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Obituary: Alex Murray, former Highland crofter and political leader

Alex Murray.
Alex Murray.

Alex Murray, Lurgan, Aberfeldy, who has died aged 91 made a considerable mark both in the farming world and in local politics.

His achievements were all the more remarkable as there was no inherited wealth to set him on the road to success

Few who met him in later life would guess the inauspicious and challenging circumstances in which he was brought up.

Crofting life

He was born in Greenock but when he was only five years old, his mother died and he, and his brother, David, were fostered by a couple living on a croft at Kilmorack a couple of miles from Beauly.

Life was strict with hard work on the croft being the order of the day. In this largely Gaelic speaking area, he became a fluent speaker of the language.

Despite having a sharp and inquiring mind and a remarkable memory, Alex did not shine as a youngster.

Enterprise

He left school, aged 14 , to take over the running of his foster parents’ croft.
And it was there his hard work, his inventiveness and his ability to spot a business opportunity first came to the fore.

Alex bought a little grey Fergie tractor and plough and was soon inundated with work after neighbours saw how much ground could be covered by this yoke compared with their own horse-powered efforts.

Livestock

His first paid employment was as a stalker on the Lovat Estates where, as a perk of the job, he was allowed to run some sheep on the estate.

It was during this period of his life that he met Lil or Lilias at a local dance. She was to be with him for the rest of their lives.

They married in 1958 and the marriage produced David, Alison, Margaret and Alexander and, in due course, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Tenancy

In a major step up the farming ladder, Alex then took on the tenancy of Culag farm, a hill unit on Luss Estates which could carry about 600 ewes and 30 cows.

With youthful enthusiasm, he threw himself into making this farm a profitable business. He tackled the bracken which had previously been allowed to kill out the grass and he produced sheep which were in demand in the sale ring.

He and Lil diversified the business with caravans for holidaymakers. Their visitors were provided with milk from the farm cow which Alex milked every day. They were also sold eggs from the hens on the farm.

Perthshire

He was certainly ambitious, and, after several attempts, he took the tenancy of Lurgan and Glencoulandie farms in Highland Perthshire from Major Neil Ramsay of Farlayer Estate in 1971.

This move saw him farm 7,000 hill acres with a carrying capacity of 1,700 ewes and 80 cows.

This did not end his farming ambitions as, in the years ahead, he either bought or rented up to five farms at one time or another.

However, scale and size of farming was not the main driving force in his business as he always took great pride in the quality of livestock he turned out; none more so than when selling ewe lambs bred on one of his farms.

Record price

One highlight came in 1996 when one of his ram lambs was bid to £10,000. This price set a new record price for a Blackie ram lamb at Stirling Livestock Centre.

While sheep dominated his farm businesses, Alex was also a strong supporter of the Aberfeldy calf sale held in Perth where most of the cattle from his farms were sold.

These highlights confirmed his status in the farming community and this was consolidated in 2004 when he was awarded an MBE for his services to the industry.

Further confirmation of his status in the farming community came when he was tagged as a “local legend” by one of Scotland’s main farming magazines.

Politics

While all this would have filled the life of a lesser person, Alex also found time to devote part of his life to politics.

His first foray into that arena came during his time at Luss where he represented his community on the local council.

Then in the 1974 General Election he stood as the SNP candidate in the West Dumbartonshire constituency.

Although this was then a Labour stronghold, Alex’s debating skills and energy saw him just fall short of becoming an MP by 1,800 votes.

Councillor

A few years later in 1981, he stood as a councillor in Perth and Kinross, a position he held for 18 years.

Recognising his diplomatic skills, he was then, in 1988, elected as provost of Perth and Kinross where he demonstrated an ability to work across the political divide and a determination to get things done.

As a civic head who enjoyed meeting people, Alex promoted links with other towns and cities around the world.

Twinning

To cement these links he travelled widely in Australia, New Zealand and Canada but perhaps his greatest achievement was twinning Perth with Haikou, a city of more than two million inhabitants in China.

For his efforts in building this link, he was given the freedom of the Chinese city.

This travelling and looking to the far horizons did not stop this relentlessly energetic and driven man from looking after his own home patch where he always enjoyed a healthy vote at election time

Family

All this farming and politicking did not squeeze out his family life where he enchanted the younger children of his family with tales of fairies. As some older observers remarked, he seldom let the truth get in the way of a good story.

Alex Murray lived a full life, not only packing a great deal into his time on earth and but also achieving a great deal.

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