Robert Macintosh Sturgeon
April 24th 1925 - June 10th 1998

The island community experienced a great loss at the sudden and unexpected death of Robert Sturgeon at his home, Tigh na Mara, on June 10th 1998. He was 73.

Robert was born on Coll on April 24th 1925. His parents ran the shop and Post Office here on the island. His mother was from Caithness and his father was from Dumfriesshire. Despite this however, there is no doubt that Robert was a true Collach in every sense of the word. He loved his island home.

Having spent most of his working life in Africa, Robert and his wife Ruth, together with their son 'young Robert', returned to Coil permanently in the early eighties. Here Robert was able to indulge his love of the sea, of fishing and of boats - a passion that had begun in early childhood and one which never left him.

It is said that as a young boy, when prevailed upon to help his parents in the shop, he would deliberately muddle up the orders for customers so that he would not be asked to do the task again - no doubt avoiding the wrath of his family with the disarming smile and cheeky grin that was so much a part of his charm. Thus, the young Robert escaped to the seashore to become absorbed in some fishing or boating activity whilst his sister, Lena, was left to do all the work in the shop.

Robert learned his fishing skills early. As a boy he set lines at low tide to await a large catch on the flooding tide. These exploits were not always successful, even as an adult. Once, in the '70s. having set lines at Sorasdal, all he caught were some 400 dogfish and very little else.

It was however, all part of a learning experience which earned him extensive knowledge of the seas around Coll and which led him to repeated successes at the Coll Fishing Competition - from which, latterly, he and Ruth rarely failed to bring home a trophy.

Ruth remembers this passion for fishing from their very early years together. With their son Robert as a babe in arms, Ruth learned to keep a bag of essential baby-care equipment handy, ever ready for the announcement from Robert that they were going fishing now. Needless to say, young Robert has grown up to share his father's love of fishing.

Boats too, were always part of Robert's life. As a young boy he was regularly to be found on the ferry boat as it went out to meet the mail steamer, the Lochearn. He would go out to catch the ropes of the bigger boat, even in the most inclement weather and it is indeed a mystery as to how he escaped being drowned. 

He was also, at this young age, an aspiring boat owner. A tale which he loved to tell concerns the efforts that he and his two childhood friends, John Thomson (the Factor's son) and Ian MacLean, made in a bid to buy their own boat. Unbeknownst to their parents, they decided to gather whelks at Cliad, selling them to try and earn enough money to buy a boat. The enterprise failed when, on returning from Cliad by bicycle, the whelk bucket caught in the spokes of Robert's bicycle and John Thomson (riding on the back), whelks, bicycle and all, landed in the ditch.

Much later, between spells in Africa, Robert embarked on various lobster fishing ventures with his old friend Neillie John. Their exploits in launching the Isobel from Feall beach with the aid of rollers is something that is now set down in island lore.

Robert's life away from Coll began when he left Arinagour Primary School to become a boarder at Keil School. His school career must have been successful as Robert maintained strong links with Keil throughout his life and even attended an Old Boys Reunion shortly before his death. This commitment to all the people and institutions with which he came into contact was a strong feature of Robert's life and one through which he earned great respect.

Interested in agriculture and horticulture he attended the West of Scotland Agricultural College and after graduation he took up a position as an agricultural economist at the college. Proximity to Stranraer was a bonus, allowing him to keep a boat in the harbour there and so to pursue his love affair with fishing.

Robert's next move was to define his career path. He applied for a position with the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries in Tanzania (then Tanganiyka). On being accepted he became responsible for the setting up of the first Oujamah Scheme, to establish a self-supporting settlement. His work force were a group of convicts who threatened to cut his feet off if he didn't go away. Thrown in at the deep end, Robert was more than capable of dealing with the challenge and ably turned the situation around. His skill lay in his ability to make people laugh, even if they did not speak the same language. This sense of fun was part of his success: wherever he went, Robert could make people laugh. On one of his sojourns back in Britain, between contracts, Robert was working as a cashier at the Butlins Holiday Camp in Filey, Yorkshire. It was when working here that he met Ruth in Hull. It was love at first sight and they enjoyed a whirlwind romance and were married in less than three weeks.

Coll was an obvious choice for a honeymoon and so, in October 1968, against the backdrop of a storm force ten gale, they spent three days and nights in a caravan on the hill near the new pier. Ruth was terrified. Robert, sanguine as ever and determined to sleep despite the noise of the wind, said, "For goodness sake, I'm going to sleep. If the caravan blows over on my side you can wake me up!"

Robert left for Africa almost immediately after the honeymoon. Ruth stayed behind to work out her notice in Hull where she had been working as a Health Visitor. Travelling alone on the plane to Malawi she worried a little that she would not recognise him as she had not known him all that long!

Robert and Ruth spent most of the next fifteen years in Africa where Robert was employed by the United Nations. Their son, Robert was born during a three year stint in Malawi where Robert was working as a credit and marketing specialist. Next, they spent six years in Lesotho, followed by three years in Nigeria and three years in Liberia.

However, the call of Coll remained strong and by the early eighties Robert and Ruth were making plans to come back to Coll permanently. The old house at Tigh na Mara was pulled down and the new Tigh na Mara Guest House constructed in its place. This venture into tourism has been an outstanding success which Robert and Ruth worked very hard to achieve. With the garden to keep in good order and the lobster creels to check regularly Robert was in his element - but never too busy to stop for a chat, sharing a few jokes and, the dry sense of humour never far away, a wry consideration of the 'state of the world'.

Robert was a good man who had a lot to give. In his lifetime, he successfully earned the respect of everyone that he met. As a community we extend our heartfelt condolences to Ruth, young Robert and to his sister Lena. We all miss him.

ACM