Gone home: Alistair Hamilton

Alexander (Alistair) Hamilton : 1925 - 2012 

Clyde Region was sorry to hear of the passing of our Regional President, Alistair Hamilton last week, aged 87 years.

Alistair was born in May 1925 and following his education at Hamilton Academy then Glasgow University, joined McGrigor Donald Solicitors, the firm that he stayed with until his retirement. In addition to his work at McGrigor Donald, Alistair served with distinction in many roles with the Law Society of Scotland, including serving as their President during 1977/78, for which he was awarded the CBE.

Alistair's service to Scouting was quite simply exemplary. Over a period of more than 50 years, he volunteered at Group, District, Area, Regional and Scottish level, bringing him a passion for supporting the development of young people, combined with his unique eye for good but sensible governance. His contribution to Scouting was recognised by the award of the Silver Wolf.

Since 2002, Alistair served as Area then Regional President where he used his network of business contacts to secure support for Scouting in the wider community. Annual General Meetings with Alistair in the Chair were always a memorable occassion where the business of the evening was conducted in an efficient manner with Alistair's wry sense of humour creeping in to keep the evening light hearted and of course nobody, would ever get something past him, unless it had properly put on the notice of the meeting.

Alistair's wise counsel has been sought by many people over the years who knew that he could be relied upon to keep them on track and his sense of community spirit meant that he was always happy to help those around him. He served as an Elder at Cambuslang Old Parish Church for more than 50 years and he was Legal Adviser to the local community council.  

Away from Scouting and the law, Alistair's other passions included golf, sailing and of course supporting Motherwell Football Club.

Large numbers of friends from across Scotland were present to give thanks for Alistair's life which influenced so many people on Thursday 31st May. He was a great friend who will be missed by us all, in particular his family whom our thoughts are with.