Margaret Moffat

Born: August 8, 1922; Died: October 25, 2014

Margaret Whyte Moffat, who has died aged 92, was the co-founder with her late husband James Moffat of AT Mays, which became one of the UK's biggest travel businesses. With its head office in Saltcoats, at one point it had more than 300 branches and was one of Britain's big four travel agencies.

Born Margaret Robertson, Mrs Moffat was a butcher's daughter from Ardrossan and attended Ardrossan Academy. She met her husband-to-be Jim Moffat, then a bank clerk, at a dance for former pupils of the school in 1939. She was working in the accounts department of ICI at the time.

Their courtship was interrupted by the Second World War when she became a wartime nurse based in Glasgow and Mr Moffat joined the RAF.

However, in a brief break before D-Day they married on May 2, 1944, with the blessing of her parents Bob and Meg Robertson.

In those post-war years and in the early 1950s, Mrs Moffat dedicated her life to bringing up their two children while Jim worked in the National Bank in Saltcoats.

Then, in 1955, Mrs Moffat gave her 36-year-old husband an ultimatum that was to change the course of their lives. Fed up with his grumbling about life as a bank clerk, she forced him to consider another career.

As a successful breeder of budgerigars, he chose to open a small pet shop, All Pets, in Saltcoats while in 1956 Mrs Moffat opened All Travel, next door, selling travel and train tickets to the people of the Three Towns: Ardrossan, Saltcoats and Stevenston.

However, the couple sensed that there was a wider opportunity to capitalise on the growing trend for overseas travel, which was in its infancy then.

They acquired the Kilmarnock branch of Mays Shipping and Travel in 1956, and AT Mays was born.

Expansion of the business was rapid. A combination of acquisitions, mergers and new shops soon saw the company become one of Britain's big four travel agencies with more than 300 branches, competing against the likes of Lunn Poly and Thomas Cook. It employed about 2,500 people, with more than 300 at the head office in Saltcoats where Mrs Moffat spent most days in her role managing the company's accounts team. She was, after all, a bookkeeper to trade.

While Mr Moffat received most of the accolades for the growth of the business, the old adage that behind every successful man there is an equally successful woman applied. Mrs Moffat was the controlling force behind the scenes. She made sure the accounting and business processes were robust and that the team could continue to provide high standards of customer service during those years of growth.

In 1987, the couple sold a majority stake in AT Mays to the Royal Bank of Scotland and, in 1990, Minneapolis-based Carlson Companies bought the bank's shares.

In 1962, they had moved from Ardrossan to West Kilbride and two years later to the house, Sarala, that was to become their home for the rest of their lives. In recent years, Mrs Moffat used the same business foresight to set in motion plans for a ground-floor extension in the house, as she knew she would need it.

The couple's life story and the rise of AT Mays was captured in 1989 in a book called 'Tis Better to Travel, written by The Herald's Jack Webster.

Only three months after being awarded the OBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours, Mr Moffat died suddenly aged 79 in September 1998 while on holiday with his wife.

Their love of travel had taken the couple all over the world. Mrs Moffat continued to travel, holidaying regularly with her friends and family on the QE2 and the Queen Mary.

According to her son Jamie, her favourite holiday of recent times was a week spent aboard the Sea Dream Yacht Club for her 80th birthday, with one week spent in the Mediterranean with all her family and friends.

She also wanted her husband's legacy to help others. The Moffat Charitable Trust, with Mrs Moffat at the helm, was formed after her husband's death to provide financial support to a wide variety of charitable causes throughout Scotland.

The trust became an important part of her life and she remained a trustee up until her death. She enjoyed visiting the projects and made sure her presence was felt at the charity's quarterly meetings, as it decided which organisations should receive support.

The National Museum of Scotland and The Princess Royal Trust for Carers both received £1 million from the trust, among the single largest donations it made.

Countless smaller donations were made to local charities in North Ayrshire and projects within West Kilbride village, her home for more than 50 years, were always seen as her highest priority.

Significantly, the trust has distributed more than £22m since being founded 16 years ago.

Mrs Moffat was surprised yet delighted when awarded an OBE in the 2010 New Year's Honours List, ­joining her husband in having the honour.

The Moffat Centre for Travel and Tourism Business Development at Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) was an early beneficiary of the trust and Mrs Moffat was awarded an honorary doctorate by GCU in 2012, in recognition of her outstanding charitable giving and support for a range of causes.

She was well known in her village and she and her friends, Sheila, Moira, Sadie, Janet, Vicky and the late Brenda became affectionately known as The West Kilbride Golden Girls, and were all a great support to each other. Their positive attitude about keeping themselves busy rubbed off on everyone who met them, and they were regular attendees at events in and around West Kilbride.

Mrs Moffat is survived by her son Jamie and grandchildren Ben, James and Laura. Her daughter Margaret died in 1995.