Lord Charles Lyell, third Baron Lyell of Kinnordy, has passed away following a period of illness, aged 77.
A popular and highly-respected figure within the Kirriemuir and the wider Angus area, Lord Lyell was involved in many aspects of the community as well as being a former Conservative whip in the House of Lords.
He enjoyed a lifelong love of football, with particular fondness for Everton and Forfar Athletic, and the Station Park club of which he was honorary patron has paid tribute following his passing.
Born in March 1939 to Charles Lyell, 2nd Baron Lyell and Sophie Mary Trafford, he succeeded to the peerage in 1943 at the age of four, when his father was killed in action during the Second World War and was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross.
He was educated at Eton College and Christ Church, Oxford.
On the formation of a Conservative government after the 1979 general election, Lord Lyell was made a House of Lords whip, serving until 1984.
He then moved to the Northern Ireland Office as a parliamentary Under Secretary of State where he remained until he left the government in 1989.
With the passage of the House of Lords Act 1999, Lord Lyell, along with almost all other hereditary peers, lost his automatic right to sit in the House of Lords.
He was then elected as one of the 92 elected hereditary peers to remain in the House of Lords pending completion of House of Lords reform.
A familiar figure in the boardroom at Station Park, Lord Lyell was renowned for introducing the Loons’ name into conversation with political figures in Westminster and across the globe.
A statement on the club website said: “Forfar Athletic officials have been stunned and saddened with the news that has broken of the death of the club’s honorary patron and lifelong supporter, the Right Honourable Lord Lyell of Kinnordy.
“Football played a great part in his life.
“He had supported the Loons since childhood and was also a keen fan of Everton and a frequent visitor to Goodison Park.
“Charles never at any time attempted to hide his admiration for his all-time footballing hero, a certain Archie Knox who, like Athies officials, was so saddened to hear of his passing when the news was passed on to him earlier today.
“He loved to regale anyone in earshot of his tales of Archie’s deeds in a Loons strip and he was over the moon when Archie became in later life assistant manager to Walter Smith at Everton.”
The club statement added: “Lord Lyell was thrilled when the then-chairman Sam Smith invited him to become honorary patron of Forfar Athletic in the early eighties, and he was one of the speakers proposing the toast to the guests at the club’s centenary dinner in November 1984.
“Twenty five years later he was also instrumental, through his contacts on Merseyside, in getting Everton to send a team up to Forfar, totally free of charge, to celebrate the Loons 125th Anniversary.
The barony becomes extinct with Lord Lyell’s passing and funeral arrangements are yet to be confirmed.
