Douglas Whitelaw, the last Provost of Castle Douglas, has passed away peacefully in his sleep.
He was born, raised and lived his entire life in the town, except for his service in the RAF during and just after World War Two.
Prior to being called up, he began work as a clerk at the railway station. Upon his return he joined Bell Ogilvy and Wallets Marts before joining the Dalbeattie Finance Company where he worked until he retired as a director in 1990.
In a life of devotion and dedicated service to the town and community, he was first elected to Castle Douglas Burgh Council in 1956. He became Baillie in 1961 and was elected Provost in 1966. He served three consecutive terms as Provost before the local government changes of 1975. He was subsequently elected to represent Castle Douglas on the Stewartry District Council until 1995. In all, he served 40 years on the council.
His judicial career began in 1961 when, as Baillie, he became a magistrate at the burgh court. Following the reorganisation he remained a Justice of the Peace and was chairman of the Stewartry District Court from 1976 until 1995, then chairman of Dumfries and Galloway Justices of the Peace Association until 2007. His most famous judicial decision, subsequently overturned by the Scottish Office, was in response to a breach of the peace, when he banned the culprit from crossing the town limits. In total, he served for 46 years on the Bench.
In addition to his elected, professional and judicial responsibilities, Douglas was an active sportsman. An early enthusiasm for badminton turned into a love for golf, and he was a former champion and captain of Castle Douglas Golf Club and a former captain of Kirkcudbright Golf Club. In later years he took up bowling and was a former captain of Castle Douglas Bowling Club. He also took up bridge competitively, and he and his partner rose to a high ranking within the Scottish Bridge Union.
On the social side, Douglas played the drums in a dance band as a young man, an interest he took up again in his 70s when, with musician friends, he formed The Pensionaires and played at weddings and anniversaries. When plans were drawn up to acquire St Andrew’s church and convert it into the Lochside Theatre (now the Fullarton), Douglas was invited to chair the steering committee which he did from the purchase and through the conversion until the theatre first opened in 1996.
Throughout his life, his most abiding concern was for the wellbeing of the most vulnerable in Castle Douglas. For more than 50 years he was chairman of the Brown Bequest, a charitable foundation that makes annual cash payments to those most in need. Having been actively involved in the burgh council housing programmes and following his retirement from Dalbeattie Finance, Douglas joined the board of the Loreburn Housing Association, a charity dedicated to providing affordable housing in the area. He served as chairman of the Loreburn for many years and subsequently as vice-chairman of the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations.
For his services to his community, he was made a Freeman of the Burgh of Castle Douglas in 1975, and was appointed Deputy Lord Lieutenant of the Stewartry in 1996. The Loreburn Association recognised his long service and significant contribution to their work when they named their Whitelaw Drive development, just off Dalbeattie Road, in his honour.
