Inverurie businessman and bridge champion Cecil J. Gauld has died aged 89.
He began his working life as a plumber and built a huge gas distribution business, Gauld’s Gas, operating across the north of Scotland.
In the 1980s, Mr Gauld was the Scottish men’s bridge champion. In 1985, Mr Gauld and his wife won The Press and Journal Bridge Pairs Tournament.
Cecil James Gauld was born in Inverurie and brought up by his aunt and uncle.
He attended Market Place School, then Inverurie Academy and left school at 14.
Cecil went to work at the Hay’s lemonade plant for two years until he was old enough to start a plumbing apprenticeship with James Laing in 1947.
At the age of 21 he did his two years’ National Service with the Gordon Highlanders.
On his return to Inverurie, he met his future wife, Violet, when a circus came to visit Market Green.
The couple went on to marry in Inverurie, and their first home was a flat in High Street.
In 1959, the couple moved to a new home in Kellands Road and a year or so later, Cecil left Laings and took over a plumbing business that had been run by Tammy Hendry. The couple went on to have four of a family, Violet, Cecil, Ian and Kathleen.
Ten plumbers
Cecil’s sons, Cecil and Ian later joined the business, which became Cecil J Gauld and Sons, employing 10 plumbers at one time.
In 1980, the firm took over a caravan site at Port Road and expanded it by demolishing an adjacent plucking shed and replacing it with 14 caravans for young families.
Cecil began supplying gas cylinders to caravan residents and then discovered there was an opportunity to supply farmers with large propane gas cylinders for firing grain dryers during harvest.
Expansion
Business snowballed and soon the firm was supplying farmers across the north of Scotland from Angus and Perthshire to the Black Isle.
In 1983/84, the firm entered an arrangement with BP who built a 40,000 litre bulk storage facility in Inverurie.
Gauld’s Gas spent £25,000 on a tanker and began to supply households and commercial premises, growing to a firm with five tankers filling 1200 gas tanks.
In recent years, the firm, based at Uryside, has been run by Ian Gauld but Cecil senior remained an active influence in the firm.
Outside work, Cecil, together with friend Eric Steel, ran bridge tournaments across Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire.
Bridge champions
He also played bridge at a national level and took part in congresses all over the UK. In April, 1985, Mr and Mrs Gauld won The Press and Journal Bridge Pairs Tournament and were presented with their award by then editor Peter Watson.
Cecil was a Celtic supporter. The family held four season tickets in the late 1990s and Cecil and Violet attended many matches at Celtic Park with their grandsons. He last saw his team when they played Aberdeen in 2016.
He was a great family man with eight grandchildren and five great-grandchildren and held many special birthdays or anniversaries at Strathburn Hotel, Inverurie, his favourite venue for these occasions.