John Murray, 11th Duke of Atholl (19 January 1929 – 15 May 2012), was a Scots Afrikaner

aristocrat The aristocracy (''from Greek'' ''ἀριστοκρατία'' ''aristokratía'', "rule of the best"; ''Latin: aristocratia'') is historically associated with a "hereditary" or a "ruling" social class. In many states, the aristocracy included the ...

, a Peer of Scotland, hereditary

Clan Chief The Scottish Gaelic word means children. In early times, and possibly even today, Scottish clan members believed themselves to descend from a common ancestor, the founder of the clan, after whom the clan is named. The clan chief (''ceannard ci ...

Clan Murray Clan Murray () is a Highland Scottish clan. The chief of the Clan Murray holds the title of Duke of Atholl. Their ancestors were the Morays of Bothwell who established the family in Scotland in the 12th century. In the 16th century, descendants ...

, and

Colonel-in-Chief Colonel-in-Chief is a ceremonial position in an army regiment. It is in common use in several Commonwealth armies, where it is held by the regiment's patron, usually a member of the royal family. Some armed forces take a light-hearted approach to ...

of the

Atholl Highlanders The Atholl Highlanders is a Scottish private infantry regiment. A ceremonial unit, it acts as the personal bodyguard to the Duke of Atholl, chief of the Clan Murray, a family that has lived in Perthshire for roughly seven centuries. Although ...

. As the 11th

Duke of Atholl Duke of Atholl, named after Atholl in Scotland, is a title in the Peerage of Scotland held by the head of Clan Murray. It was created by Queen Anne in 1703 for John Murray, 2nd Marquess of Atholl, with a special remainder to the heir male ...

, he commanded the only legal private army in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. He succeeded his second cousin, once removed, the 10th Duke of Atholl, in the family titles on 27 February 1996.

Life

Born in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, His Grace was the only child of

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

George Murray (1884–1940) by his wife Joan Eastwood (1902–2000), 3rd daughter of William Edward Eastwood. Major Murray served in the

Royal Field Artillery The Royal Field Artillery (RFA) of the British Army provided close artillery support for the infantry. It was created as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery on 1 July 1899, serving alongside the other two arms of the regiment, the ...

in both

WWI World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting took place mainly in Europe and th ...

and the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, being killed on active service.''

Burke's Peerage Burke's Peerage Limited is a British genealogical publisher, considered an authority on the order of precedence of noble families and information on the lesser nobility of the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1826, when the Anglo-Irish genea ...

'', volume 1, 2003, page 175 He was the paternal grandson of the

Revd The Reverend (abbreviated as The Revd, The Rev'd or The Rev) is an honorific style given to certain (primarily Western) Christian clergy and ministers. There are sometimes differences in the way the style is used in different countries and chu ...

Douglas Stuart Murray, Rector of

Blithfield Blithfield is a civil parish in the East Staffordshire district of Staffordshire, England. It includes the settlements of Admaston (a small hamlet in Staffordshire), Newton along with Blithfield Hall, home of the Bagot family since 1360. It i ...

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

, by his wife Harriet Georgina Isabel Bridgeman, only daughter of

the Hon. ''The Honourable'' (Commonwealth English) or ''The Honorable'' (American English; see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific style that is used as a prefix before the names or titles of cert ...

and

Canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

George Bridgeman. The Revd Douglas Murray was a grandson of the

Rt Revd The Right Reverend (abbreviated as The Rt Revd or The Rt Rev) is an honorific style given to certain (primarily Western) Christian ministers and members of clergy. It is a variant of the more common style "The Reverend". Usage * In the Anglica ...

George Murray,

Bishop of Rochester The Bishop of Rochester is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of Rochester in the Province of Canterbury. The town of Rochester, Kent, Rochester has the bishop's seat, at the Rochester Cathedral, Cathedral Chur ...

, who himself was a grandson of

John Murray, 3rd Duke of Atholl John Murray, 3rd Duke of Atholl, Order of the Thistle, KT, Privy Council of the United Kingdom, PC (6 May 1729 – 5 November 1774), known as John Murray until 1764, was a Scottish peer and Tory (political faction), Tory politician. Backgrou ...

. The young Murray was educated at

Michaelhouse Michaelhouse is a full boarding senior school for boys founded in 1896. It is located in the Balgowan, KwaZulu-Natal, Balgowan valley in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands, Midlands of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The Spear’s Schools Index 2025 reco ...

from 1941 to 1946, in what was then the midlands of

Natal NATAL or Natal may refer to: Places * Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil * Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa ** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843) ** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ( ...

, and gained an appreciation for cricket and the outdoors. From there, he went up to the

University of the Witwatersrand The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), commonly known as Wits University or Wits, is a multi-campus Public university, public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg, South Africa. The universit ...

, graduating with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

(

Hons Honours degree has various meanings in the context of different degrees and education systems. Most commonly it refers to a variant of the undergraduate bachelor's degree containing a larger volume of material or a higher standard of study, o ...

) in

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

.thepeerage.com
John Murray, 11th Duke of Atholl
/ref> After taking his degree, Murray worked as a land surveyor in South Africa. Elected

FRICS The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) is a global professional body for those working in the Built Environment, Construction, Land, Property and Real Estate. The RICS was founded in London in 1868. It works at a cross-governmental ...

, in 2010 he was appointed a

Knight of the Order of St John The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), is a Catholic military order. It was founded in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century and had headquarters there un ...

Family

On 15 December 1956 in

Pretoria Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country. Pretoria strad ...

, he married Margaret "Peggy" Yvonne Leach (born 1935), the only daughter of Ronald Leonard Leach of

Louis Trichardt Louis Trichardt (formerly Trichardtsdorp, and Makhado from 2003 to 2014), informally shortened to LTT (), is a town in Limpopo, South Africa. It is at the foot of Songozwi, in the Soutpansberg mountain, and is the centre of the Makhado Local Mu ...

Transvaal Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name ''Transvaal''. * South African Republic (1856–1902; ...

and wife Faith Kleinenberg. The Duke and Duchess had three children: * Lady Jennifer Murray (born 8 February 1958), married 1stly in 1979 (div. 1985) Iain Purdon, having two children. Lady Jennifer married 2ndly in 1995 Martin Glodek. * Bruce Murray, now 12th Duke of Atholl (born 6 April 1960), who has married and has children * Lord Craig John Murray (born 1963), married 1988 Inge Bakker, having a son (Carl Murray, b. 1993) and a daughter (Shona Murray, b. 1995). In 1996, on the death of his kinsman, a second cousin, once removed,

Iain Murray, 10th Duke of Atholl George Iain Murray, 10th Duke of Atholl, DL (19 June 1931 – 27 February 1996), known as ''Wee Iain'', was a Scottish peer and landowner. He was also Marquess and Earl of Atholl, Marquess and Earl of Tullibardine, and Earl of Strathtay and S ...

, Murray succeeded as 11th Duke at the age of 67. However, the day before the death of the 10th Duke, it was announced that he had given his ancestral seat of

Blair Castle Blair Castle (in Scottish Gaelic: ''Caisteil Bhlàir'') stands in its grounds near the village of Blair Atholl in Perthshire in Scotland. It is the ancestral home of the Clan Murray, and was historically the seat of their clan chief, chief, the ...

and most of his landed estates to a charitable trust, thus shielding the estate from a 40% United Kingdom inheritance tax rate. ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'' reported the 10th Duke was unimpressed when his heir indicated that he had no desire to leave

for

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. Atholl continued to live in South Africa, while making annual visits to Scotland. He died on 15 May 2012 in a South African hospital at the age of 83, being succeeded in his titles by his elder son, Bruce Murray, Marquess of Tullibardine. As Duke of Atholl, he commanded the

, a private military regiment. The ceremonial unit is based at

, the ancestral home of the dukes of Atholl. The Duke did not inherit

, which passed to a charitable trust. Every year the Duke visited from South Africa to stay at Blair for the traditional display put on by his army.VisitScotland Perthshire
Three Generations of the Atholl family to be on parade at Blair Castle
/ref> The Duke was also the

Hereditary Chief Heredity, also called inheritance or biological inheritance, is the passing on of traits from parents to their offspring; either through asexual reproduction or sexual reproduction, the offspring cells or organisms acquire the genetic informat ...

Afrikaner ancestry of the Dowager Duchess of Atholl

Margaret was the paternal granddaughter of Charles Ronald Leach and first wife Louise Adelaide Zeederberg and maternal granddaughter of Johannes Petrus Stephanus Kleinenberg and wife Letitia Pittendrigh Cooksley. Charles Ronald Leach was son of Charles William Leach and first wife Agnes Mary Bell paternal grandson of John Leach and wife Sara Ann Hinds and maternal grandson of William Bell and wife Mary Ann Mason. Louise Adelaide Zeederberg was daughter of Hans Jacobus Zeederberg,

storekeeper Storekeeper (SK) is an Enlisted rank, enlisted rating in the United States Coast Guard; until 2009 it was also a United States Navy rating, the most common supply rate in U.S. Navy vs. CS (Culinary Specialist (US Navy), culinary specialist) and ...

in 1878, and wife Jessie Gray, paternal granddaughter of Petrus Hans Zeederberg and wife Sophia Margrita Ruisch, and maternal granddaughter of John Gray and wife Ann Young. Johannes Petrus Stephanus Kleinenberg was son of Bauke Theunis Kleinenberg, who emigrated in 1852 to South Africa,

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

and

lecturer Lecturer is an academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. They may also conduct re ...

Piketberg Piketberg (also sometimes spelt Piquetberg in the past) is a town in the Western Cape, South Africa, located about 80 km east of Saldanha Bay. The original spelling of the name was "Piquetberg". The town is in the foothills of the Piketberg mount ...

and

Calvinia Calvinia is a regional town in the Northern Cape province of South Africa named after the French people, French religious reformer Jean Calvin. The town falls under the Hantam Local Municipality which forms part of the Namakwa District Municipalit ...

, married firstly in

Cape Colony The Cape Colony (), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British Empire, British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope. It existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with three ...

, on 10 April 1854 Maria Susanna Theron, and second wife Maria Magdalena Margaretha Coetzee, paternal grandson of Teunis Kleinenberg,

farmer A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer ...

and wife Gebke Kerkhof and maternal grandson of Dirk Johannes Coetzee and wife Johanna Sophia Boonzaaier. Letitia Pittendrigh Cooksley was daughter of John Skinner Cooksley, a trader in South Africa, in

Port Elizabeth Gqeberha ( , ), formerly named Port Elizabeth, and colloquially referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipal ...

in 1862, and wife Mary Pittindrigh.

References

External links

* * '' Burke's Peerage & Baronetage''
www.van-gool.info

www.southafricansettlers.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Atholl, John Murray, 11th Duke of 1929 births 111 People from Johannesburg South African people of Scottish descent 2012 deaths

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

Dukes of Rannoch 20th-century Scottish businesspeople

Atholl Atholl or Athole () is a district in the heart of the Scottish Highlands, bordering (in clockwise order, from north-east) Marr, Gowrie, Perth, Strathearn, Breadalbane, Lochaber, and Badenoch. Historically it was a Pictish kingdom, becoming ...

Knights of Justice of the Order of St John