Duncan Simpson, who overcame sight loss to make a huge impact on Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire, has died aged 86.
In 1983 he was the recipient of the city’s Marion Paterson Award for producing a talking newspaper for the blind.
In 1997 he was made an MBE for services to the visually impaired and, two years later together with his beloved wife, Jean, was invited to Balmoral for tea with Prince Charles.
Duncan was said to have the ability to navigate his way around Aberdeen and, over many years, interviewed countless interesting people for his tapes for the blind.
He had a love of the hills, gardening and woodworking and always maintained that “the only handicap is laziness”.
Duncan was born at Downie Hills, Peterhead, one of seven children of farm labourer William Simpson and his wife, Jean Rennie.
The family moved around farms in Buchan where Duncan learnt to ride horses and developed a particular fondness for Clydesdales.
His sight had always been poor so he was sent to board at the Royal School for the Blind in Edinburgh together with his sister, Sheila, who also had retinitis pigmentosa.
After the war the family moved to St Cyrus to be closer to the railway line to Edinburgh.
It was at the Royal School for the Blind that he met his future wife, Jean, of Dundee, when they were both 12.
When he left school Duncan trained as an upholsterer in Dundee and lived in digs in the city.
Together he and Jean would often visit his family home in St Cyrus where he was known to drive a motorcycle, with his brother Douglas shouting instructions from the pillion seat.
Married life begins
The couple married at Lochee West Church in Dundee in October 1963 and had one son, Kenneth, who sadly died in 2002.
Duncan and Jean later relocated to Aberdeen in the mid 1960s and lived in Esslemont Avenue before moving to Kincorth and Duncan continued working as an upholsterer.
As a young man he had a flirtation with politics and broadcast a pirate radio station for the SNP from a van in the hills which kept moving between broadcasts to avoid detection.
He was also a founder member of Milton Mountaineers and was known for his high level of fitness even on guided walks in later life.
In 1994 when Princess Margaret opened the new premises of Grampian Society for the Blind in John Street, Aberdeen, Duncan presented her with a summer special tape he had recorded about the Scotch whisky industry.
Duncan was a skilled woodworker and built a memorial sun house to Kenneth in his back garden. He did woodworking in his shed where he made canes, one of which he presented to Prince Charles. He made them from witch hazel which he found in gullies during his mountain treks.
He was a great fan of the work of Robert Burns and a lover of Scottish and classical music.
Over many years, Duncan interviewed many interesting people for the tape service.
His brother, Robert, said: “One was Betsy Whyte, who wrote the book Yellow on the Broom. She was a gypsy traveller and had lived in various different places in Scotland.
“Duncan started to relate about living close by St Cyrus, and Betsy remembered that Duncan’s mum always gave them fresh baking when they were in the area.”
In 1995 Duncan took part in the Lang Grampian March, a two-week trek around the boundaries of the region.
Duncan had a guide, Robbie Mitchell of Mar Lodge, and they camped out over two weeks or stayed in bothies where he was in his element socialising and sharing a dram in the evening.
When it was over they were invited to tea at Aberdeen Town House where the Lord Provost presented Duncan with a cheque for £20,000 for the Society for the Blind.
Duncan is survived by his brother Robert, and his 15 nieces and nephews, and six nieces and nephews from Jean’s side of the family.
Conversation