George Gray

Farmer and local politician

Born: 5 March, 1920, in Edinburgh.
Died: 14 July, 2008, in North Berwick, aged 88.

GEORGE Bovill Rennie Gray was a farmer, friend, teacher and family man. He was also very modest. In 1991 he was awarded an OBE for services to agriculture but would be the first to give credit to all the wonderful people who worked with him over the years in the farming world. The growing of crops was always important to George and his whole life circulated around his love of the countryside and the people who lived and worked in it.

Born in 1920 and educated at Clayesmore School, Dorset, and Edinburgh Agricultural College, George was thrown in at the deep end when he lost his father at an early age.

At just 17 years old he found himself in charge of several farms around Edinburgh. In contrast to modern agriculture, the farms fed waste from hotels to the pigs and grew potatoes on land fertilised with the dung from horses and stock before selling the fresh produce to the city.

George was producing food for the nation during the Second World War as well as serving as a lieutenant in the 1st Battalion of the East Lothian home guard. Perhaps it was this early experience that instilled such a deep sense of duty to his country.

In 1946 George married Anne Dale at St Giles' Cathedral and the couple settled at East Fenton, Dirleton, where they brought up six children. In 1962 they moved to Smeaton Hepburn, East Linton, where they started a garden centre that continues to thrive today.

As a farmer, George was a great success, working in partnership with his brother-in-law, Tommy Dale, and leaving a farm to each of his four sons.

But George did more than farm for himself and his family. He was on several committees to develop and improve farming techniques, including numerous groups to advance crop breeds and animal health. He was chairman of the East Lothian branch of the National Farmers' Union and was chairman of the Oxford Farming Conference in 1972.

It was not only farming where George helped others. He was a councillor in the Lothian region, one of the largest local government areas in Scotland, from 1974-82. On top of his work as a director of Hanover Housing Association, he was often involved in planning committees at a strategic regional level. As chairman of the East Lothian Conservative Association in the mid-1980s he was a prominent party man but always willing to listen to the other side of the argument. He was even able to persuade the opposition to come round to his way of thinking, a knack much envied by others.

At a community level, George was well known for his work with the old and young. He was a deputy lieutenant of the county. As a church elder, he was responsible for reorganising the interior of Dirleton Kirk. With his wife, he took Sunday school at Dirleton and later in East Linton. The classes proved especially popular since children were also taught how to swim.

As assistant county commissioner for the scouts he was instrumental in introducing many young people to a love of the outdoors. His scouting experience also came in handy when organising family holidays in remote parts of Scotland. Transporting numerous children, equipment and food was a logistical challenge but always great fun; at one point an old fire engine was employed for the purpose.

His work establishing a garden centre at Smeaton Hepburn and propagating shrubs and trees also benefited the community. Today, Smeaton gardens is still in the family and the catalogued collection of trees around the lake walk will be recognised for years to come.

Even beyond East Lothian, George was well loved. He was an inspiration to many of the Nuffield scholars from the Commonwealth countries who came to stay with his family annually when visiting the Highland Show in Edinburgh. As a result he had many friends in New Zealand, Australia and Zimbabwe. There is even a dam called the George Gray dam on Disi Farm, Zimbabwe.

George's first love was gardening and arboriculture but he also enjoyed driving his Aston Martin and shooting. Friends will remember happy meals at Smeaton where perhaps more guests than expected turned up. Fortunately, George was able to feed eight people by skilfully carving one pheasant.

At the end of his life George lost many of his faculties to Alzheimer's disease. However, he never lost his gracious manners and was a gentleman to the end. The family would like to thank all the staff at Copper Beech nursing home in North Berwick for their patience and care over the past two years.

Some of the fondest memories of George for family and friends will be walks around the beautiful gardens and beloved arboretum he developed at Smeaton. George may have gone but the trees remain as a monument to a lifetime of helping others.

George Gray is survived by his wife, Anne, six children, 17 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

JOHN GRAY