Once again not a name that
many will recognise but a huge debt is owed to him by Scottish rallying. He was
the former Public Affairs Manager for Esso Petroleum in Scotland and although
the company had been involved in motor sport ever since motor sport began they tended
to concentrate more on racing than rallying. However they did support the RSAC
Scottish Rally on an annual basis in the early days and also sponsored the
Border Counties Rally in the 1970s and early 80s whilst providing support to other
events and individual competitors.
But in 1980 the Scottish Rally Championship found itself
with no title sponsor and nothing in the bank and an approach was made to numerous
companies, including Esso Petroleum. After years in the retail and training side
of the business Murdo had newly been appointed as the Public Affairs Manager position
for Scotland and expressed interest in sponsoring a nation wide series of
events rather than one-off unrelated sponsorship opportunities.
A deal was struck for 1981 and Esso stayed loyal for the
next 13 years. He and his wife Hazel were regulars at the end of season championship
awards where Murdo could be spotted at the top table scribbling a few notes and
then subsequently delivering a humorous, insightful and sometimes an ever so
slightly impertinent speech to a crowd of strangers as if they were all
personal friends. Esso’s support therefore put the Championship back on track
and some healthy reassurance in the bank for rainy days.
However, the company started changing in the 1990s. Like all
oil companies business life was becoming harsher, criticism stronger and the
once kindly image being tarnished in the face of constant opprobrium from
protesters. The oil companies were fast becoming the harbingers of doom and the
scapegoat of politicians. All thoughts and thanks for the heat and life they
had generated blown away by the winds of environmental change and political
whim. There was no room for the kindly face of public affairs. More hard nosed
PR agencies and individuals were needed to deal with more critical forces.
After completing national service with the Royal Navy, Murdo
joined Esso Petroleum in 1965 where he worked for almost 30 years before retirement
in 1994, but if I thought the phone would fall silent, I was wrong. Very wrong.
Thereafter I was inveigled into all sorts of activities and escapades. He was a
director of the Highland Fund, the Harris Tweed Authority and the Scottish
Wildlife Trust, a former President of the Burns Gaelic Trust and he played a
vital role in the annual Scottish Gaelic MOD each year. He was also a Justice
of the Peace serving in Court on a regular basis.
Murdo was the master of the ‘grand plan’ but the detail and
the practicalities were mostly left to the minions, but by heck he could be
infuriating! He was a poet, a writer, a published author, a raconteur, a
broadcaster, a Burns scholar and a former president of the Robert Burns World Federation
whose duties took him right across the globe and ensured he was in high demand as
a speaker at Burns Suppers.
He was sociable, generous and kindly, as well as stubborn
and infuriating at times. The phone would ring, and before the softly spoken ‘Lewis
lilt’ or ‘Hebridean brogue’ had finished talking the listener was already
saying yes and nodding in acceptance to whatever was being asked.
When I look back on his life I marvel at the serious escapades
and daft antics into which he and his Esso colleagues, and him and I personally,
got into, and more importantly got out of, but even more to the point, also got
out of such risky capers to save the company’s reputation. This is not the
place to reveal such exploits as the behemoth which is Esso/Exxon wouldn’t
react too kindly to some of the tales which could be told. From a beached 39,000
ton oil tanker on a north east coast to sorting out vandalised playgrounds in
the city to dealing with politicians both local and national who would look you
square in the eye and shake your hand - before stabbing you in the back on
their own personal march to power and influence.
And yet it was all conducted with the natural charm, generosity
and grace of a man from Bragar on the Isle of Lewis who had nothing but humanity
and goodness in his heart.
Even coping with various ailments and operations over recent
years didn’t slow the man down. I recall one midnight phone call when he was
left stranded in his wheelchair in an empty corridor by staff at Edinburgh
Airport. He was still recovering from an operation which required the use of a
wheelchair for a few weeks and yet had still endeavoured to attend a meeting of
the Harris Tweed Association in Stornoway. He was helped off his flight after
returning to Edinburgh but left abandoned in a corridor. Shocking, but Murdo
just laughed it off reckoning the overworked night staff had simply forgotten.
No rancour, just another footnote in a remarkable and forgiving life.
Oh, did I mention he could be infuriating? When I was all
for complaining to the Airport management and calling in the newspapers, Murdo
didn’t want to cause a fuss. Anyway, he had already moved on to his next
project.
To those who said no-one is irreplaceable – they hadn’t met
Murdo Morrison.
He had been in hospital for the past couple of weeks but
sadly passed away on Sunday morning. Our condolences to his family, friends,
colleagues and acquaintances right across the globe. A force of nature has left
the planet.
