Canon Archibald Douglas
The Rev. Canon Archibald Douglas, TD, formerly Vicar of Siddington, and
Honorary Canon of Chester Cathedral, died 11 February, 2004. He was aged 89.
Archibald Sholto Douglas was born 22 April, 1914, son of Sholto
James Douglas (1866-1950), descended from the Scottish Earls of Morton,
by his wife Grace Elizabeth Gibson-Craig (of the Gibson-Craig-Carmichael
Baronets).
His paternal grandfather, the
Rt. Rev. the Hon. Arthur
Gascoigne Douglas, was Bishop of Aberdeen and Orkney 1883-1905, and was
fifth son of George Sholto Douglas, 17th Earl of Morton (1789-1858).
He was educated at Brighton College, and Selwyn College, Cambridge
[BA 1937, MA 1946].
Career: Vicar of Capesthorne and Siddington,
Cheshire, from 1955; Chaplain to the High Sheriff of Cheshire, 1960-61;
Chaplain to the Forces; late Major, the 4th Battalion, King's Own
Scottish Borderers [Territorial Army].
He received the
Territorial Decoration in 1950.
He was the Vicar of Capesthorne and Siddington from 1955, until his
retirement in 1982, with his incumbency being enlarged in 1965 to
include the neighbouring parish of Marton.
After his retirement,
Archie continued to take services in Capesthorne Chapel, and to play a
full part in village life until he became ill late last year. He died in
Macclesfield District General Hospital.
His funeral took place at
Siddington Church, when an estimated 300 people gathered to pay their
last respects to a man everyone knew simply as Archie.
Archie
will perhaps be most widely remembered for the annual Animal Service at
Siddington Church. What began in a modest fashion in the late 1950s went
on to attract TV and radio coverage across the UK as it grew in
popularity. Hundreds of people with their pets, both mundane and exotic,
used to gather from all parts of the North West and Midlands in the
churchyard. The services stopped shortly after Archie retired.
He
also enthusiastically carried on the traditional Water Lily Queen fete
at Redesmere, which began in the 1930s, and which continues to thrive in
the twenty-first century. He opened the fete in 2002 when the sixtieth
Queen was crowned.
Archie was also highly regarded for his
enthusiastic development of youth facilities - in particular his junior
choir at Siddigton was at times so big it boasted three football teams
which competed in a local league.
His lasting effect on his
parishes can never be underestimated. He has christened babies, watched
them grow up, married them and then christened their own children. He
combined the role of a parson with the charm and conviviality of a
traditional country gentleman, endeared himself to people from all walks
of life, and placed the church firmly at the centre of the community.
Archie Douglas was born into a historic Scottish family on St
George's Day in 1914. He was a graduate of Selwyn College, Cambridge,
and had a military career which saw him serving with the King's Own
Scottish Borderers in France (where he was a prisoner of war for a
period) and India, where he served on the notorious North West Frontier.
He left the Army as a Major after the war and joined the Ministry,
but continued his association with the Territorial Army and was given
the Territorial Decoration.
In an early appointment as a Deacon
at Macclesfield Parish Church, he helped disadvantaged families in the
town centre, and he was also curate in charge of St Andrew's Church (now
All Saints) in the town.
Other appointments in Cheshire took him
to Wharton and Ashton-on-Mersey before he moved to Siddington.
He
was a former chairman of the local RSPCA, and served as Chaplain to the
Cheshire Regiment, the British Legion, the Burma Star Association,
Redesmere Yacht Club, the High Sheriff of Cheshire, 1960-61 and to the
Lord Lieutenant of Cheshire, William Bromley Davenport. He was appointed
a Canon of Chester Cathedral in 1978.
Canon Douglas never
married.
Any contributions will be
gratefully accepted
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