From farm labourer to royal service

Arthur’s life on the road with royalty was a far cry from Meikleour, the tiny Perthshire hamlet where he had been brought up.

Born in Alyth on March 31 1939, Arthur was raised at Meikleour Smiddy by an aunt after his mother fell ill.

In his late teens, he began working for John Mathieson at Inchmagrannachan, a farm near Dunkeld.

“I was what you called a ‘loon’ – a farmhand doing all sorts of labouring jobs and milking parlour work.

“It was good fun but hard work.” He is a fourth generation member of the blacksmiths of Meikleour.

His great grandfather David Barty was employed on Meikleour Estate in 1746, during the Jacobite Rebellion.

He accompanied the estate’s owner, Robert Mercer-nairne, to the battle at Culloden.

“If a horse lost a shoe, he would put on a new one, allowing the battle to continue,” said Arthur.

When his grandfather William Barty died in 1947, Arthur, who had lived in Meikleour Smiddy since childhood, moved with his parents to Duchally Castle in Auchterarder.

Here, his father took on the role of chef and butler while his mother was the housekeeper.

Soon after, he took on farm work near Dunkeld, before leaving for the army in December 1959 and was deployed in various countries across Europe, including Cyprus and Germany.

He still loves nipping about in cars and has owned many over the years, including a left-hand drive 1962 VW Beetle which he owned for 41 years.

Last year, he drove his 1988 BMW 7 Series from his home in Old Windsor where he lives with his wife, Jenny, a retired nanny, to visit friends and family in Meikleour.

A salmon fisherman near Meiklour.