ROSLIN lost one of its oldest residents and best-known characters with the death of George Campbell, BEM, on 25 March after a short illness. He had recently celebrated his 98th birthday.
George was born in Meigle, Perthshire, and spent most of his working life in what we would now call the telecommunications industry, but in George's time it was known as Post Office Telephones. He started as a telegram boy in Meigle, with a wage of
10s/6d (52½p) per week at the age of 14, and progressed through apprentice training and further technical education to more senior positions in the organisation, retiring in 1972 after 48 years' service.
Early in his career, he had been sent to the Borders to investigate radio interference, using a mobile receiver: he later confessed he did not always find the source of the interference but he did find his future wife, Jean.
He moved with his family to Roslin in 1948 and it was here that his interests in community affairs, local history and the environment were to blossom. He was involved in the Life Boys, the Gala Day committee and Roslin church, serving as an elder for 27 years, as session clerk for seven years. In the early 1970s George was one of the founder members of the Roslin Amenity Society, which pre-dated community councils, with similar aims. The Amenity Society would eventually become Roslin Heritage Society, which concentrated on local history and environmental issues, particularly the restoration of local footpaths and rights of way.
George was an enthusiast and a great organiser of volunteers. Under his leadership, local volunteers cleared and reopened the right of way along the river from Roslin, downstream to Polton and reconstructed a massive flight of 129 steps in Roslin Glen known as Jacobs's Ladder, using recycled concrete kerbs as steps. These kerbs were manhandled into place on a steep slope without incident – quite an achievement for a group of retired gentlemen.
These projects received national recognition in 1991, when Roslin Heritage Society took first prize in the Shell Better Britain awards and George accepted a cheque for £1,000 on behalf of the society from Magnus Magnusson. George was awarded the BEM in 1992.
Other projects followed, too numerous to list in detail, but one is particularly noteworthy. There was no local memorial to commemorate the Battle of Roslin (1303), when a Scottish army had defeated a much larger English force, with heavy casualties.
George and his friend, the late Fred Carle, researched the history and identified a suitable location for a commemorative cairn on the site of the former Lockhart Memorial at Dryden-Mountmarle farm, close to one of the battle sites. All the necessary permissions were obtained, the site was cleared and a sandstone cairn was expertly built by Bobby Lang and John Dignan with the support of other volunteers. The completed cairn was unveiled in 1994 by Captain George Burnet, LVO, Lord Lieutenant of Midlothian.
George's legacy is much greater than the physical memorials he helped create: his enthusiasm and energy were an inspiration to others to work for the good of the wider community. On environmental matters, George was well ahead of the "green" movement and footpaths are now being given a higher profile in the wake of the recent Scottish Land Reform legislation.
At George's funeral in Roslin Kirk on 1 April, Rev John Wells described George's life as a winding path that had taken him from Meigle to Juniper Green and Harrogate, ending in Roslin. On the way, George's path had crossed and become entwined with the paths of others, to the benefit of all.
George is survived by a daughter, two sons, seven grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
The full article contains 624 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
