Sheriff Norman Milne

Sheriff Norman Milne, who died suddenly last month, will be long remembered for his selfless sense of justice and fairness in the service of others.

Born in Dundee and brought up to respect traditional family values, he was the eldest of five sons. When his father died shortly after the birth of the youngest, Norman supported his mother ably assuming the role of head of the Milne family, a task he performed with pride and honour until the end.

In 1939 he graduated in law in his native Dundee, but the advent of the Second World War delayed his entry into the legal profession.

Joining the Royal Scots Fusiliers, he was commissioned captain. He was a strict disciplinarian yet nevertheless earned great respect from those in his command, for he was scrupulously fair and full of genuine compassion for his men.

No officer is successful without a sense of humour, and Norman Milne had a very delightful one. Fellow officer and long-time friend from those days, Angus MacVicar tells how he and Norman, when in Palestine, visited The Wailing Wall and The Stations of the Cross. For the whole visit they were assailed by the heat and the dreadful resulting smell. At the end of their trip, when their guide started harassing them to buy a book on the history of Jerusalem, Norman used his humour to sidestep the issue neatly. ''My man, Jerusalem would be a better place today if you had paid less attention to your sense of history and more to your sanitation.''

On May 5, 1942, Norman was the first of the advance party to land in Madagascar where they successfully took the beach. After that his company became part of the 5th British Division and they were sent to India then Persia. He was again at the forefront, in the landing on Sicily and the push up through Italy.

He was mentioned in Despatches for Distinguished Service for the crossing of the Rhine and the final assault on Germany.

After the war he brought his fine, sharp mind to the Procurator-Fiscal Service and for the next few years served in Perth, Glasgow, Banff, Kirkcaldy, and Paisley. In 1971 he was promoted to become Regional Procurator-Fiscal for Edinburgh and the Lothians. In 1975 his abilities and loyalties were rewarded when he was appointed Sheriff of North Strathclyde. To this duty he brought his considerable knowledge and legal acumen but also the compassion for which he had always been renowned. He retired in 1980, a highly respected sheriff.

Norman's links with the Church of Scotland were long and strong. It was through the fellowship of the church that he met his wife, Phyllis. They were married in 1947 and enjoyed 52 devoted years together. He was an elder of the church for 53 years, latterly in the Highland

Parish Church, Campbeltown, of which he was a stalwart member. He had also been their session clerk and at one time was presbytery clerk for South Argyll. Combining both his interests, he was for some time part of the Judicial Commission of the General Assembly of The Church of Scotland.

At one time a Sunday school superintendent and Bible-class teacher in Kirkcaldy, he loved to tell of having had Chancellor Gordon Brown as one of his pupils.

Until recently, he was still singing with the church choir, for he loved music and was a member and past chairman of Campbeltown Music Club. Having learned to play the violin as a boy, in his 40s he taught himself to play the piano. This led to his studying musical composition, purely for his own pleasure. Sometimes he could be persuaded to play his delightful, perfect pieces for family and close friends. This was his complete relaxation, a replacement for his earlier love of yachting.

''Service above Self'', the Rotary motto, was one which Norman made his own. He was committed to Rotary and, at 84, Campbeltown Rotary Club's oldest member. President of the club in 1987-88, his opinion was highly valued.

Norman willingly shared his inexhaustible store of intelligence, steady strength, and love of his fellow man. Having recently returned from visiting his sole surviving brother, Leonard, in New York, and eagerly anticipating a September in Italy, he was taken ill while in England with his wife Phyllis for a family wedding.