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.

Donald Strachan: Death of train-loving Aberdeen, Moray and Uist priest aged 84

To go with story by Lindsay Bruce. Donald Strachan obit Picture shows; Donald Strachan. unknown. Supplied by design team Date; Unknown
To go with story by Lindsay Bruce. Donald Strachan obit Picture shows; Donald Strachan. unknown. Supplied by design team Date; Unknown

He was the son of a Highland railway engineer who grew up south of the border.

But time spent with his uncles would see Donald Strachan return to his family homeland to follow in their footsteps.

Donald Strachan of Aberdeen and Orkney Diocese.

Never marrying, instead opting for more than half a century in the priesthood, we look at the life of the man who loved God, people, railways and chocolate!

Scots away from home

Aberdeen and Orkney minister Donald Strachan was born on February 6, 1937.

Grandson of an Edinburgh solicitor he arrived in the world while his mechanical engineer father, Philip, was based in North London working on the railway.

Philip began his career in Lochgorm Works, Inverness and married a lass of Perthshire descent, Catherine.

But in 1922 the London, Midland and Scottish railways grouped together so a move south for the Strachans followed.

Aberdeen priest inspiration

The middle of three brothers, Donald was educated at University College School, Hampstead.

Scotland remained a favourite holiday destination, however.

In was on these trips where Donald would get a glimpse of his future life.

Episcopalian priest uncles would inspire a young Donald.

He loved to spend time with his uncle Kenneth, a Scottish Episcopal priest in Aberdeen’s St Margaret’s Church.

Or with his other uncle, Eric, a priest for St Catherine’s in Blairgowrie and St Ternan’s in Muchalls.

A call to the priesthood

Poor health on leaving school meant Donald was unfit for national service.

A member of a choir and scout master, he instead began working in an accountancy firm.

It became clear another path in life was for him.

In 1957 he began studying for Holy Orders at St David’s College, Lampeter in West Wales.

Serious road accident

He was ordained deacon in 1962 by Diocese of Aberdeen and Orkney for a curacy at St Mary’s Church in Aberdeen.

He became a priest on St Columba’s Day, 1963.

Just one year into the priesthood Donald was involved in a serious accident.

Shown in his younger years, Episcopal minister Donald Strachan.

His scooter was struck by a lorry and he had to remain in Aberdeen Royal Infirmary for months while his foot and leg were rebuild.

This would be a defining time in his life fortifying a deep inner sense of tenacity.

On his return he served the Church of St Paul in Aberdeen and when it closed, St Andrew’s Cathedral.

Barlinnie Prison

Between 1968 he became itinerant priest for Moray, Ross and Caithness including churches in Brora, Dornoch, Lairg and Poolewe.

He even founded a church in Ullapool and reopened Kishorn’s chapel.

Donald moved to Glasgow and Galloway Diocese in 1973 but in 1985 his health deteriorated.

Father Donald Strachan of the Scottish Episcopal Church.

This didn’t stop his ministry, however.

From 1984 until 1987 he was the Episcopal chaplain for Glasgow’s Barlinnie prison.

Not only would his tenure coincide with a time when riots were taking place in Scottish prisons – including Barlinnie – but just being able to climb the metal stairs and landings of such a place was a feat of endurance for someone with crippling arthritis and a metal ankle.

Pilgrim journeys

As a teenager Donald began making pilgrimages to the Shrine of Our Lady at Walsingham, North Norfolk, and in later years would organise the Glasgow Diocesan trip there.

Canon Jeremy Paisey, a long time friend and priest in charge of All Saints, Buckie and St Andrew’s, Banff, explained.

Father Strachan loved making pilgrimages to Walsingham.

He said: “His sterling work in leading the pilgrimages in the 1970s culminated in him being made a Member of the Order of Our Lady of Walsingham and Clerk to the altar of St Columba at the Shrine.

“It was an honour which meant very much to him, and he wore his blue scapular with pride at all Walsingham events.”

At his death he was the longest serving clerk to the order of Our Lady of Walsingham, starting in 1980.

North Uist retirement

When he retired Donald moved to North Uist.

He established a chapel in his house and joined the nearby Church of Scotland at Clachan.

He threw himself into life on Uist, serving the Disability Access Panel and preaching in  several Church of Scotland congregations there and on Benbecula.

Donald Strachan served Scotland for almost 60 years.

In 2013, he celebrated his Golden Jubilee of Ordination to the Priesthood with services in the Diocese of Aberdeen and Orkney where he had been ordained and in Glasgow where he had served until retirement.

The blueprint for priestly life followed by Donald Strachan.

Donald was one of the first priests to join the Society of the Holy Cross in Scotland and he was Guild Chaplain General for 30 years, for the Scottish Guild of Altar Servers.

Lifetime love of locomotives

Inheriting a passion for railways and tramcars from his father, Donald loved trains.

Model railways, transport museum visits and large library of railway books were nothing to the artefacts he collected.

Pictured on one of his railway visits was Rev Donald Strachan.

One of which was a wall bracket once holding the wires of the Aberdeen Corporation Tramway building near St Andrew’s Cathedral in Aberdeen.

He’s also visit at least one steam railway every year, latterly enjoying Strathspey near Aviemore.

Pictured with his beloved dog, Ruaraidh, is Donald Strachan.

He was also fond of dogs, especially his Cairn terrier called Gary.

While others travelled as far as Uist to hear Donald preach, Gary was known to fall asleep under a pew while his master spoke.

Though he lived a modest life his one decadent treat was the occasional piece of anything sweet – and a nice cup of hot chocolate.