From Sir William to Prince William Sir William Fraser, Baron Strathalmond of Pumpherston William's father, also William, had been the manager of the Uphall Oil Company and in 1883 signed the lease for mining shale near Pumpherston. William senior had both the practicaoil experience and foresight to keep Scotland's early eastablishedl oil business going, as more efficient oil well extraction from The Emir of Kuwait with Sir William overseas brought in competition. He brought various local shale oil works together and created at Pumpherston a centre for local oil processing and innovations to keep costs down. He invented and patented the 'Pumpherston retort' in 1894 which was widely used across the Pumpherston works invested heavily and led with this shale oil shale oil industry, but the extraction technology. William junior was fortunate to witness and then play a leading amalgamation of oil starting at Pumpherston and ending with role in the global the creation of BP. This began in 1908 with the first commercially significant find in the Middle East where another Scottish company took the lead. Although the find was made by the Anglo-P ersian Oil Company (the pre-cursor to BP), in 1909 this company became a subsidia Company to exploit the Persian (Iran) opportunity. He became ry of Glasgow 's Burmah Oil Petroleum Advisor to the War Office and Pumpherston was a significant contributor to maintai ng oil reserves as half of Britain's crude oil tankers, bringing in much needed foreign oil, were sunk by U-boats. He was knighted in 1939 and became Chairman of Anglo-Persian in 1941 shortly before it was renamed British Petroleum. It was said that he had “Pumph erston oil in his veins� and the Pumpherston name lives on as he was then raised to the peerage as Lord Strathalmond of Pumpherston. The blood today is a little more blue the 3rd Lord Strathalmond's daughter, Virginia Fraser, is one of the loyal William & as set in London. Now who would have thought that Uphall and Pumpherston shale bingsKate would bring you closer to royalty?
To advertise call Jenny on 07824 469266 or Charlene on 07772 941899
39