connor's finest hour.
With little time to prepare for the bout, Connor nevertheless fought superbly to force a draw verdict.
Thereafter, however, the defeats became more frequent, but as ring contemporaries and former Scottish National clubmates John McDermott, MBE, and current Glasgow boxing promoter Alex Morrison, both agree, Connor's apparent modest victory tally of 12 wins with two draws in 28 pro bouts paint a very misleading picture of the man's true outstanding ring abilities.
Meanwhile, Connor had met and married Kathleen Allen and they had three sons. The second son, James, followed in his father's footsteps into the ring in the 1990s.
Following the demise of his ring career, in 1968, Tommy Connor fell victim to the twin addictions of drinking and gambling, and parted from Kathleen - although he remained on friendly terms with his estranged wife and three sons right up until his death.
By way of an epitaph for his former Scottish National clubmate, Mr Morrison said: "Tommy Connor may have lost his way in life but he never lost his dignity, for when his body was discovered in the model lodging house that he called home, he had sufficient funds put by to pay for his own funeral.
"Tommy was both a nice man and a very good boxer - truly worthy of remembrance."
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Iverach McDonald
BY ALASDAIR STEVEN
Journalist
Born: 23 October, 1908, in Caithness.
Died: 14 December, 2006, in Oxford, aged 98.
IVERACH McDonald spent a lifetime in journalism and became one of the most respected foreign correspondents and editors of the post-war years. His earlier years were mostly spent in communist countries for the Times, where he built up an enviable reputation both behind the Iron Curtain and in the West. As associated editor of the Times, McDonald was involved with covering some epic events; not least John F Kennedy's assassination in 1963.
But McDonald remained a devoted and ardent Scot all his life. He often returned north to visit family and friends. He was proud of his Scottish roots, though he always preferred to call himself a Highlander.
Iverach McDonald was born in Strathcool and came from a family long connected with the area and the professions in Scotland. An uncle (Donald McDonald) had owned and edited the Highland News and the Northern Times. Iverach was, in fact, brought up in Yorkshire where he attended Leeds Grammar School. While at school, he had decided to be a journalist and worked for the Leeds Mercury before joining the Yorkshire Post.
It was with that paper that he made a trip to the Soviet Union in 1932: it began, for McDonald, a lifelong passion with Russia, its people and its literature. Three years later, he joined the Times as a sub-editor. He was to rise, over the years, to a senior position and become one of the doyens of Fleet Street.
In his calm but assured manner, McDonald was soon suggesting new angles for the leader writers and was an authority on Russian politics. He was posted to Prague during the hectic Munich crisis and wrote cogent articles against the policy of appeasement.
When war was declared, McDonald joined up, but his knowledge of Russia and its language ensured he was soon enlisted for intelligence duties. But he did not find this area stimulating and he returned to the Times in 1940. Throughout the war, he was present at many important meetings and briefings; most significant were the conferences with Churchill and Roosevelt. He also wrote a remarkably prescient article in May 1941, forecasting Hitler's imminent invasion of Russia.
In 1952, McDonald was appointed foreign editor of the Times, where his informed articles brought much renown both to the newspaper and himself. He became the confidant of many world leaders - and those from the communist bloc - personally.
When the editor was away, McDonald edited the paper. That was the case on 22 November, 1963, when Kennedy was assassinated. On first hearing the news, McDonald reset the first edition and rewrote the leader column. The obituary was expanded from three to five columns and McDonald rewrote new leaders by the hour. It was not just a question of reporting the death, but covering its political - national and international - repercussions. One American newspaper wrote of the Times' coverage as being "outstanding".
In 1965, McDonald was appointed managing editor. After Roy Thomson's purchase of the papers, it was thought that McDonald would be offered the editorship of the Times. In fact William Rees-Mogg got the appointment and McDonald was his associate editor. His detailed knowledge of communist countries once again proved invaluable when, in 1968, during the Czech uprising, the Times' correspondent fell ill. McDonald immediately flew to Prague and sent back incisive reports.
In 1973, this most active and erudite man retired. However, he translated Pushkin and Proust, then wrote about his career (A Man of The Times). In 1984, he wrote the official history of the Times from 1939-66 (Struggles in War and Peace).
McDonald remained a leading light in the Scottish community in London. He was a long-serving elder of Crown Court Church of Scotland in Covent Garden. There, he organised an annual service for the Scottish journalists working in London. He was also a keen member of the Scottish Piping Society of London and a regular attender at their meetings in Horseferry Road.
McDonald married Gwendoline in 1935. She predeceased him and he is survived by their son and daughter.
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Eric Ridehalgh
ERIC RIDEHALGH
Secretary of the Scottish Licensed Trade Association
Born: 8 September, 1930, in Keighley, Yorkshire. Died: 6 November, 2006, in Edinburgh, aged 76.
ERIC Ridehalgh gave unstinted service to the licensed trade throughout Scotland when for 28 years he was the Scottish Licensed Trade Association's (SLTA) secretary. He was available with helpful and constructive advice - always offered in a friendly and courteous manner. He gave of his time and energy to colleagues and friends with a gracious smile. As one colleague recalls: "Eric was everyone's friend."
During Ridehalgh's time in office, the licensed trade in Scotland underwent major changes to the structure of its business and he was instrumental in soothing the understandable concerns of many members and in implementing the new laws.
He also represented, in a most pragmatic manner, the industry at the highest levels. Ridehalgh presented the association's case - legally often very complex - with unerring professionalism and patience.
Eric William Ridehalgh was brought up in the Yorkshire town of Keighley and attended the local school. He went to a technical college to get a solid grounding in accountancy and commerce before working in local businesses. While at Yorkshire Farmers, a local farming representative organisation, Ridehalgh had to make several visits to Leith and from connections established there he was offered, in 1968, a post with the Scottish Licensed Veto Office, an organisation that promoted the licensed trade.
In 1971, he was offered the job at the SLTA - which he was to fill with much tact and boundless enthusiasm until he retired in 1999. When he took over the SLTA, it was resident in tiny offices in Leith. Nevertheless, Ridehalgh built up the organisation so that it had the muscle to lobby with confidence at the level of both local and national government.
In 1972, Dr Christopher Clayson presented a far-reaching report on the modernisation of the licensing laws in Scotland. His proposals were fundamental and highly controversial. He recommended a relaxing of many of the long-established laws and the ending of the antiquated system of bone fide travellers on a Sunday. At this time, pubs were closed on Sundays, but members of the public were legally permitted to order alcohol in the bar of a hotel if they signed the visitors' book, stating they had travelled over five miles.
Clayson also controversially advocated the relaxing of pub opening hours.
Many considered Clayson's proposals too liberal and drastic. Indeed, even within the industry there was concern and Ridehalgh was confronted by his own members needing reassurance. Longer hours, publicans argued, would necessitate more staff with no guarantee of increased turnover.
Ridehalgh balanced these worries against the demands from the public for longer hours and those from Whitehall who wanted to get a watertight bill through parliament. Clayson had mentioned the inadequacy of the existing laws - "clearly failing" - as he put it; so changes could not be avoided. Ridehalgh was convinced of the long-term benefit through tourism etc to the Scottish economy.
Ridehalgh grew to love Scotland and was particularly attached to Sutherland. He was a well-known figure in Dornoch and a regular attender at Dornoch Cathedral.
At the time of the cathedral's 750th anniversary, Ridehalgh sponsored concerts and worked with his usual gusto on behalf of many local charities.
This entrepreneurial zeal was again manifested at St George's West Church, in Edinburgh, where Ridehalgh was an elder for many years and ran the Friends of St George's West. He organised concerts to raise money for charity and every August brought the Ayrshire Fiddle Orchestra to give a concert in the church. He was immensely fond of all music and was keen to encourage, for example, a wider appreciation of the traditions of Scottish fiddle playing.
"Eric was a real gentleman," the Rev Peter MacDonald, minister of St George's, recalled. "His work for the church saw no bounds; nor did his ability to make and keep friends. When I came to St George's, Eric was welcoming and encouraging. I so well remember the concerts he organised. Everything went like clockwork and Eric bubbled with enthusiasm."
Ridehalgh's retirement was active and he remained with the SLTA as a part-time parliamentary consultant and was secretary of the United Kingdom and Ireland Licensed Trade Association. In 1996, he was awarded the MBE and in 1993 had became a Keeper of The Quaich - a post requiring "a love of Scotland and Scotch Whisky".
Ridehalgh, a much loved man of commerce, the church, painting and the Scottish countryside never married.
He is survived by his sister.
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William Graham
Magnus Magnusson
Lord Lambton
Tommy Connor
Eric Ridehalgh
Iverach McDonald
Professor John Boag
BY TOM FLEMING
PROFESSOR EMERITUS JOHN BOAG Research scientist, former head of the Institute of Cancer Research
Born: 20 June, 1911, in Elgin. Died: 2 January, 2007, in Edinburgh, aged 95.
WITH the death of Jack Boag, Scotland has lost one of its most distinguished and innovative sons in the realm of physics as applied to medicine. He was also a tireless campaigner in the cause of the peaceful uses of scientific knowledge and research.
His father had served aboard sailing vessels and latterly became a first officer on Clan Line Ships sailing out of Glasgow. Boag attended Queen's Park High School, where he won a gold medal and several bursaries which enabled him to attend Glasgow University and obtain a degree in electrical engineering. He became an apprentice with British Thompson-Houston at Rugby in 1930 and in 1933 won a scholarship to spend a year at St John's College, Cambridge, where he worked with John Cockcroft in the Cavendish Laboratory. This resulted in the award of a travelling scholarship which took him to Braunschweig University in Lower Saxony. There he undertook research into designing new types of rectifiers. However, the worsening political situation in Germany forced him to leave his research work in 1936 and return to British Thomson-Houston in Rugby.
Boag bought his first car, an old Triumph (which he called "Pegasus"), to enable him to pursue his courtship of Isabel Petrie, a highly intelligent fellow Scot he had met at Cambridge, who was now teaching at Hinckley, 15 miles from Rugby. They were married in 1938.
When war broke out, Boag was classified as being in a reserved occupation but he nevertheless registered as a conscientious objector. In 1941, he worked at the Radon Centre, in Bedfordshire, and in 1942 joined the radiotherapeutics unit at Hammersmith Hospital where he worked on the development of the 2MeV Van der Graff accelerator and contributed with characteristic originality to the clinical trial of X- versus gamma-rays in the treatment of cancer. His contributions to solid state dosimetry and the efficiency of ion collection in pulsed radiation fields are regarded as landmarks.
In 1953, Boag was visiting scientist at the National Bureau of Standards in Washington DC, working on aspects of radiation biology. In 1954, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by Glasgow University and during 1955-57 worked with Professor Joseph Rotblat (later Sir Joseph and Nobel Peace Prize winner), at St Bartholomew's Hospital. Boag's long association with the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs dates from this time.
In 1958, he was invited by his close friend and former colleague at Hammersmith, Dr LH (Hal) Gray to join the British Empire Cancer Campaign research unit in radiobiology at Mount Vernon Hospital, in Northwood. It was here, during the next seven years, that some of his most significant work was done. In collaboration with Dr Ed Hart, a chemist from Argonne National Laboratory, he first observed the spectrum of the hydrated electron which had been predicted years earlier. In 1964, he became the Royal Society (Leverhulme) visiting professor to Poland, working with Dr David Shugar in Warsaw. (Shugar had had to leave Canada during the McCarthy era in the United States.)
In 1965, Boag was appointed professor of physics as applied to medicine at the Institute of Cancer Research, University of London, and the Royal Marsden Hospital, Surrey. Until his retirement, in 1976, his genius for recruiting brilliant colleagues and his continuing zest for innovation were much in evidence. His principal interest was in the study and measurement of the interactions of ionising radiation with biological tissues. He embarked on a major investment in a linear accelerator and Cobalt-60 irradiation unit with laboratory buildings to house them, and also in developing electrostatic-imaging (the Xerox type process of X-ray imaging which gave much better contrast).
In 1990, he jointly published Kapitza in Cambridge and Moscow - Life and Letters of a Russian Physicist (Pyotr Leonidovich Kapitza).
A former president of the International Association for Radiation Research, the British Institute of Radiology and chairman of the Hospital Physicists Association, Jack Boag continued well into his eighties to contribute important papers to learned journals and was much in demand as a lecturer to scientific bodies.
In recent years, he organised a symposium for the British Pugwash Group at the Edinburgh Science Festival, and, in 2000, contributed to the International Pugwash conference in Cambridge on "Eliminating the Causes of War". A devout pacifist and member of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), he appeared as an expert witness at the trials of several peace protesters in Scottish courts.
Jack and Isabel owned a holiday cottage on the Isle of Skye for over 40 years where they entertained friends from all over the world most generously. In 1992, they had moved north from Sutton to Edinburgh. Isabel, his beloved wife of 68 years, died last July. Jack had devoted his last years to caring for her. It seems somehow appropriate that Jack Boag's own long life, dedicated to the medical use of radiation, should end, so very peacefully, in a hospice bearing the name of his distinguished predecessor, Marie Curie.
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William Graham
BY JIM CAIRNS
WILLIAM GRAHAM Drama teacher
Born: 31 January, 1936, in Laurieston. Died: 30 December, 2006, in Grangemouth, aged 70.
BILL Graham, who nurtured the talent of thousands of stage-struck youngsters in Central Scotland, was also admired throughout the British amateur drama world and beyond for his vision, creativity and innovative productions.
But it is for his work with Falkirk Children's Theatre that he will be chiefly remembered. For 30 years, Bill was the director of their annual Christmas show, bringing high-quality entertainment to the stage of the town hall. Featuring a huge cast of local children who filled the stage with colour, energy and enthusiasm, the shows were eagerly anticipated by Falkirk audiences and were always sold out. Standing ovations were not uncommon, and the show always ended with a rendition of Holly Jolly Christmas, with mums, dads and grandparents joining in the fun. Scottish Television recognised the outstanding quality of the shows and broadcast many early in the New Year.
It was fitting that, in 1998, Bill should receive a "Great Scot" award from the Sunday Mail for his services to Scottish theatre, with particular reference to his work with Falkirk Children's Theatre. The trophy proclaimed him as an "unsung hero".
His talents were seen in many other ways. Falkirk District particularly benefited from his enthusiastic participation as an actor, adjudicator, speech and drama teacher, producer of Larbert High School Former Pupils' Dramatic Society (LHSFDPS) and Tryst Theatre.
Born in 1936, Bill made many notable stage appearances from an early age. Receiving the Edinburgh Schools' Festival "AB Harley" Trophy in the mid 1950s alongside other illustrious actors including Alastair Sim and Betty Clark, clearly demonstrated his exceptional talent for performance.
From St Andrew's Day, 1959, when he joined the staff at Larbert High School as drama teacher, Bill was committed to promoting the dramatic arts. His first full-length production in Larbert High, at Christmas 1961, was Charley's Aunt, a resounding success.
Thereafter, year on year, the Larbert public was assured that their Christmas festivities had the best possible start by their attending the annual LHS December production. His role expanded to include involvement in Falkirk District Council's "Accent on Schools" and Forth Valley Music Festivals, culminating in his appointment as honorary vice-chairman, all of which contributed to the rich tapestry of theatre in Falkirk District and gave generations of local young people the self-confidence to perform in public.
In 1985, he reunited many Larbert former pupils for a very successful review to celebrate the school's centenary.
Shortly after he joined the staff at Larbert High School, Bill founded and directed the Former Pupils' Drama Society and within a short time the club was winning festival awards across Scotland. In 1979, the club was re-formed as Tryst Theatre, and it is still going strong today.
The following year, Bill's production of Equus won the British One-Act Festival and further success - at the Scottish Community Drama Association (SCDA) one-act Scottish Finals - was achieved with Childhood (1987), Teechers (1991) and September in the Rain (1995).
Bill encouraged the club to widen its horizons and participate in festivals across the UK; Welwyn, Dundalk and the Isle of Man were among the audiences who enjoyed Tryst's productions. In 1991, he travelled with Tryst to the IATA world festival in Halden, Norway, to perform A Night in the Ukraine and a few years later toured Israel with a full-length production of September in the Rain, to great critical acclaim.
Before he founded Larbert HSFPDS, he was an active actor member of Laurieston Players, Erskine Players and Falkirk Theatre Arts, and in 1976 he appeared on the Edinburgh Fringe with SCDA Edinburgh District alongside Marilyn Gray in The Warld's Wonder.
Bill's early talents as a producer were demonstrated in the 1960s, when, with Bob Tait as musical director, he ventured into musicals with Bo'ness Amateur Operatic Society in The Desert Song, Oklahoma and King's Rhapsody in which he also played the lead.
During his time as a long-serving member of SCDA, Bill was chairman of Falkirk District and, at the time of his death, was honorary president of Falkirk District.
No Burns' Supper was complete without Bill performing Tam O' Shanter. His performance of Burns' most famous poem was a memorable tour de force - not just for his astonishing ability to remember all the words, but because he acted out the narrative so vividly.
In his role as a gifted teacher and mentor, Bill has left not just a huge legacy, but a living legacy. Around the world today there are many people who, entirely as a result of his inspired guidance and encouragement, have made the stage and the performing arts a large part of their lives on both an amateur and professional basis.
Bill truly was an "unsung hero", Falkirk's irreplaceable "Mr Drama".
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Magnus Magnusson
BY ALASDAIR STEVEN
MAGNUS MAGNUSSON KBE (Hon) Broadcaster and historian
Born: 12 October, 1929, in Iceland. Died: 7 January, 2007, in Balmore, Dunbartonshire, aged 77.
WITH his ready smile, avuncular and kindly nature he was for 25 years an institution on television. From 1972-97 Magnus Magnusson presented Mastermind - the programme that sat a contestant in that forbidding black leather chair while Magnusson fired questions thick and fast. The questions varied from the contestant's chosen subject to general knowledge. It was always done with a wit and style that gave the programme its central energy. Magnusson himself was a learned and well-read man, so he knew when to accept an answer. But it was his warm and genial personality that enlivened the programme; he came across as a benevolent senior master who was willing his pupils to do well.
The catchphrases came to him by chance - he never sought such accolades - but the nation knows both "I've started so I'll finish" and "you may answer". They were delivered in a silken, suitably serious, tone. The nervous contestants, however, saw a more relaxed and openhearted side. His last words of reassurance to calm them down was invariably a jolly: "Remember, it's only a bloody game!"
Magnus Magnusson was the son of the Icelandic consul-general to Scotland and although he spent most of his life in Scotland, he retained his Icelandic nationality and was proud of it. He spoke fluent Icelandic and returned to the country often. He was, however, brought up in Edinburgh and attended the Edinburgh Academy where he enjoyed an outstanding few years: being dux of the school in 1948.
Contemporaries remember his appearance as Little Buttercup in HMS Pinafore in 1945. "Even his treble voice cracking on the day of the performance didn't deter Magnus" recalls a friend. "He got an encore for his solo arias and the audience gave him a great ovation." The school's Chronicle wrote approvingly of Magnusson's singing and ended with a contrast between Magnusson's subtle Buttercup and "JJ Clyde's Josephine. The Academy has never had better leading ladies." JJ Clyde is now Lord Clyde.
Magnusson won a scholarship to read English at Jesus College, Oxford, (and later studied Old Norse, for good measure) and joined the Scottish Daily Express as their Highlands and Islands correspondent in 1953. He moved to The Scotsman as an assistant editor in 1961 and was responsible mostly for leader writing but was one of a talented trio (with Gus Macdonald and David Kemp) who headed a team of bright young journalists which investigated political and social issues. Magnusson started doing television at this time and was often seen on STV before fronting documentaries for BBC TV Scotland.
His calm and relaxed manner on screen resulted in Magnusson being offered a post with the national early evening Tonight programme in London. Again, he joined a campaigning group of reporters who were fronted by the jolly Cliff Michelmore and had stars such as Chris Chataway, Alan Wicker, Fyfe Robertson and Kenneth Allsop. They conducted incisive and searching interviews in the studio and covered the often downright unusual around the country. The programme's editor, Alasdair Milne, ensured that a fine mix of light and serious items made up a cocktail of exacting television.
In 1968, Magnusson became the founder-presenter of Chronicle, a monthly programme devoted to discovering (and uncovering) archaeological facts. It inquired into some of the more controversial aspects of history and it allowed Magnusson to pursue two of his most favoured subjects: the Holy Land and the Viking Age.
In 1965, Tonight was axed by the BBC and although he was asked to stay on for its late night successor (Twenty Four Hours), Magnusson by then had a young family and wanted to bring them up in Scotland. He returned to The Scotsman to write leader columns but was still no stranger to television viewers. He was a reporter for Current Account from 1968, and then presented, also for BBC Scotland, Mainly Magnus from 1971-73.
In the ongoing Chronicle series, he presented a much-acclaimed episode entitled Vikings!, which expanded on several of his earlier programmes.
But it was the advent of Mastermind in 1972 that firmly seated Magnusson in the nation's living rooms. It was an ideal marriage. Magnusson brought a cultured ease to the programme and responded to the contestants' speed of answering with his questioning. When the answers came flying back to him Magnusson seemed to go into verbal overdrive. It made for exciting television and the viewers were able to pit their own knowledge throughout.
The programme visited many historic locations and Magnusson was always keen to return to Scotland. He greatly enjoyed presenting one edition from the McEwan Hall, in Edinburgh, in 1986, and the final programme (1997) was recorded in St Magnus's Cathedral, in Kirkwall. It was a tight fit and much of the set had to be cut up. "But since it was the last programme," Magnusson wrote "it didn't matter".
Before he went into the cathedral, Magnusson was given a letter from John Birt, the BBC's then director-general, who called the programme "a national institution ... it has been a marvellous combination of entertainment and erudition, expertly hosted by Magnus." At the end of that programme, Magnusson was presented with the black leather chair.
The prize never varied: a Caithness Glass rose bowl. Magnusson was always proud that "to my certain knowledge no winner has ever sold it, given it away or broken it."
Magnusson maintained his Scottish connections and became involved in many aspects of the arts and sciences. He was, among many other public appointments, Lord Rector of Edinburgh University 1975-78, on the boards of the Scottish Youth Theatre (1976-78), Age Concern Scotland, National Museums of Scotland (1985-89) and founder chairman of Scottish Churches Archaeological Heritage (1978-85). Heritage and ecological matters were important to him and he served on a working party on the Cairngorms in 1992 and was a most active chairman of Scottish Natural Heritage 1992-99.
It was in the latter capacity, he had an enjoyable reunion with his old colleague from The Scotsman Gus Macdonald (by then Lord Macdonald) in August 1998. The two went to Nethy Bridge to open the local visitor centre, Explore Nethy Bridge. The new footpath by the river up the Dell Road was walked by the two friends and they planted a tree together, by all accounts amid much hilarity.
Magnusson was a prolific writer, covering a wide range of subjects: these included Scotland: The Story of a Nation; Fakers, Forgers and Phoneys: Famous Scams and Scamps; Lindisfarne; Iceland Saga; The Vikings; Treasures of Scotland; The Nature of Scotland; Keeping Your Words: An Anthology of Quotations; I've Started So I'll Finish, the story of Mastermind; and The Family Quiz Book. One of his more quirky books was The Clacken of the Edinburgh Academy, a history of his old school on whose board of directors he also served. He also co-authored numerous biographies and books on Scottish and Icelandic history.
Because he maintained his Icelandic nationality, his knighthood (in 1989) had to remain honorary but it was presented to him in a ceremony at Edinburgh Castle. He received many honorary degrees (Edinburgh 1978, Strathclyde 1993, Paisley 1993, Napier 1994 etc) and was voted Scottish TV Personality of 1974. He was also chairman of the Mastermind Club.
The poet Roger Woddis wrote a poem to celebrate the 1980 series.
All roads lead to the seat of anguish,
The bitten lip and the nervous knee -
All for the sake of a smile from Magnus,
All the joy of the third degree.
He broke down the barriers of academia and entertainment with that smile. Magnusson contributed much to life in Scotland and was an enthusiastic Scot in all but name. His lifelong passion was the preservation of the Scottish countryside and maintaining its flora and fauna: his knowledge of the bird life, the plants in the Cairngorms and the west coast was legion. Magnusson had a charm and a wit that made an instant impression: he was a wonderful companion and devoted to his family. It was his unfailing modesty and courtesy, which is remembered with affection by friends and colleagues.
Magnusson married Mamie Baird in 1954. She and their son and three daughters survive him: all of whom work in the media. Another son died in 1973.
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Lord Lambton
Lord Lambton (formerly 6th Earl of Durham) Politician and author
Born: 10 July, 1922, in Northumberland. Died: 30 December, 2006, in Tuscany, aged 84.
FOR a few frantic months in 1973 Lord Lambton was the centre of political attention. He had been exposed in the News of the World after being caught in bed with two call girls and the newspapers were full of his every move. "Top People's Vice Ring" was a typical headline.
Ted Heath's government, terrified another Profumo scandal was about to unfold, sent in MI5 and searched Lambton's flat, where they found some minor drugs. Lambton resigned in ignominy from the government and as MP for Berwick-upon-Tweed and spent the rest of his life in some obscurity, writing in Tuscany.
Anthony Claud Frederick Lambton was a member of an old Borders family and was a first cousin of Lord Home of the Hirsel (Sir Alex Douglas Home). Lambton was educated at Harrow School and joined the Hampshire Regiment during the war. He was, however, invalided out within a year and for three years did war work in a factory.
In the 1945 and 1950 general elections he stood unsuccessfully in safe Labour seats (Chester-le-Street and Bishop Auckland), but in 1951 he won Berwick-upon-Tweed for the Tories.
By then he had gained valuable experience in local government as a councillor with Durham County Council.
Lambton was a colourful member of the Commons: he had an agile brain, good looks and a courteous manner. He slowly built up a reputation as a reliable and well-informed speaker.
Lambton served for two years as parliamentary private secretary to Selwyn Lloyd, the foreign secretary, but courageously resigned over the British invasion of Egypt during the Suez crisis.
In 1970 he was restored to government in a junior post at the Defence Ministry by the prime minister, Edward Heath.
It was in 1970 that Lambton was embroiled in a constitutional matter that haunted him for the rest of his life. Lambton's father died in 1970 and he automatically succeeded to the Earldom of Durham. Lambton, though, chose to disclaim the title, as his cousin, Lord Home, had done a decade earlier so he could succeed Harold Macmillan as prime minister.
Lambton wanted to retain his seat in the Commons and maintain the courtesy title of Viscount Lambton.
Lambton displayed a certain obduracy in his dealings with the constitutional authorities. The Speaker ruled against him and Lambton started a lengthy process to overturn the ruling. Lambton appealed to the new Speaker (Selwyn Lloyd) in 1972 and was allowed to be known as Lord Lambton.
Then in 1973 his career fell apart. He was photographed through a keyhole in bed with two prostitutes and clearly smoking cannabis. The News of the World, which had set up the sting (and, allegedly, placed a microphone in a teddy bear's nose) printed the story and named Lambton as the man.
In fact the vice squad had already been alerted to an official Daimler often parked outside a flat in Maida Vale. The police had established that the flat belonged to a prostitute named Norma Levy.
After the scandal broke, Levy was interviewed and willingly spilled the beans. She admitted Lambton was "one of my sugar-daddies". Worse, she admitted her husband dealt in drugs and had taken the photographs through the keyhole.
There was consternation in Whitehall and Heath demanded Lambton's immediate resignation. Heath had been a junior minister at the time of the Profumo crisis and presumed if he took resolute action the trouble might go away. As a result of the Lambton exposé, however, Lord Jellicoe, leader of the House of Lords, who had been involved with the other girl in the photograph, also resigned.
Lambton then submitted himself to a grilling on television by Robin Day. He was asked why he used prostitutes and in an assured and off-hand manner replied: "I think that people sometimes like variety. I think it is as simple as that and I think the impulse is probably understood by everybody. Don't you?"
He was then interviewed by MI5 at some length as the authorities were terrified that he might have been the subject of blackmail. To them, Lambton said his actions were a means of coping with the pressures he had endured during the three-year battle to resolve the situation of his title. He had, he told MI5, been thrown "into a frenzied round of vigorous gardening and debauchery".
He ruefully added that his work as a junior minister was undemanding. MI5 concluded he was on the verge of a mental collapse.
Lambton went to Italy with his wife and family and bought Villa Cetinale, a 400-year-old estate. There he wrote political novels, including The Abbey in the Woods, and family biographies - most notably The Mountbattens in 1989.
Lambton always had a rather raffish and mysterious image. He delighted in wearing heavy black glasses (long before they were fashionable) and insisted upon being addressed as "Viscount Lambton" despite, in the eyes of British law, being Mr Lambton.
Lambton married Belinda Blew Jones in 1942: she predeceased him three years ago. He is survived by their five children one of whom, Lucinda, is a television presenter. His son Ned will inherit the title.
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Tommy Connor
BY BRIAN DONALD
Boxer
Born: 18 August, 1940, in Cambuslang.
Died: 7 December, 2006, in Blantyre, aged 66.
AT HIS peak, from 1958-68, Tommy Connor was one of Scotland's outstanding fly and bantamweight boxers who fought some of the biggest names in amateur and professional boxing circles at his weight during those years.
As a boy, Connor was enthralled by tales about local bantamweight fighter Jim O' Neill.
But it was after joining the Scottish National Club in Bridgeton, in Glasgow's east end, that the young Connor showed some of the prodigious ring talents of his boyhood hero.
The "National" in Bridgeton was the home gym owned by Jim Gilmour and his son Tommy - both major figures in Scottish boxing management and promotion.
Rubbing shoulders and sparring on a daily basis with such luminaries as Chic Calderwood, the only Scot to win a British light-heavyweight title, John McDermott, the 1962 Perth Commonwealth Games featherweight gold medallist, and Bobby Mallon, the 1962 Commonwealth flyweight gold winner, helped the young Connor to progress rapidly through the amateur ranks. Ironically though, it was Mallon who stood in the way of Connor's winning any Scottish amateur titles.
On turning professional, Connor, who possessed a formidable left jab, produced some outstanding performances, beating highly rated fellow Scots Tommy Burgoyne and Henry Hoey and giving the future British and Empire flyweight champion from Hamilton, John McLuskey, two hard fights.
However, it was the draw with the outstanding Londoner and British and European bantamweight champion, Johnny Clark, at London's Albert Hall in 1966 that saw Connor's finest hour.
With little time to prepare for the bout, Connor nevertheless fought superbly to force a draw verdict.
Thereafter, however, the defeats became more frequent, but as ring contemporaries and former Scottish National clubmates John McDermott, MBE, and current Glasgow boxing promoter Alex Morrison, both agree, Connor's apparent modest victory tally of 12 wins with two draws in 28 pro bouts paint a very misleading picture of the man's true outstanding ring abilities.
Meanwhile, Connor had met and married Kathleen Allen and they had three sons. The second son, James, followed in his father's footsteps into the ring in the 1990s.
Following the demise of his ring career, in 1968, Tommy Connor fell victim to the twin addictions of drinking and gambling, and parted from Kathleen - although he remained on friendly terms with his estranged wife and three sons right up until his death.
By way of an epitaph for his former Scottish National clubmate, Mr Morrison said: "Tommy Connor may have lost his way in life but he never lost his dignity, for when his body was discovered in the model lodging house that he called home, he had sufficient funds put by to pay for his own funeral.
"Tommy was both a nice man and a very good boxer - truly worthy of remembrance."
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Iverach McDonald
BY ALASDAIR STEVEN
Journalist
Born: 23 October, 1908, in Caithness.
Died: 14 December, 2006, in Oxford, aged 98.
IVERACH McDonald spent a lifetime in journalism and became one of the most respected foreign correspondents and editors of the post-war years. His earlier years were mostly spent in communist countries for the Times, where he built up an enviable reputation both behind the Iron Curtain and in the West. As associated editor of the Times, McDonald was involved with covering some epic events; not least John F Kennedy's assassination in 1963.
But McDonald remained a devoted and ardent Scot all his life. He often returned north to visit family and friends. He was proud of his Scottish roots, though he always preferred to call himself a Highlander.
Iverach McDonald was born in Strathcool and came from a family long connected with the area and the professions in Scotland. An uncle (Donald McDonald) had owned and edited the Highland News and the Northern Times. Iverach was, in fact, brought up in Yorkshire where he attended Leeds Grammar School. While at school, he had decided to be a journalist and worked for the Leeds Mercury before joining the Yorkshire Post.
It was with that paper that he made a trip to the Soviet Union in 1932: it began, for McDonald, a lifelong passion with Russia, its people and its literature. Three years later, he joined the Times as a sub-editor. He was to rise, over the years, to a senior position and become one of the doyens of Fleet Street.
In his calm but assured manner, McDonald was soon suggesting new angles for the leader writers and was an authority on Russian politics. He was posted to Prague during the hectic Munich crisis and wrote cogent articles against the policy of appeasement.
When war was declared, McDonald joined up, but his knowledge of Russia and its language ensured he was soon enlisted for intelligence duties. But he did not find this area stimulating and he returned to the Times in 1940. Throughout the war, he was present at many important meetings and briefings; most significant were the conferences with Churchill and Roosevelt. He also wrote a remarkably prescient article in May 1941, forecasting Hitler's imminent invasion of Russia.
In 1952, McDonald was appointed foreign editor of the Times, where his informed articles brought much renown both to the newspaper and himself. He became the confidant of many world leaders - and those from the communist bloc - personally.
When the editor was away, McDonald edited the paper. That was the case on 22 November, 1963, when Kennedy was assassinated. On first hearing the news, McDonald reset the first edition and rewrote the leader column. The obituary was expanded from three to five columns and McDonald rewrote new leaders by the hour. It was not just a question of reporting the death, but covering its political - national and international - repercussions. One American newspaper wrote of the Times' coverage as being "outstanding".
In 1965, McDonald was appointed managing editor. After Roy Thomson's purchase of the papers, it was thought that McDonald would be offered the editorship of the Times. In fact William Rees-Mogg got the appointment and McDonald was his associate editor. His detailed knowledge of communist countries once again proved invaluable when, in 1968, during the Czech uprising, the Times' correspondent fell ill. McDonald immediately flew to Prague and sent back incisive reports.
In 1973, this most active and erudite man retired. However, he translated Pushkin and Proust, then wrote about his career (A Man of The Times). In 1984, he wrote the official history of the Times from 1939-66 (Struggles in War and Peace).
McDonald remained a leading light in the Scottish community in London. He was a long-serving elder of Crown Court Church of Scotland in Covent Garden. There, he organised an annual service for the Scottish journalists working in London. He was also a keen member of the Scottish Piping Society of London and a regular attender at their meetings in Horseferry Road.
McDonald married Gwendoline in 1935. She predeceased him and he is survived by their son and daughter.
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Eric Ridehalgh
ERIC RIDEHALGH
Secretary of the Scottish Licensed Trade Association
Born: 8 September, 1930, in Keighley, Yorkshire. Died: 6 November, 2006, in Edinburgh, aged 76.
ERIC Ridehalgh gave unstinted service to the licensed trade throughout Scotland when for 28 years he was the Scottish Licensed Trade Association's (SLTA) secretary. He was available with helpful and constructive advice - always offered in a friendly and courteous manner. He gave of his time and energy to colleagues and friends with a gracious smile. As one colleague recalls: "Eric was everyone's friend."
During Ridehalgh's time in office, the licensed trade in Scotland underwent major changes to the structure of its business and he was instrumental in soothing the understandable concerns of many members and in implementing the new laws.
He also represented, in a most pragmatic manner, the industry at the highest levels. Ridehalgh presented the association's case - legally often very complex - with unerring professionalism and patience.
Eric William Ridehalgh was brought up in the Yorkshire town of Keighley and attended the local school. He went to a technical college to get a solid grounding in accountancy and commerce before working in local businesses. While at Yorkshire Farmers, a local farming representative organisation, Ridehalgh had to make several visits to Leith and from connections established there he was offered, in 1968, a post with the Scottish Licensed Veto Office, an organisation that promoted the licensed trade.
In 1971, he was offered the job at the SLTA - which he was to fill with much tact and boundless enthusiasm until he retired in 1999. When he took over the SLTA, it was resident in tiny offices in Leith. Nevertheless, Ridehalgh built up the organisation so that it had the muscle to lobby with confidence at the level of both local and national government.
In 1972, Dr Christopher Clayson presented a far-reaching report on the modernisation of the licensing laws in Scotland. His proposals were fundamental and highly controversial. He recommended a relaxing of many of the long-established laws and the ending of the antiquated system of bone fide travellers on a Sunday. At this time, pubs were closed on Sundays, but members of the public were legally permitted to order alcohol in the bar of a hotel if they signed the visitors' book, stating they had travelled over five miles.
Clayson also controversially advocated the relaxing of pub opening hours.
Many considered Clayson's proposals too liberal and drastic. Indeed, even within the industry there was concern and Ridehalgh was confronted by his own members needing reassurance. Longer hours, publicans argued, would necessitate more staff with no guarantee of increased turnover.
Ridehalgh balanced these worries against the demands from the public for longer hours and those from Whitehall who wanted to get a watertight bill through parliament. Clayson had mentioned the inadequacy of the existing laws - "clearly failing" - as he put it; so changes could not be avoided. Ridehalgh was convinced of the long-term benefit through tourism etc to the Scottish economy.
Ridehalgh grew to love Scotland and was particularly attached to Sutherland. He was a well-known figure in Dornoch and a regular attender at Dornoch Cathedral.
At the time of the cathedral's 750th anniversary, Ridehalgh sponsored concerts and worked with his usual gusto on behalf of many local charities.
This entrepreneurial zeal was again manifested at St George's West Church, in Edinburgh, where Ridehalgh was an elder for many years and ran the Friends of St George's West. He organised concerts to raise money for charity and every August brought the Ayrshire Fiddle Orchestra to give a concert in the church. He was immensely fond of all music and was keen to encourage, for example, a wider appreciation of the traditions of Scottish fiddle playing.
"Eric was a real gentleman," the Rev Peter MacDonald, minister of St George's, recalled. "His work for the church saw no bounds; nor did his ability to make and keep friends. When I came to St George's, Eric was welcoming and encouraging. I so well remember the concerts he organised. Everything went like clockwork and Eric bubbled with enthusiasm."
Ridehalgh's retirement was active and he remained with the SLTA as a part-time parliamentary consultant and was secretary of the United Kingdom and Ireland Licensed Trade Association. In 1996, he was awarded the MBE and in 1993 had became a Keeper of The Quaich - a post requiring "a love of Scotland and Scotch Whisky".
Ridehalgh, a much loved man of commerce, the church, painting and the Scottish countryside never married.
He is survived by his sister.
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