Doctor Duncan James Macrae

   Cause of his death was Congestive Heart Failure.

  General Information:

DUNCAN JAMES MACRAE (1914-2007)

It is a daunting task to condense the entire lifetime of any individual into a few short moments - with Duncan the task is well-nigh impossible, such was the breadth of his talents and the depth of his character.

Duncan James Macrae came into the world on the 4th of November 1914 in Balmacara. As a child he attended Primary School at Achertyre along with his brothers Ian and Farquhar, walking several miles to and from school every day. Afterwards he went to boarding school at the Edinburgh Academy from 1925 to 1933. He subsequently won a Carnegie Bursary to the University of St. Andrews and completed his medical studies at the Dundee Medical School. He graduated M.B., ChB, in 1939.

Duncan and his brother Farquhar enlisted with the Territorial Army of the 4th/5th Seaforth Highlanders in 1936. When war broke out in September 1939 Duncan was immediately called up by his regiment. They were sent to France in January, 1940, with the 51st Highland Division, and Duncan was appointed Medical Officer.

In June 1940 his battalion, under constant assault by heavy armoured tanks and having suffered many casualties, was surrounded by the Germans at St. Valery and surrendered. He was awarded the Military Cross for his actions in that encounter and despite his late wife's best endeavours the family were never able to establish the reason for the award as sadly, but understandably, the relevant records were lost in the mud and chaos of Northern France. The family can only be sure that it was not, as he would subsequently claim in his usual self- deprecating manner, because “he made a better brew than the rest of the boys!”

Duncan spent approximately five months in an officers' P.O.W. camp before volunteering for medical duties at Stalag VIII B, Lamsdorf, Upper Silesia where he served in a hospital till the end of the war in 1945. There were over 10,000 prisoners in this camp, of all nationalities. He made many good friends there and - once the Red Cross parcels started coming through - he had many happy memories of life at the camp. The taste of Nestle's Milk and half a tin of peaches, his share of the first parcel to arrive, was one that never left him.

Back home, there was a happy family reunion in Balmacara with Duncan's parents and brothers and his sister Elizabeth. After recovering from a tubercular infection he had picked up during the later stages of his captivity in Germany, he moved to Dingwall to become a partner in Medical Practice with the late Dr William Bruce. He continued in Practice there for 30 years.

In June 1951, he married Joan, and they took up residence at Achany Road, Dingwall. By 1961, they had five children and had moved next door into a larger house, Mount Royal, named after the city where it all began, Montreal.

Duncan was a stalwart member of the community. As well as being a Justice of the Peace, he was a devout Churchman and served as Deacon, Elder, then Session Clerk at Castle Street Church in Dingwall from 1963-1976. He sang in the Church choir for many years.

He was President of Ross Sutherland Rugby Football Club from 1959 to 1961 and also served as President of Caberfeidh Curling Club. He played shinty for the Caberfeidh Club in the post-war years, too.

He retired to Gairloch in 1976, and the Doctor embarked on a new existence as a Crofter. The new Macrae residence was in Big Sand, where Duncan and Joan acquired a small croft “in need of some work”. Duncan threw himself into the task with his usual energy and enthusiasm and within a remarkably short space of time, bogs and rushes had been replaced with corn and tatties. He relished this new chapter in his life. He loved working the land, as the flourishing crops around the croft clearly showed.

He also tried his hand at cattle-rearing for a few years. At long last, a use was found for the old croft house - storing the hay to “feed the beasts”.

Duncan's sporting achievements are a story in themselves. He played rugby for his school and University and was capped nine times for Scotland in 1937-1939. He was a key member of the team that won the Triple Crown with a famous victory over England at Twickenham in 1938. The same year, he was selected to tour South Africa with the British Lions. Sadly the outbreak of war put a premature end to his international rugby career.

He was a genuine Corinthian playing in an amateur age; he was never convinced of the benefits of the professional game and struggled to get his head around the modern training regimes and squad coaching disciplines. Perhaps this was not surprising. He would often recall that in the days prior to the Triple Crown winning game at Twickenham in 1938, he and a team mate, who had recently been in hospital, were forbidden to train and had to sneak out into the countryside to have a bit of a run around before the big match!

He was both a talented sportsman and a great sport, whose appreciation and sense of fair play were legendary. His impartiality was only briefly called into question when, whilst refereeing a sevens tie between his old school side Edinburgh Accies and the host club Highland in Inverness, he was asked whose put-in it was to the scrum. To which he responded - “Ours!”

Duncan was also a keen shinty player, curler, golfer and fisherman, in each case bringing enthusiasm and commitment … and a great deal of skill. Salmon fishing was a life-long passion, starting as a boy at Kilillan, than later on the Conon and the Beauly.

He was an accomplished bagpipe player, too; one of his fellow P.O.W.s remembered him as the Scot who always had a chanter in his hands.

Though Duncan travelled extensively at various times (always in his kilt), he remained a country lad at heart. In the London underground, when the automatic ticket reader tried to swallow up his ticket, he held on grimly, fearing the machine wouldn't give it back. In Paris, he was speechless with disbelief at the gridlocked traffic in the wee hours of the morning - the memory stayed with him for years.

As a father and grandfather, he led by example. Choices were never imposed. Long speeches and lectures were rare and, in his case, unnecessary. He inspired by what he did and by the record of what he had done. It was a definite case of actions speaking louder than words.

One of the most enduring images of Duncan within the family (beyond the porridge and egg that started every day) was when he sat himself down at his faithful typewriter, usually on a Sunday afternoon, to bash out his weekly letter - or newssheet as it came to be known - to the rest of the family. This tradition started when the children were away at boarding school in Edinburgh and continued, week in week out, for well over 30 years. There were five children, so five airmail sheets had to be carefully adjusted, interspersed with carbon paper. The result - two or more closely typed pages of anecdotes, incidents and reflections. With the advent of the computer age, it was quietly suggested there might be an easier way of doing things, but Duncan would have none of it. As individual family members gradually dispersed to points near and far, the eagerly-awaited weekly instalments provided essential contact and continuity, and played a vital role in ensuring that the family's centre of gravity remained firmly in place.

Duncan was unpretentious but distinguished; humble but full of class. His ability to play down his own problems was legendary. Shortly after suffering a serious heart attack a few years ago, he was famously heard to remark to the attending doctor, shortly before departing for Raigmore Hospital: “Och, I'm fine really”. He was modesty personified; it was impossible to imagine him ever boasting of his own considerable achievements. Probably only a handful of people in the Gairloch community knew they had an international rugby legend living in their midst … until a story in the Ross-Shire Journal revealed all only recently.

He will be well-remembered by many of his former patients as a man of much self-effacing charm, kindness and modesty and was described recently by one of his past colleagues as having the dignity to be as comfortable at the bed-side of a laird as at that of a labourer, a gift not often bestowed. One old and trusted adviser recalled asking the good doctor for his recommendation for a long and healthy life. Duncan's response was to “choose your parents wisely”. As ever, he would not want to recognise his own contribution, but he and Joan were truly wonderful parents and his children can reflect on how wisely they chose and how grateful they are that they were given that choice.

He tragically lost Joan to cancer last year. He dug deep and rallied courageously to support her through her illness; when the end came, it was a heavy blow. But even then, the spirit did not give in. With a lot of support from an excellent team of carers - he soldiered on stoically, never complaining, with a twinkle in the eye, a smile and a joke, mostly poking fun at himself, right to the last.

He is survived by his brother Ian in Australia.

A final image? Duncan in the gloaming beside a bonfire at the croft, patiently toasting a marshmallow on the tip of a garden fork. Somehow, it says it all …

  Research Information:

Duncan James Macrae - Obituary:

MACRAE (Gairloch) Peacefully, at home, in Big Sand, Gairloch, on Tuesday, May 15, 2007, in his ninety third year, Dr. Duncan James MacRae, formerly of Achany Road, Dingwall, devoted and beloved husband of his late wife Joan, dear brother of Ian in Australia and the late Farquhar and Elizabeth, wonderful and inspiring father to Roderick, Duncan, Elizabeth, Sandy and Christopher and their spouses Harriet, Linda, Catherine and Aileen, generous, fun-loving grandfather to his ten grandchildren, treasured and trusted friend of so many at home and abroad. Funeral service at Church of Scotland, Gairloch, at 10.30 a.m., on Monday, June 11, followed by interment at Balmacara New Burial Ground at 2 p.m. All family and friends are invited to attend either or both services. Family flowers only please, but donations if desired, will be divided between the Church of Scotland, Gairloch and the Ross Sutherland Rugby Football Club.

(courtesy of Mary Finnegan - May, 2007)

  Medical Information:

Dr. Macrae passed away in his sleep in the early hours of May 16, 2007.

  Events in his/her life:

Duncan married Joan Margaret Harris, daughter of Joseph Harris and Beatrice Jane Corrigan, on 2 Jun 1951 in Crescent Fort Rouge Church, Winnipeg, Manitoba. (Joan Margaret Harris was born on 20 Nov 1925 in Winnipeg, Manitoba and died on 13 Aug 2006 in Gairloch, West Ross., Scotland.) The cause of her death was Pancreatic Cancer.