TRIBUTES have been paid to Lord Wemyss, a champion of Scottish heritage and conservation, who has died aged 96.
Francis David Charteris, the 12th Earl of Wemyss and 8th of March, was president of the National Trust for Scotland (NTS) from 1967 to 1991.
He was also Lord Clerk of the Register of Scotland, and was Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembl
y of the Church of Scotland on three occasions.
The earl chaired the Royal Commission on Ancient and Historical Monuments for Scotland and was a member of the Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts.
Lord Wemyss was elected to the Trust's executive committee in 1944 and two years later was elected to its council. He held his first meeting as the chairman of council, the Trust's decision-making body, in 1948 in his early thirties, and held the position until 1969.
Tam Dalyell, former Labour MP for Linlithgow, is a friend of the family who has been asked to give the address at Lord Wemyss' memorial service.
Mr Dalyell last night told The Scotsman how he first met Lord Wemyss on the ceremonial handing over of the House of the Binns, the family home of the Dalyells for nearly 400 years, to NTS.
"In 1946 I was the teenager who handed over the clod of earth (symbolically] giving to the National Trust the House of the Binns, my mother Eleanor Dalyell's house, for which they asked under the Country House Scheme. The recipient on behalf of the Trust was the 34-year-old Earl of Wemyss, who had been chosen as his successor by Sir Ian Colquhoun of Luss.
"Since then, over 62 years, I have seen at first hand the amount of time, effort and intelligence that Lord Wemyss devoted to the charity."
Mr Dalyell described Lord Wemyss as "thoroughly honourable and principled" for taking the view that his public work was in Scotland and he therefore could not take part in House of Lords debates or cast votes.
The Duke of Buccleuch, current president of the NTS, also paid tribute yesterday. He said: "He was a legendary figure, a giant in the story of the National Trust for Scotland, whose contribution to Scotland's heritage was simply immeasurable.
"Through his vision and tireless leadership for over half a century he inspired people across the country to preserve and enjoy their natural and cultural heritage."
The Trust's chairwoman, Shonaig Macpherson, also paid tribute yesterday, describing Lord Wemyss, who was a life member of the charity for 70 years, as "part of the very fabric of the Trust".
She said: "The Trust has been blessed with the support of such a special and committed person for over 70 years. His influence and commitment to conservation, particularly in the 1950s and 1960s, is still felt to this day."
The earl was also a director of the Standard Life Assurance Company and Scottish Television, and Lord Lieutenant for East Lothian from 1967 to 1987.
He campaigned for houses of historical importance to be exempted from death duties, and also argued that disused railway lines should be adapted for cyclists and walkers to use.
He succeeded to the title on the death of his grandfather in 1937.
He served as an assistant district commissioner in Basutoland and in the Middle East during the Second World War. In 1940 he married Mavis Murray (known as Babs), a member of a well known Cape Town family.
On his return to Scotland, he became involved in public life and took his seat in the House of Lords as Baron Wemyss of Wemyss, a title that was first conferred in 1824.
Lord Wemyss died in Edinburgh on Friday and is survived by his second wife, Shelagh Kennedy, a daughter, Lady Elizabeth Benson, and his son, Lord Neidpath, who inherits the titles.
