Oldest Old Fettesian

Roger Muirhead MBE MRCVS (Mo 1935–1939)

We are in touch with a wonderful community of Old Fettesians ranging in age from the recent leavers of 2021 right up to our oldest contactable OF, Roger Muirhead MBE MRCVS (Mo 1935–1939). Roger celebrated his 100th birthday earlier this year, on 17th April. We were delighted to send him a birthday card and a copy of Fettes: Our Place as a gift. Shortly afterwards, we received a lovely letter in response thanking us for the book and telling us about his life since Fettes. He also enclosed a photograph of him opening his birthday telegram from Her Majesty The Queen. Vivienne Clark, OF Coordinator, had the pleasure of talking to Roger on the telephone, where he spoke about his driving licence being renewed, his birthday spent at Buckley Barracks (formerly site of RAF Hullavington) and his various Fettes connections. Roger’s father, Sir John S Muirhead (Ca 1903–1908), uncle Brigadier James Muirhead (Ca 1905–1910), brother Pilot Officer J Patrick Muirhead (Mo 1936–1940) and cousin Officer Cadet Michael K S Muirhead (Ca 1933–1937) all attended Fettes College. Both Patrick and Michael are listed on the War Memorial in the grounds of Fettes.

We are very pleased that Roger has given us his permission to share his letter with our readers:

Thank you for sending me a 100th birthday card and a copy of Fettes: Our Place. I am surprised that I am now the oldest OF to be alive.

I enlisted in the Royal Army Service Corps in Sept 1939 but did not join my regiment until the following November 1940.

I served in North Africa, Sicily and Italy, and later in Holland – In the closing month of the war in Europe I was in the Isle of Man doing a conversion course for the infantry – but volunteered for the Far East and was in a re-enforcement camp of Comilla which is now in Bangladesh when the war with Japan ended. For the next nine months I was with the British Military Government Malaya running a food supply department for the civilian population in Perak State. I was demobilised in Aug 1946 with the rank of Captain.

Roger in his final year at Fettes, 1939

I spent the next three years working very hard – I studied law for two terms at Glasgow University, emigrated to Canada but returned in 1949 when I went as a mature student to the Royal (Dick) Veterinary College in Edinburgh where I qualified in 1955.

I served as an assistant for a time in Okehampton and my hometown of Stirling. I then ran the subsidised Veterinary Practice in Gairloch, Ross-shire, for 2½ years. I spent the next 5½ years in Co. Galway in the Irish Republic. In 1965 I returned to England and for the last 20 years of my professional life I was employed with the Ministry of Agriculture, Food & Fisheries (MAFF) as Veterinary Officer. In 1975 I was a member of the British team who went to Malta to deal with an outbreak of Foot and Mouth disease.

Roger receiving his 100th birthday card from Her Majesty The Queen

I was awarded an MBE when I retired for Services to Agriculture as the discoverer of the link between badgers and cattle with bovine tuberculosis.

I returned when I was 80 for service with MAFF to help with the great outbreak of F&M (Foot & Mouth) in 2001 – since then I have done nothing much except to play about with vintage cars. My last connection with Fettes was in 1951 when I bought the late Dick Cole-Hamilton’s (Staff 1938–1991) 1929 Lea Francis two-seater which must have been a familiar sight to several generations of OFs. Alas it was written off in an accident when being driven by the late Stuart McIntosh, the first husband of Margaret BuchananSmith.

Yours sincerely

P.S. I enclose a photograph showing my card from the Queen.

Roger Muirhead.

We very much hope to be able to welcome Roger back to Fettes again at some point in the future.