Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Alwyn James of Perth: Musician and former teacher who inspired many

Musician and former teacher, Alwyn James.
Musician and former teacher, Alwyn James.

Alwyn James, of Perth, a retired classics teacher and successful recording artist, has died aged 83.

He taught for many years at Glenalmond College and toured the UK and Europe with his blues band, Roll Wyn James.

Alwyn John Newton James was born in Manchester in June 1939 to Welsh parents, clergyman Bill James and his wife Janet.

He grew up in north Somerset, together with his sister Carol. He had an outstanding voice and at the age of seven passed the audition to be a chorister at St Paul’s Cathedral in London.

Chorister

However, it was decided he would go to a Bristol preparatory school attended by choristers from a city church.

Alwyn then won a scholarship to Bristol Grammar School where he excelled in Latin, Greek and Ancient History.

From there he went to Exeter College, Oxford, to read theology.

The course was not to his liking but during his time in Oxford he played on the local blues scene.

He eventually went to Lampeter University in Wales to study the Classics, before returning to Oxford to train as a teacher.

Following graduation, Alwyn started work at Allhallows School, Devon. It was here he met his future wife, Jo and they married in 1968.

Perthshire post

That same year, Alwyn secured a position teaching classics at Glenalmond.

While at the school, Jo and Alwyn had children – Rhiannon and Rupert. Alwyn was a hugely popular teacher who influenced the lives of many.

He taught the classics, coached sport, sang in the choir and took part in drama and musical productions. He was hugely passionate about cricket in particular, coaching the first XI for many years.

Alwyn was housemaster of Patchell’s for many years and would be promoted to head of department and school registrar over time at the school.

On the road

In 1992 he took early retirement from Glenalmond to pursue his musical career. Over the next three years, he gigged extensively in the UK and Europe, covering huge mileage in his beloved gold Mercedes W123 estate.

However, in 1995 he suffered a severe stroke which left him with paralysis on his right side and aphasia.

He received outstanding care during eight months in Perth Royal Infirmary and six months’ rehabilitation in the Charles Bell Pavilion (Astley Ainsley Hospital in Edinburgh) which enabled him to live independently back in Perth.

Alwyn attended the Mackinnon Centre in Broughty Ferry from 1997. The staff and his family encouraged him to become reacquainted with the Blues and not only did he resume playing but performed with his old band, putting on concerts in Perth and also recorded a number of albums.

Alwyn James pictured in the music room at Mackinnon Centre, Broughty Ferry

The money raised from their sale was donated to the Mackinnon Centre to help fund their initiatives and activities.

He also supported Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland and the Stroke Association.

Alwyn lived independently until his admission to hospital in the summer of this year.

He was a well known figure (in his electric wheelchair) around Perth and he enjoyed dining out and attending gigs.

Tribute

His son Rupert said: “Following his stroke he remained upbeat at all times, exactly how he had always been.

“He was extremely keen to spread awareness of stroke and aphasia in everything he did.

“His story featured on television, radio and film and many articles were written about him.

“He was a unique man who encouraged and inspired many both before and after his stroke. He will be hugely missed by so many.”

You can read the family’s announcement here.

Conversation