Alistair Macaskill of Perthshire, a former RAF pilot who became a senior shipping executive, has died aged 89.
He spent many years in the Middle East where he learnt Arabic and was awarded a CBE in 1979 for his contribution to British commercial activities in The Gulf.
In later life Alistair bought a helicopter and was a familiar sight in the skies around his Coupar Angus home.
Alistair Angus Macaskill was born on December 17 1933 to Rev Angus Macaskill, from Stornoway, and Maureen Ruth Anderson, of Arbroath, at The Manse, Inverkeilor.
Education
He attended Inverkeilor Primary School and then Arbroath High School and shared his childhood with brother Norman, who became a minister but died in 2000.
In 1948 the family moved to Edinburgh after his father took up a charge in London Road for the Church of Scotland.
Alistair attended the city’s Royal High School where he played rugby for the 1st XV.
At 18 he was called up for National Service where he trained as a pilot in the RAF on Meteors between 1952 and 1954.
After two years in the RAF, he felt that university was not for him, despite wishing to read civil engineering.
Maritime career
He chose to join Gray Mackenzie & Co Ltd, part of the Inchcape Group, as
a shipping assistant in 1954 in Bahrain then had postings in Dubai, Basra (Iraq), Muscat (Oman) and Abu Dhabi.
In 1972, he married Deborah and bought Beech Hill in Coupar Angus which became home to the family which included Euan, Rory, Douglas and Hamish.
Alistair enjoyed a long career with the firm and was promoted in 1984 to chief executive of the Gulf region and made a director of the Inchcape Group.
He held these positions until his retirement in 1991 after the first Gulf War, during which time he studied in Lebanon to learn Arabic – a skill he always used to impress at dinner with his writing on a napkin.
The same year he attended Stanford University in California to do a three-month senior
executive programme.
Foreign travel
Alistair and Deborah had a large circle of friends as a result of this and each year until 2011 visited a different home country of people who had been on the programme.
In retirement, Alistair did a lot of voluntary work including being on the Outward Bound panel and with the Prince’s Trust. He was chairman on the Tayside Institute of Directors, chairman of the Rolls Royce Enthusiasts club and a life member of the Scottish Aero-Club.
Another of his great passions was his Bentley Mark VI which he bought in 1967 from his uncle and it became his pride and joy.
Alistair decided to train as a helicopter pilot and often arrived at Beech Hill
in his Robinson 22 or dropped in unannounced on friends.
He was also a caring father-in-law to Shirley, Bronwyn and Anna and grandfather to Emily, Andrew, Sophie, Angus and Olivia.
You can read the family’s announcement here.
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