Obituary: Angus Stewart (C2 1935-39)

Born in the Argentine, 16th April 1921, Angus was the youngest child of Angus and Vera Stewart. When Angus was 6 the family moved back to Scotland and finally settled at Ardpatrick in Argyll, which he adored.

Angus went to prep school in Peebles and then to Marlborough College in Wiltshire. His description of his journey home at the end of term was quite an adventure for a 13 year old boy on his own. He went by train from Marlborough to London where he was met by an aunt, fed, and then put on the overnight train to Glasgow. In the morning he took another train to Greenock from where he caught the ferry up to West Loch Tarbert where he was met by one of the family for the 11 mile drive to Ardpatrick to be home around lunchtime. He told me that he did his best to resist breakfast on both the trains because the best one was to be got on the ferry – if he could hold out till after about 10.00!

Angus had got a place at Oxford when war was declared, so he was able to defer his call up and go up to Worcester College for 5 terms. He had taken up boxing at some stage in his childhood and carried it on, representing Oxford and thus gaining what is known as a Boxing Blue.

Then came the 2nd world war and he joined the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders in 1941. At the end of the war Angus considered staying with the Army in the War Office but decided to leave and pursue a career in singing. He was a fine tenor and trained for the operatic stage but was never a soloist. He was based in London, staying with his newly wed brother when a charming young lady came to visit. This was Olyffe, and they took an instant shine to each other. They married in 1950 and lived with Angus’s mother in Kensington.

After turning 40 Angus joined a firm called Save and Prosper, and over time was promoted to Head Office running the sales force so he ended up spending his working days in an office – a thing he had vowed never to do. Finding that he had a very sound acumen for the work, Angus rose up the ranks. Then came time to retire, and Angus took on some part time consultancy work to ease into retirement gently. Angus has had an abundance of singing and music, church life, country life, tending his garden, walking his dog, giving parties, helping people, and in later years having people help him with walking his dog, supporting him with the care of his beloved wife, helping him with appointments and lifts when needed, and a hundred other ways people helped him maintain his independence to the end.

Sophie Mills
(Daughter of Angus Stewart)