William Forbes Howie, DL, JP (13 August 1920 – 27 December 2000) was a businessman who played an active role in Scottish public life.

Background and education

Born one of six children in Woodlands, Falkirk, Scotland, he was the son of Anne Steuart (Forbes) and Robert Wyllie Howie, and the grandson of businessman Thomas W. Howie. Considered too frail to follow his brothers to the

High School of Glasgow The High School of Glasgow is an independent, co-educational day school in Glasgow, Scotland. The original High School of Glasgow was founded as the choir school of Glasgow Cathedral in around 1124, and is the oldest school in Scotland, and the ...

, he was therefore cared for by a maid and educated at local schools. He then studied electrical engineering at

Glasgow University , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

, graduating in 1941. He served in the

RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

for four years during the Second World War, gaining the rank of Flight Lieutenant.

Career

Howie was assistant managing director of Thomas Laurie & Co, his uncle's motor and electrical engineering firm, from 1947 to 1957, becoming managing director upon his uncle's death until his own retirement in 1981. Thomas Laurie & Co was founded in 1882 and had fitted the first fully automated

street lighting A street light, light pole, lamp pole, lamppost, street lamp, light standard, or lamp standard is a raised source of light on the edge of a road or path. Similar lights may be found on a railway platform. When urban electric power distribution ...

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

, in Falkirk; it was also a car dealership, most recently for Peugeot. Turnover surpassed £1 million in the early 1970s. As well as being an associate of the

Royal Technical College The Royal College of Science and Technology was a higher education college that existed in Glasgow, Scotland between 1887 and 1964, and is the predecessor institution of the University of Strathclyde. Its main building on George Street now serve ...

, Glasgow, a Member of the

Institute of Electrical Engineers The Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE) was a British professional organisation of electronics, electrical, manufacturing, and Information Technology professionals, especially electrical engineers. It began in 1871 as the Society of Tel ...

and an associate member of the Institute of the Motor Industry, Howie also served on the Engineering Advisory Committee of Falkirk College of Technology.

Civil duties

Howie was made responsible for the setting up of the Children's Hearing system in Falkirk, becoming the first chairman of the local Children's Panel Advisory Committee in 1970, chairman of the Supplementary Benefit Appeal Tribunal in 1973, and a Justice of the Peace the following year. In 1981 he was appointed Her Majesty's Deputy Lord Lieutenant for the County of Stirling, representing HM The Queen at official functions. In 1983 he was appointed General Commissioner of Income Tax, a position he held until the age of 75.

Interests

A keen supporter of the Scout movement, having met

Robert Baden-Powell Lieutenant-General Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell, ( ; (Commonly pronounced by others as ) 22 February 1857 – 8 January 1941) was a British Army officer, writer, founder and first Chief Scout of the wor ...

in person in his youth, he held the position of District Commissioner for Falkirk District for 18 years. He then became chairman of the Falkirk District Scout Association, becoming honorary president in 1978. At that time he was also appointed chairman of the Forth Valley Scout Council, representing this body on the Scottish Committee of the Scout Association, a post he held until 1989. He received the Medal of Merit in 1956, the Silver Acorn in 1981, and the Silver Wolf, the highest Scouting award given to just one in two million members, in 1989, for 'services of the most exceptional character to the movement'. He founded the Stirling and District Amateur Football Association in 1951, as well as serving on the board of the

Scottish Wildlife Trust The Scottish Wildlife Trust is a registered charity dedicated to conserving the wildlife and natural environment of Scotland. Description The Scottish Wildlife Trust has well over 35,000 members. The Scottish Wildlife Trust acquired its first ...

. His interest in nature, particularly

geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ea ...

, led to him gaining a Bachelor of Arts in

Ecology Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overl ...

from the

Open University The Open University (OU) is a British public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate students are based in the United Kingdom and principally study off- ...

in his retirement. He was also president of Falkirk Rotary Club and was made a Paul Harris Fellow. He was also president of Falkirk Fishing Club and the Toastmasters Club and a director of Glenbervie Golf Club. He was also chairman of the local

Age Concern Age Concern is the banner title used by a number of charitable organizations ( NGOs) specifically concerned with the needs and interests of all older people (defined as those over the age of 50) based chiefly in the four countries of the United Kin ...

. Throughout his life he had a close association with the Church, joining St. Andrew's West in Falkirk in 1951, elected a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...

in 1953 and ordained an elder in 1956. In 1979 he was elected

session clerk A session (from the Latin word ''sessio'', which means "to sit", as in sitting to deliberate or talk about something; sometimes called ''consistory'' or ''church board'') is a body of elected elders governing each local church within presbyteria ...

, a post he held until ailing health forced him to resign in 1989.

Family

Howie married Janet Morrison Campbell and had two sons and one daughter, and seven grandchildren. He was the uncle of Scottish actor and comedian

Robbie Coltrane Anthony Robert McMillan (30 March 195014 October 2022), known professionally as Robbie Coltrane, was a Scottish actor and comedian. He gained worldwide recognition in the 2000s for playing Rubeus Hagrid in the ''Harry Potter'' film series. H ...

Other

*Uncle of actor

*Nephew of

Ross Haddow Major Ross Taylor Haddow, MC, KS, JP, MA, LLB, CA, Lord Dean of Guild of Glasgow (1896–1973), was a prominent Glasgow businessman and politician. Biography Haddow took a degree in law from the University of Edinburgh, and as one of Gl ...

, Lord Dean of Guild of Glasgow

References

*''Who's Who in Scotland'' (1994 ed.), Carrick Media, Ayr, Scotland *Obituary, ''

The Scotsman ''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until August 2004. Its pare ...

'', January 2001 {{DEFAULTSORT:Howie, Forbes 1920 births 2000 deaths 20th-century Scottish businesspeople Alumni of the University of Glasgow Alumni of the Open University Deputy Lieutenants of Stirlingshire Royal Air Force officers Royal Air Force personnel of World War II The Scout Association People associated with Scouting People from Falkirk