Businessman and soldier; Born March 12, 1914; Died December 13, 2008.
Sidney Park Robertson, who has died aged 94, was a Second World War veteran who, on returning to Orkney after active service, set about building a successful oil and property business.
Robertson was born in Junction Road, Kirkwall, the eighth and youngest son of John D M Robertson, Inspector of Poor, and his wife, Elizabeth Sinclair. Life then had changed little over the decades: a lamplighter made his nightly rounds of the gas-lit streets; people drew water from strategically placed pumps; lads played on a dusty and often muddy Junction Road and marvelled at the annual parade of stallions in The Crafty.
His earliest memory was of sitting on the shoulders of his brother, John, when he returned from France in 1918, a Black Watch soldier convalescing from a shrapnel wound. When still quite young, Robertson showed precociousness and marked independence. This surfaced once in disagreement with a dictionary. Discussing with his mother the spelling of a word, they differed. "But Sidney," said grandmother Robertson, "The dictionary spells it as I do." There was a pause and a firm statement clearly enunciated: "Mother, dictionaries can sometimes be wrong." My grandmother's response is not recorded.
He worked with the Bank of Scotland in Orkney and Caithness before moving to Edinburgh in 1936, where he distinguished himself in bank examinations and then graduated as a bachelor of commerce at the university. Subsequently, he supported and repaid his alma mater by establishing the Robertson-Ness Business Studies Travelling Scholarships, which annually funds three students from the university's commerce department, enabling them to undertake projects in different parts of the world.
Immediately on the outbreak of war in 1939, he volunteered for army service and saw action in France and Germany as a major, and was mentioned in dispatches. In 1940 he married Elsa Croy, who gave him loyal support throughout a long and happy marriage. He was very proud of his children, Robbie and Eileen, and of his grandchildren.
He joined the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company in 1946, and spent six years in the Middle East, with appointments in Abadan and Basra. He then held senior posts with Shell-Mex and BP before returning to Orkney in 1954 to found the family company. The Robertson Group expanded into oil and property interests throughout Scotland and in the Falkland Islands. Along with his business activities, he immersed himself in local and national affairs.
Commanding the TA in Orkney and Shetland between 1956 and 1961, his achievements were recognised in 1962 by an MBE. Subsequently he was appointed colonel of the Lovat Scouts and commander of the Royal Artillery, Highland Division. He became life vice president of both the RNLI and the Royal British Legion, and he chaired the Royal Artillery Council of Scotland, reaching the rank of brigadier.
Although prominent on the national scene, Robertson never neglected Orkney.
No request was declined to assist or chair worthwhile bodies, such as Orkney Health Board, and he became president of the Kirkwall branch of the Royal British Legion, chairman of Kirkwall lifeboat committee and St Magnus Fair committee, to mention but a few posts. His sterling services in Orkney were recognised in 1990 by being made a Freeman of Orkney, adding to his earlier appointments as honorary sheriff, deputy lieutenant, vice lord lieutenant and Justice of the Peace. Of these recognitions, the one he prized most was the Freedom of Orkney.
It is noteworthy, too, that in 1996 he was made an honorary fellow of Edinburgh University and in 2002 an honorary doctor of letters by Napier University.
Hospitality at his home, Daisybank, was legendary; Robertson and his wife were unfailingly courteous, considerate and generous hosts to countless people from many places and walks of life. He was never more at ease or happier than when surrounded by people.
Harray was his favourite loch, fished in a slightly idiosyncratic manner and in all conditions. Lunch was taken on the site of one of the several lochside brochs.
Robertson did much to support and enhance the magnificence of St Magnus Cathedral. The bibles in everyday use were gifted in memory of his parents; he donated a window in St Magnus Centre for Elsa, and he took a major part in funding and creating the superb west window. Generous in thought and in deed he never spoke ill of anyone - rather did he applaud their good qualities.
Robertson never spent time gazing back. The sundial he had fashioned and sited at Daisybank reads "Look ever to the horizon". He sought the best in others and he gave the best he had. His life was an inspiration and his memory a benediction.
JDMR
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