Former Perth teacher Eilidh Murray, 87

Eilidh Murray, who died aged 87, was well known as the long-serving depute rector of Perth Grammar School and also a justice of the peace in Perth and Kinross District Court.

Born in Renfrew on September 2, 1932, and christened Helen Gentles Hood, she was known to all as Eilidh.

Shortly after the Second World War ended, Eilidh, age 14, lost her mother to breast cancer. This experience led to her passion for the NHS and to her strongly held socialist values which much later on led her to take part in the large Glasgow demonstration against the Iraq war.

After graduating from Glasgow University with a Master of Arts degree, Eilidh trained as a teacher at Jordanhill. Her first teaching post was in Gatehouse-of-fleet with a primary 7 class.

After both her children had started school, she returned to teaching, this time at Goodlyburn Secondary Modern in Perth.

In 1971, she was appointed assistant rector at Perth Grammar School, a new comprehensive school in the city.

The school began with a first year intake only, and built up year on year to a six-year school. She prided herself that she knew all the children by name, although that became a real challenge when the school role reached 1,000.

Her particular responsibility was to set up and supervise guidance provision in the school.

is that She was subsequently appointed depute rector, and a successful career in education was not Eilidh’s only contribution to public service.

Eilidh also played an important role as a justice of the peace, serving on the bench of Perth and Kinross District Court. She came through a gruelling selection process, quickly winning the confidence of the court legal fraternity.

She became chairwoman of the local justices committee for a number of years and also represented Perth Court on the national body, the District Courts Association.

She became the first female chairman of that organisation in November 1998 and in that capacity served on a working group set up by the Scottish Criminal Justice Forum into the training and recruitment of justices and was an eloquent advocate for a skills-based national system of training for justices.

Such was the respect in which she was held by those in the criminal justice system that in June 2001 she was made an MBE for services to criminal justice in Scotland. She was also made an honorary sheriff in Perth.

In September 2001 she was appointed to the Mcinnes Committee to review the provision of Summary Criminal Justice in Scotland. The committee in 2004 made a number of recommendations which were accepted by the Scottish Government.

Eilidh’s husband, John, who she married in 1953 and taught mathematics initially at Perth High School and was then Principal of Mathematics at Perth Grammar School, died in 2003 after a long illness with Alzheimer’s disease during which he received unstinting support from Eilidh.

She is survived by her two sons, Ian and Andrew, whom she never failed to acknowledge for their support, particularly Ian who lived with her and was her carer in her latter years.