Sir Donald Ross Liddle LLD (11 October 1906 – 12 November 1989) was a Scottish corporate director who served as Lord Provost of

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

from 1969 to 1972. He was the last Protestant Lord Provost of Glasgow in the 20th century.

Life

He was born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

the son of Thomas Liddle, a

Solicitor of the Supreme Court The Society of Solicitors in the Supreme Courts of Scotland is a voluntary professional association of solicitors in Scotland, representing lawyers who practise in and around the College of Justice. The College of Justice comprises Scotland's t ...

operating from 57 Queen Street and living at 2 Belford Place near the

Water of Leith The Water of Leith (Scottish Gaelic: ''Uisge Lìte'') is the main river flowing near central Edinburgh, Scotland, and flows into the port of Leith where it flows into the sea via the Firth of Forth. Name The name ''Leith'' may be of Britto ...

. The family moved to

some time before the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

to set up a textile business. Donald attended Provanside High School. He was then apprenticed to S H MacKinnon & Co, drapers (and later knitwear manufacturers) at 137 London Road in Glasgow. Attending night school he became first sales manager then factory manager. In the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he initially did civil defence then joined the

Royal Scots The Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment), once known as the Royal Regiment of Foot, was the oldest and most senior infantry regiment of the line of the British Army, having been raised in 1633 during the reign of Charles I of Scotland. The regimen ...

in 1941, before transferring to the

Royal Army Ordnance Corps The Royal Army Ordnance Corps (RAOC) was a corps of the British Army. At its renaming as a Royal Corps in 1918 it was both a supply and repair corps. In the supply area it had responsibility for weapons, armoured vehicles and other military equip ...

in 1942. He served in

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

and rose to the rank of Major in General Auchinleck's headquarters in Delhi in India as deputy assistant director of ordnance. On demobilisation he returned to Glasgow and strove to set up his own knitwear company, which in 1952 he achieved, employing 30 persons in a premises on King Street. He joined the town council in 1956 as ward councillor to

Dennistoun Dennistoun is a mostly residential district in Glasgow, Scotland, located north of the River Clyde and in the city's east end, about east of the city centre. Since 2017 it has formed the core of a Dennistoun ward under Glasgow City Council, ...

representing the Progressive Party. He rose to be Lord Provost in 1969. During his period as Lord Provost, he oversaw the investigations into the

1971 Ibrox disaster The 1971 Ibrox disaster was a crush among the crowd at an Old Firm football game, which led to 66 deaths and more than 200 injuries. It happened on 2 January 1971 in an exit stairway at Ibrox Park (now Ibrox Stadium) in Glasgow, Scotland. It ...

. In his role as a Director of

Rangers Football Club Rangers Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the Govan district of Glasgow which plays in the Scottish Premiership. Although not its official name, it is often referred to as Glasgow Rangers outside Scotland. The fou ...

, he was also physically present at the time of the disaster and witnessed much of the tragedy first-hand. Shortly after this,

Strathclyde University The University of Strathclyde ( gd, Oilthigh Shrath Chluaidh) is a public research university located in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, it is Glasgow's second-oldest university, having received its royal chart ...

awarded him an honorary doctorate (LLD). On 1 September 1971, he also had the sad honour of lighting the final operational gas lamp on North Portland Street before they were ripped out and replaced by electric lamps. From 1972 to 1978 he was Chairman of the Cumbernauld Development Corporation, establishing one of Scotland's major "new towns". He was knighted by Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

in June 1974.London Gazette June 1974 In a roller-coaster life, his knitwear business collapsed in 1979 and (without any then corporate position) he found himself unemployed. He then spent some years as a public safety campaigner.

Personal life and death

Liddle was married to May Christie, and together they had a son and two daughters. He died on 12 November 1989, at the age of 83.

References

1906 births 1989 deaths Businesspeople from Edinburgh Lord Provosts of Glasgow 20th-century Scottish businesspeople Civil Defence Service personnel British Army personnel of World War II Royal Scots soldiers Royal Army Ordnance Corps officers Military personnel from Edinburgh {{Scotland-business-bio-stub