Doctor's widow leaves £2.6million to have a lifeboat named after him

Aug 17 2008 By Bart Dickson

A WIDOW has left £2.6million to name a lifeboat after her war hero husband.

Catherine Barr's will orders the huge chunk of her £3.5million fortune to be given to the Royal National Lifeboat Insitution.

Catherine has stunned the charity with the massive gift.

Her only condition is that the new vessel should be dedicated to her husband Dr John Buchanan Barr.

She said she wanted an inscription on the boat: "He saved so many lives during the war."

Dr Barr was a frontline battle medic in the Second World War and saved countless numbers of people.

Catherine died in January, aged 98, almost five years after her husband. He passed away in 2003 when he was 93.

The couple, who had no children, lived in Bearsden, near Glasgow.

Catherine left money to relatives and friends but in addition to the RNLI gift has given £900,000 to other charities, including the Salvation Army, National Trust for Scotland and Marie Curie Cancer Care.

She also left instructions for her cousin Brenda Winterbotham to name or launch the lifeboat, which will be based at Portpatrick, Wigtownshire.

At her home in Oxted, Surrey, Mrs Winterbotham, 82, said: "When I met her in 1944, her husband was serving in Italy. They had married in June 1940. Dr Barr was awarded an MBE that year.

"He and his wife loved the sea and frequently went to Lochinver to fish.

"John also was connected with the Western Isles in his professional capacity and they both visited Portpatrick every year and knew the area very well."

"I am delighted that my cousin has made the RNLI the primary beneficiary in her will. There could not be a better memorial to their busy and caring lives."

Dr Barr was educated at Dumbarton Academy and the University of Glasgow.

Before the war, he was a GP in the west end of Glasgow. He joined the Royal Army Medical Corps on the outbreak of war in 1939 and rose to the rank of major.

He went on to serve in the combat zones of North Africa and Sicily, as well as mainland Italy.

Dr Barr was a lifelong tennis player and a member of Bearsden Lawn Tennis Club, where he was a champion in the 1930s.

An RNLI spokeswoman said yesterday: "We have taken the decision to earmark this generous legacy to fund the next all-weather lifeboat at Portpatrick.

"It is expected that this will be a Tamar-class lifeboat, the RNLI's most technologically advanced lifeboat.

"The new lifeboat will replace the current Tyne-class lifeboat Mary Irene Millar at the end of her service life, which is expected to be within the next five years depending on the financial climate and operational considerations."

Robert Erskine, coxswain of Portpatrick RNLI lifeboat, said everyone in his team was delighted to hear about the gift.

However, he stressed: "It will involve more training.

"We are grateful for all donations towards our crew training appeal."

MAILFILE

CHURCH-GOING Abigail McMillan McCallum, 90, of Largs, Ayrshire, left £3million to Erskine Hospital and £1million to Cancer Research.

Retired art teacher Sheila Mair, 88, of Peterhead, left £4million to charities in her will.

Scot Margaret Rose, 90, of Brighton, left £1million to charity.

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