Motor racing team principal;

Born: October 4, 1931; Died: May 11, 2012.

Nicoll Cuthbert, who has died suddenly aged 80, was a former motor racing team principal and company director. When he died at his home in Darnick, near Melrose, he was hardly more than a stone's throw away from the place of his birth in Bowden.

Yet those intervening eight decades had witnessed a life packed with excitement and passion and lived to the full. Whether that be cheering on the drivers of his own motor racing team to capturing another chequered victory flag or anxiously scanning the spring skies each year for the long-awaited arrival of one of his most favourite birds, the swift.

He was always ear-marked to follow in his father's footsteps in the family's successful quarry business, Kings & Company.

This he would do, but not before an education at Galashiels Academy and Edinburgh Academy, followed by two years' National Service.

There was also the matter of four years spent as an apprentice in the motor trade, a very happy period and one which kindled his life-long passion for fast cars, motor racing and all things mechanical.

A superb driver himself, the religion of speed drew him to own and race a variety of classic cars in the years between 1966 and 1970.

His race team started with a Lotus Elan driven by Bill Dryden, which was then joined by a Ford GT40 driven by Eric Liddell and eventually a Lola T142 Formula 5000 single-seater.

This latter machine was driven by the legendary Mike Hailwood, one of the few drivers to compete at Grand Prix level on both motorcycles and race cars. This pinnacle of enjoyment was tragically terminated with the death of one of Mr Cuthbert's drivers at Oulton Park in 1969.

But he remained a proud member of the British Motor Racing Drivers Club and followed every twist and turn of the Formula 1 season with unflagging enthusiasm.

It was inevitable, however, that family responsibilities would eventually call him home and take precedence and he duly entered the family firm.

The untimely deaths of his parents in 1963 and 1964 and payment of subsequent death duties impoverished the business to the extent it was sold to Derbyshire Stone and then on to Tarmac.

But his experience and strong work ethic led to his retention by the new owners for many years before a curious twist of fate led him to return to the motor trade in which he excelled. Life, it seemed, had turned full circle.

The family had by this time moved to The Grange in Galashiels, probably his spiritual home. A large house, it was constantly filled with friends and laughter, unsurprisingly, as he delighted in throwing innumerable parties.

He was the perfect host, attentive, entertaining, revelling in sporting stories and memories, especially rugby of which he possessed an encyclopaedic knowledge.

No mean player himself – he had turned out on the right wing for Edinburgh Academy – he was the try scorer in a rare victory for his school over age-old rivals, Fettes College.

It was a feat remembered and no doubt embellished during reunions.

And he took great pride in having been selected for the Scottish Schools side in 1950.

He and his wife, Mary, a former nurse, had moved to Melrose in 1983. This was a happy time for the Cuthbert family. He continued to contribute to Borders society, serving on the local community council for four years and with the Selkirk Chest Heart & Stroke Club.

He also helped attend to the episcopal churchyard in High Cross Avenue. Quite simply, he liked people, and was always ready to help others less fortunate and they responded.

In his later years, he "grew into" gardening which he approached with discipline and precision, qualities he had exhibited throughout his working life.

Mary filled the role of plants expert, while he was chief labourer, and it was a perfect combination as their beautiful garden bore testament.

Allied to this was his love of wildlife, especially birds, which he loved to study and photograph. And it was only recently that he had been lamenting the delayed arrival of swifts. Poignantly, perhaps, the soaring birds had suddenly appeared in numbers over the Cuthbert home during the evening of his death.

Nicoll and Mary were married for 54 years. A close and committed couple, it was fitting that they were together, as always, at the time of his death.

In fact, it was just a year ago, that he had helped to nurse Mary back to recovery following major surgery.

He was pre-deceased by his brother Norman and is survived by Mary and their three children, Anthony, Michael and Susan, and six grandchildren, all a source of endless joy.