Obituary: John Willie Campbell, the voice of shinty
Born: May 26, 1934, Edinbane, Skye. Died: Saturday, December 15, 2018, Inverness.
The world of shinty has lost one of its great characters with the passing of John Willie Campbell at the age of 84.
He was a Skye man, former president of the Camanachd Association, science teacher, broadcaster and Gàidheal.
John Willie provided results for BBC Scotland, BBC Highland and Gaelic radio and television throughout that time, as well as writing for a wide range of newspapers.
‘A voice is not very much without substance behind it,’ said the late Jack Richmond on the occasion in 1992 of the BBC marking the retirement of one if its most distinctive Scottish personalities, the shinty commentator John Willie Campbell of Skye and most latterly Gorthleck, near Inverness.
Shinty as a sport and way of life owes John Willie Campbell a great deal.
The current Camanachd Association president, Keith Loades, said: ‘John Willie Campbell was one of the most significant figures in shinty in the 20th century. He served the game in every capacity from his boyhood as a player in Skye, through university to the full range of administrative duties and responsibilities imaginable.
‘Within the game he will be remembered as a distinguished president who navigated some quite stormy waters in the 1980s, introduced new structures and competitions, and faced many challenges with a calm and dignified manner throughout. He would never have been happier than the day Skye Camanachd won the Camanachd Cup in 1990.
‘Beyond the confines of the shinty communities, John Willie was also one of the best-known voices in Scottish broadcasting and an outstanding chronicler of the game’s playing side. There are many people who knew little of shinty itself but were regular devotees of his results reporting on BBC Scotland of a Saturday evening and his contributions to BBC Highland and Gaelic radio and television in a career which spanned over 20 years, beginning in 1968 and ending in 1991. And all of that while contributing enormously to shinty in schools in the Inverness area.
‘He has left us a remarkable legacy in the shape of his records of the sport and his veritable mountain of press cuttings, meticulously kept throughout his media career.
‘The Camanachd Association and shinty in general will be forever in his debt and his passing marks the end of an era and a contribution to our sport and heritage which is unlikely to be matched.’
John Willie had a favourite tale he enjoyed telling, which may well be true. He was once missing a score for his
broadcast and the deadline loomed. He phoned a shinty player to check the result and spoke to his mother. He was told she didn’t have the score, but the woman added: ‘But if you listen to the radio at half past five, John Willie will have them all.’
The sympathy of the whole shinty community, throughout the world wherever his contribution was felt, is extended to his wife Margaret in Gorthleck, Stratherrick, his older sister Mairi in Australia, his son Donald in Edinburgh and daughter Shona in Inverness, his five grandchildren, Eilidh, Rory and Peter (Shona’s) and Hannah and Catherine (Donald’s), as well as the extended family and friends in Skye and elsewhere.