Tributes pour in for community stalwart

Tributes have flooded in after the passing of Harry Thomason, who “devoted himself ” to Crieff. Harry died peacefully at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee having fought cancer for the previous year.

During this time he continued his role as the chairman of the Crieff Community Council, a role he held for the final four years of his life.

June Mcewan met Harry 35 years ago, shortly after she moved to the town from Moffat, when he was standing on Broich Terrace with the ‘Crieff worthies’.

These were a group of men who used to meet up on town corners and put the world to rights. June says there aren’t many left of them now. “There are still a few worthies but not many,” she said.

“The people we used to see on the corners are all gone.

“Harry’s death feels like the end of an era of the oldies of Crieff.”

Harry came from a wellknown local family and spent all of his 74 years in Crieff.

He attended both the town’s primary and secondary schools and had a series of farming jobs.

One of these was in a poultry factory in Muthill.

“The chicken shed was one of the worst jobs you could have,” said childhood friend Isabel Simpson.

“It was in the time of battery chickens.”

His 13-year marriage to Elizabeth Mcculloch ended when their children Michael, Brian and Elizabeth were still young.

The couple remained good friends as Harry brought up the boys and Elizabeth took care of their daughter.

Harry’s community activism began when he retired.

“He was a good guy who just worked hard and looked after the family,” said Isabel, who got to know Harry through her younger brother Donald.

“When he retired he just needed something to do.” June recalls it well.

“I met him one day after he had retired,” she explained.

“I used to go to lots of meetings and he was moaning about the state of Crieff, the cracks in the road, the potholes.

“I told him to stop moaning and go on the community council and do something about it – but I didn’t expect him to do it!”

Harry put his heart and soul into the position and soon became chairman.

He dealt with potholes, fought for a 20mph sign outside the high school, and managed to get grit bins and traffic lights installed.

He also volunteered in a number of local groups, including at Crieff Connexions three days each week.

“He was one of those lads that if you asked him to do something he would do it straight away,” Isabel said.

“His heart was in Crieff, he helped the people of Crieff and the volunteers in different groups.

“He was a friend to every group.”

Isabel particularly recalls one morning in spring 2020 when Harry asked if she was aware that Perth and Kinross Council had plans to remove the historic shelter in Mungall Park. “I said no,” she says. “And he said, as he would always say to anybody, ‘no, no and no way is that coming down’.

“‘That is not happening. I will put my right foot forward and take it from there’.

“Every morning Harry was at that shed checking it, making sure it didn’t go down.

“I take my hat off for what he did.

“He fought tooth and nail for months and, guess what, it didn’t come down. It’s actually been revamped.

“We still have the shed, it’s painted and beautiful but if the other people who wanted it down had their way it would have gone.

“Thank you very much, Harry, for saving our shed.”

Isabel added: “He was thinking that the Cubs, the Brownies, Guides, Scouts, mums with prams, always used that shed when it was raining.”

WORTHY: Harry Thomason, who devoted himself to Crieff and was chairman of the local community council, has died after battling cancer.