Scotsman Obituaries: Lady Macpherson of Biallid, nursery school founder and charity patron

Jean was a woman of enterprise and energy who took great adversity in her stride. Born in Manchester, the daughter of First World War veteran David Butler-Wilson, a native of Burntisland, Fife, and his wife Dorothy, she was the younger and weaker of identical twins: asthma, severe eczema, damaged lungs and a weak heart topped the list of ailments. This resulted in regular trips to hospital and eventually a longer stay in Switzerland at the age of seven, a sojourn cut short by the outbreak of war.

In 1940, Jean and her twin sister Anne were evacuated to Canada on one of the last ships organised by the Children’s Overseas Reception Board. A sister ship, SS City of Benares, was infamously sunk by U-boat with the loss of 77 children, leading to the cancellation of the programme. Jean and Anne returned to England before the end of the war via New York, Lisbon and Limerick. Their parents did not recognise them disembarking, as both were now striking young women standing over 5’10” tall.

After school, Jean studied Domestic Science in Edinburgh and taught at Westonbirt in Gloucestershire, during which time she met Tommy. The first part of Tommy she saw was his knees, as he danced on her table in a kilt! For Tommy, it was love at first sight. He used his war-time skills to track her down, armed only with the information that she was called Jean and taught in the west of England in a school that began with a W. Soon after, they were engaged.

Jean and Tommy married in 1953 in Edinburgh and honeymooned in Majorca, staying on the way with General Bernard Montgomery at the Château de Courances. Montgomery ran a stern household, which included placing bride and groom in separate rooms, fortunately linked by an outside balcony. Monty gave Jean a large bottle of Chanel No. 5 as a wedding present, which she was unable to open. As Montgomery forced the cork, he splashed his uniform in scent, just before taking the salute for a parade of troops in the courtyard. Jean delighted at what the soldiers must have thought.

They moved to London, where Jean taught at the Monkey Club, an educational establishment for debutantes, the London Polytechnic, Greycoats School, and the Sacred Heart in Hammersmith. That Jean taught domestic science surprised guests later in life, as her cooking was famously idiosyncratic. Blame was put on the invention of the deep freeze. Jean believed that any three ingredients could create a meal but identification of the ingredients was a lottery as the ingredients all started as unidentifiable blocks of ice… and the deep freeze was shared by the neighbouring Highland Wildlife Park. On one occasion it was a smouldering owl, feathers and all, on another Brasso! Perhaps unsurprisingly, a guest was once caught with a suitcase full of tinned food.

With the arrival of her children, Jean set up Hyde Park Nursery School, initially in the Church Hall of St John’s Church. At first just for children of friends, the school grew to some 120 children and expanded in 1970 into the deconsecrated St George’s Fields graveyard, known as the “Long Garden”.

The school was advanced for its time. Jean created a charity for those unable to pay the fees, funded by quiet donations solicited from wealthier neighbours. A serious car accident led to the sale of the school in 1992, to Jean’s deep disappointment. The school continues to thrive, and Jean was delighted to see some of her grandchildren attend.

Jean had a strong Christian faith and was proud of being an elder for 25 years of St Columba’s, Pont Street, where she was on the Committee for the London Hostel for Adolescents. Charity work included serving as a Director of the YWCA and the Royal Caledonian Schools, Governor of the Royal Scottish Corporation, Trustee and European representative of Help the Aged, the Distressed Gentlefolk Aid Association, and the NSPCC. She was a long-standing Patroness of the Royal Caledonian Ball.

Perhaps because of her own ill-health and timidity as a young woman, Jean took great care to encourage those lacking in confidence or connections to get ahead. This intervention could be robust but was always well meant and usually effective.

Despite her London obligations, Badenoch in Inverness-shire was her spiritual home. Jean and Tommy summered at Cluny Castle in their early marriage, before in 1970 being offered Balavil, a dilapidated Adam house outside Kingussie. Jean ran the restoration with typical gusto, managing an army of builders and doing much of the decoration herself. Their expansive entertainment was famous, not least for Jean’s cooking.

In 1993 they moved to Craig Dhu and then in 2008 to Speyville, Tommy’s childhood home in Newtonmore. On each relocation they doubled the size of the reception rooms so that their hospitality could continue. The house seemed never empty of visitors, often staying for indeterminate periods.

In Badenoch, Jean chaired the North of Scotland Branch of the Clan Macpherson Association, and, after losing Tommy in 2015, enjoyed presenting the Sir Tommy Macpherson Memorial Trophy at the annual shinty match between great rivals Newtonmore and Kingussie. She was also proud to present, at the annual Friends of Scottish Rugby dinner in London, the Lady Jean Macpherson Women’s Trophy to the most aspiring female Scottish rugby player, and the Sir Tommy Macpherson Quaich to the most promising young player at London Scottish FC.

Jean bore her decline with customary good humour and fortitude, always delighted by the stream of visitors. She felt every day was a blessing, given her previous fragile health. She leaves a hole in the lives of everyone who knew her and is deeply missed.

A memorial service for Jean will be held at St Columba’s, Pont Street, London at 5pm on Thursday 19 March. All are welcome.

Obituaries

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