Joanna’s cattle claim confounds experts
Published:
ACTRESS Joanna Lumley has confounded cattle experts by claiming her north-east ancestor pioneered the Aberdeen-Angus breed.
In an interview at the weekend, the Absolutely Fabulous star said she was “three-parts Scottish, and terribly proud of it”.
She added: “My mother was a Reid, a good Scots name. Her parents married in Rangoon – as one does.
“Her father, Leslie Weir, was a Scot born in Ghazipur, and her mother, Thyra Sommers, a Dane born in New Zealand. My father's mother's name was Young. They were from Ellon originally.
“My great-great-great uncle – or maybe it’s only two greats – crossbred the first Aberdeen-Angus.”
The Indian-born actress was hard at work yesterday and was unable to expand on her north-east roots.
Young is a popular name in Aberdeenshire so it is possible some distant relatives still live locally.
Rod McHattie, chief executive of the Perth-based Aberdeen-Angus Breed Society, said Ms Lumley’s claims were news to him.
“There are certainly no Lumleys in the breed records, but I suppose that wouldn’t necessarily be the name we were looking for back then,” he said.
“I’m not sure what she means by ‘crossbred’ either. We’d have to know more before I could say for sure she’s got it right. It’s not something we’ve heard before.”
The Aberdeen-Angus – a cross between a Buchan Humlie and an Angus Black – dates back to the 1870s and is widely regarded as one of the world’s finest cattle breeds.
Its founders are recognised to be William McCombie, of Tillyfour, Alford, and Hugh Watson, of Keillor, in Angus.
Mr McCombie’s contribution to the development of the breed was recognised with the erection of a life-size sculpture of an Aberdeen-Angus bull in Alford.
