Born: 10 January, 1916, in Oxfordshire.
Died: 29 June, 2008, near Banbury, Oxfordshire, aged 92.
TO BE the son of such a successful novelist – and renowned public figure – as John Buchan placed expectations and
pressures on William Buchan which he never quite got over. His father had written The Thirty-Nine Steps and the Boys-own books about Richard Hannay that made him a celebrity and an acclaimed novelist. On top of that he had been showered with honours and made governor-general of Canada. This was heady stuff and his second son never found it easy to match up to parental expectations. However, William became a successful author in his own right and a much admired critic and publisher.
William de l'Aigle Buchan was born into a well-connected family. His father was a national figure and his mother related to the wealthy Grosvenor family. After Eton, he read English at New College, Oxford, which did not last even a year. Instead, his father got him a job with Alfred Hitchcock who was filming The Thirty-Nine Steps. Buchan then spent some time with his parents at the governor-general's mansion in Ottawa. As war approached, Buchan returned to the UK and joined the RAF Volunteer Reserve Force. Throughout the war, he flew Hurricanes, firstly over the Atlantic, protecting the Merchant Navy vessels and then in the Mediterranean, defending Cyprus. The final years of the war saw him in the Far East and in command of a Hurricane squadron stationed at Calcutta. He was demobbed with the rank of squadron leader.
During the war, Buchan had started writing poems and published a short biography of Winston Churchill. As a morale-boosting exercise, he wrote for the RAF an account of the day-to-day routine of a pilot. But it was his experiences in India that inspired him to write his first novel, Kumari, which was published in 1955. It told of a young Englishman in pre-war India and in it Buchan captured the traditions and atmosphere of a bygone age with a sure style. The book was well received. Five years later, his first thriller appeared (Helen All Alone) and in 1966 he wrote The Blue Pavilion, about low life in Paris.
The novels were undoubtedly accomplished but Buchan enjoyed life and he also took on a variety of jobs. These included London editor of Readers' Digest and several posts within public relations. The latter proved ideal for Buchan as he was the most courteous, gentle and gracious man, fluent in French, with impeccable manners. He worked for some years for the Nobel division of ICI and then the French oil company Elf Aquitaine (now Total).
Buchan had always wanted to revisit his father's life and in 1982 published a biography which captured Buchan snr's humanity and insecurities. Their relationship had never been easy and his father had been always a rather remote figure for William. He emphasised the strength of his father's character, sense of duty and pride in his Scottish heritage. Significantly, he concluded that throughout his life his father had displayed "courage, truth, loyalty, honour and compassion".
In 1981, he retired from his public relations appointments and lived in the Cotswolds reading French literature, gardening and enjoying the company of his 29 grandchildren. In 1996, he succeeded his brother as the third Lord Tweedsmuir, taking his seat in the House of Lords: an honour that was terminated by the reforms of 1999. Despite failing eyesight and hearing, he maintained a keen interest in literary matters.
William Buchan was a popular figure at the John Buchan Society. His considerable knowledge of the books made him an enlightened lecturer and he delighted in telling stories of how his father wrote his novels and of their original inspirations. At one meeting, he told how the title of The Thirty-Nine Steps came about. Apparently his father had been convalescing at Broadstairs, in Kent, and there was a wooden staircase leading from the house to the sea. His six-year-old sister shouted from the bottom of the staircase to their father: "There are thirty-nine steps, Daddy."
Buchan attended many of the society's meetings in Scotland as their president, was principal speaker at the first annual general meeting in Edinburgh in 1980 and was present at events at the John Buchan Museum at Broughton, near Peebles.
William Buchan was married three times. His first two marriages – to Nesta Crozier and Barbara Ensor – were dissolved. He is survived by his third wife, Saure Tatchell, whom he married in 1960, and his nine children.
ALASDAIR STEVEN
The full article contains 776 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
