The Edinburgh Reporter August 2021 issue

10 OBITUARIES
MICHAEL GASCOIGNE was an outstanding Edinburgh lawyer who
was reputed to have disciplined former prime minister, Tony Blair.
When Michael was three, his mother was taken into hospital near
Inverness suffering from acute post-natal depression. The condition was
little understood in the early 1950s, and certainly not as treatable as
today, for she died in that same hospital six years later as a result. He was
brought up instead by his paternal grandmother at Foulis Castle, north
of the Black Isle, and those early years spent in relative loneliness in the
Highlands were to shape the rest of his life.
At 13, he was awarded a scholarship to Fettes College, where he
excelled in all aspects of school life. Studious and inquisitive by
inclination, popular with his peers and teachers, and with a good eye for
a ball, he took advantage of the many extra-mural activities that Fettes
offered. His claim to fame during this period was being obliged to
discipline his "fag" Tony Blair, but Michael never revealed the nature of
the latter’s misdemeanour, nor the punishment. He secured a conditional
place at Cambridge but, due to an administrative error, he went on to
read law at the University of Aberdeen.
In 1971 he was appointed as an articled clerk to Brodies WS in
Edinburgh – one of Scotland’s foremost law firms. On arrival, the senior
partner advised him that it would benefit him to apply for membership
of two august bodies: The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers
(Muirfield) and The New Club. With characteristic obstinacy he applied
to neither. Instead, he took up trackside marshalling with the
Scottish Motorsport Marshals’ Club – an
unusual pastime, but one to which he devoted
many years and hours of administrative as well
as practical work. It gave him enormous
pleasure to be made President of the club in
2020. He vowed never to play golf, and kept
true to his word throughout his life.
At only 24 he was the youngest person ever
to be made a partner by Brodies. A sound
technician, he developed a full knowledge of
the law with an acquisitive interest in all
aspects that affected the countryside. He
became a specialist in agricultural law where
his expertise and encyclopedic knowledge were
regarded throughout his profession as second
to none. Perhaps best described as a lawyer’s
lawyer, he was a pastmaster at finding clever,
but sensible, solutions to the knottiest legal
problems and tracing a way through the maze
of a complicated property transaction. He was
renowned for his diligence and his deft care for
clients who ranged from crofters to many of
Scotland’s wealthiest and most influential
MICHAEL NEILL
CLIFTON GASCOIGNE
Solicitor and Writer to the Signet
Born: 1 February 1949 • Died: 11 June 2021
landowners, all of whom he treated with the same loyalty, humility and
respect. Remuneration from his cases was of no importance to him: the
only thing that mattered was what was right.
By the mid-1990s his name appeared third on the list of partners at
Brodies, and he had become a key member of the Rural Affairs
Committee of the Law Society. The course seemed set for him to become
senior partner. But notwithstanding his prodigious contribution to the
firm, he did not embrace the commercial imperative which had swept
through legal practices in the 1980s and 1990s. His love of the law and
his tenacious dedication to his clients were not matched by a willingness
to issue the increasingly hefty invoices, which were anathema to him.
The consequence was inevitable, and after many warnings, his services at
Brodies were dispensed with.
After Brodies, he joined Gillespie Macandrew, first as a partner and
latterly as a consultant. Consultancy suited his talents, enabling him to
avoid any involvement with the day-to-day housekeeping of the business.
Kind and understanding by nature, he devoted himself to mentoring
young lawyers and passing on his deep knowledge, particularly of
agricultural law. He taught in parables, giving of his time generously. But
he was never one to embrace the advantages that technology might offer,
and only several years after the use of mobile telephones had become
commonplace did he reluctantly accept one. He almost took it as a
personal affront if someone sent him an email, and the reply could be
guaranteed to be terse. "Can’t type" was his excuse when challenged.
Foulis Castle, his childhood home, is the ancestral seat of the chiefs
of the Clan Munro. When he came of age, his uncle Pat Munro, then
chief, persuaded Michael to join the Council of the Clan Munro
Association. He served continuously for over 40 years and proved
himself invaluable both in giving wise general advice and on all matters
legal. This included completely rewriting the Council’s constitution,
setting up the Clan Munro Heritage Museum Trust and delivering a
£1.3m development at the Storehouse of Foulis on the shore of the
Cromarty Firth.
Michael devoted much of his leisure time to other pursuits, four
notably connected with motorsport. In addition to his role in the
Scottish Motorsport Marshals’ Club, he was a key figure in the Scottish
Motor Racing Club and a senior official on the RAC Rally. At the time of
his death he was Chairman of the Royal Scottish Automobile Club,
where he had been a member since 1971, and chairman since 1998. It
was, as he once put it, "hard work and good fun in equal measure".
He was a first-class rifle shot, which combined with his keen interest
in deer to make him a very proficient stalker. Such was his
marksmanship that it was only with difficulty that a longstanding
client, friend and stalking host managed to persuade him, after many
years, to stop using open sights on the hill and to convert to a
telescopic sight.
He had three children from his first
marriage to Anna Milne: Jamie, himself a
father of two, is an ecological process designer,
Gemma works for VisitScotland and Peter who
is the strength and conditioning coach for the
Great Britain Cycling Team.
Two years after the birth of Peter the
marriage was dissolved, and in 2000 he
remarried.
He retired from legal practice in 2016 and,
cruelly, a year later Alzheimer’s was diagnosed.
With unfailing support from his second wife,
Linda, he battled against the odds until, out of
the blue with no warning signs, he was
diagnosed with incurable cancer.
Eight weeks later, he died.
Contributed
Michael Neill Clifton Gascoigne, Solicitor
and Writer to the Signet, born in Inverness on
1 February 1949, and died in Victoria
Hospital, Kirkcaldy on 11 June 2021
A TRIBUTE TO
ANDREW MATHER
Chairman, Cramond and Barnton Community Council
Died: 18 April 2021
A HEARTFELT tribute was provided at a recent
Cramond and Barnton Community Council
meeting following the death of its Chairman
of some 10 years, Andrew Mather.
Ross Wilkinson, who served as Vice-
Chairman throughout much of the time,
reflected on the energy and commitment that
had singled Andrew out as a natural Chairman
and leader after his election in 2011. Over the
years there were many sensitive issues on
which Andrew led the engagement process
with stakeholders, including Edinburgh Airport,
Lothian Buses and The City of Edinburgh
Council. His patience and tenacity were
qualities which were often called upon.
Preparatory meetings were routinely hosted
at his home and the office bearers were always
grateful for his hospitality and that of his
wife, Anne.
PARTNERSHIPS
The benefits of working cooperatively was not
lost on him and he was instrumental in
bringing together the other local North West
Edinburgh community councils to strive to
progress the many issues which transcended
the respective catchment areas. The strength
of partnership working was also what saw him
establish a Collaborative Group covering the
various local groups including the Cramond
Association, Friends of the River Almond
Walkway, Friends of Cammo and the Cramond
Heritage. Fostering improved understanding of
what each was doing and striving to work
mutually in a supportive manner – and
eliminate duplication - were what lay behind
this initiative. Here again, Andrew’s home was
regularly the venue for these meetings.
Having undergone a serious neurosurgical
operation about four years ago some thought
Andrew would step down – or at least take a
back seat. Those who knew him were not
surprised when following a brief interlude he
was back – and with a renewed vigour. The golf
clubs were out again and the Chairman’s gavel.
The determination and resolve that drove him
to continue to challenge stakeholders, in
particular The City of Edinburgh Council,
was unrelenting. The golf remained work
in progress.
This brief tribute can inevitably only scratch
the surface of remembering Andrew. He
touched the lives of many in the Cramond and
Barnton area where he spent the vast majority
of his life. An elder of the Kirk and a member
and past office bearer of the Bruntsfield Golf
Club, and he always had a smile and a kind
thought about others. The community and his
family are the lesser for his passing.