Obituary - Russell Leather, chairman of the charitable Gannochy Trust

Died: December 25, 2017

RUSSELL Leather, who has died aged 93, was an electrical engineer who spent most of his career working for Ferranti but he was also known as a trustee, then chairman, of the charitable Gannochy Trust. He was a trustee of the organisation for 40 years and chairman for 17 years until 2008.

Although Dr Leather was born in Kent, his family moved to Glasgow then Edinburgh when he was a child and he went to the capital’s George Heriot’s School.

In 1942 he volunteered for the Royal Corps of Signals and was sent on a short and very intensive course on electromagnetic radiation and, in his own words, “things that might be helpful in the war” at Christchurch College, Oxford. He saw active service in Assam, Burma and Singapore.

After the war Dr Leather studied at Edinburgh University where he graduated with a degree in electrical engineering. He spent most of his career working for Ferranti, initially in Edinburgh and latterly in Dundee.

During his career Dr Leather came up with no fewer than 25 patents and as a manager in the company built up a subsidiary business which worked with these patents and which was very profitable.

He was invited to become a trustee of the Gannochy Trust in 1968 while he was still working with Ferranti. The trust is a major grant-making trust established by AK Bell, whisky distiller and philanthropist, in 1937. Some grant-making trusts rely solely on invested capital from which they derive income which is distributed to charities. The Gannochy Trust is different: A.K. Bell, before he founded the trust, had built 149 houses in a model estate and these together with three farms extending in all to 580 acres and other properties in Perth, in

particular the Doo’cot cricket ground, were donated to the trust.

The trust has a continuing responsibility for managing those properties and also further properties which, in fulfilling the trust’s purposes, have been developed over the years. The introduction of specific charity regulation under the auspices of OSCR increased the responsibility of trustees, and particularly the chairman. All of this Dr Leather took in his stride. Dr Leather was pivotal in the Gannochy Trust’s contribution to the fabric of Perth and Kinross with projects such as the funding, building and subsequent development of Bell’s Sports Centre, Perth Leisure Pool, Dewars Centre, the AK Bell library and as chair of the consultative committee saw the trust make major contributions to the three phases of renovation of the Perth theatre between 1980 and 1991.

Across Scotland he oversaw the trust’s support for major projects such as the National Gallery’s Playfair Building and the Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, the Kelvingrove Gallery in Glasgow and the development of sports facilities at Stirling University.

Dr Leather served on many other bodies, including Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust and, as a founder member of Perth Civic Trust, he helped to save Perth Waterworks which has now became the Ferguson Gallery.

Dr Leather’s commitment to projects was always exemplary and he positively encouraged high standards.

Throughout his life he was wonderfully supported by his wife Muriel who survives him along with his son Christopher and daughter Ann and four grandchildren.