(Anthony) James Moreton Teacher, (1937-2003), whisky millionaire
Michael Rhodes
farmer, conservationist, former director of the family firm, one-time
master of the Quorn Hunt, died suddenly, 23 April, 2003. He was 65.
Mr Teacher was a great-great-grandson of William Teacher, who founded
the world famous Teacher's whisky brand, and he was one of the family
members to profit when the firm was snapped up by Allied Domecq in
1976.
James Teacher was born in 1937, son of Brigadier Anthony Donald
Macdonald Teacher, CBE, DL, who died in 1969, by his wife, the former
Awdry Clarise Macnaghten.
James Teacher was master of the Quorn Hunt, 1975-83.
He married in 1969, (Rosemary) Chloe, daughter of Major Sir Henry
Joseph d'Avigdor-Goldsmid, 2nd Baronet, DSO, MC, TD, by whom he had
four children, Harry, Poppy, Petra and Sarah.
In 1988, a serious hunting accident left Chloe Teacher fighting for
her life, in deep coma, with a five per cent chance of survival. She
made a remarkable recovery.
The family were in the news last year when the Sun newspaper revealed
that Teacher's daughter, Poppy, was dating the Arsenal footballer,
Tony Adams.
James Teacher is survived by his wife (who served as High Sheriff of
Kent in 1994) and by their four offspring.
A Thanksgiving Service takes place at All Saints Church, Tudeley,
Kent, Thursday 8 May, 2003.
--
Michael Rhodes.
Michael Rhodes
> (Anthony) James Moreton Teacher, whisky millionaire, of Hadlow Kent, a
> farmer, conservationist, former director of the family firm, one-time
> master of the Quorn Hunt, died suddenly, 23 April, 2003. He was 65.
From the Times, 05 May, 2003
James Teacher
Conservationist with a love for land management who was devoted to his
Kent farm and Perthshire estate
James Teacher wore his knowledge lightly. In the very best tradition
of the gifted amateur, he took pleasure in finding out about the world
around him. He became — largely self-taught — an expert in botany,
ornithology, forestry and wildlife, serving on the councils of most of
the top conservation organisations of England, and winning
professional recognition for the regeneration work he carried out,
both on the family farm in Kent and the remote and beautiful Fealar
Estate in Perthshire, which he part-owned, and where his devotion to
country pursuits was allowed full rein.
He could stride all day through rough heather and over mountainous
ground without showing any sign of fatigue. He knew as much about the
history and ecology of the land around him as most of the experts; and
he enjoyed sharing his knowledge with others — particularly the young
— without ever feeling the need to pull rank or score points.
Behind his relaxed approach, however, was a steely determination to do
things well. When, following a terrible hunting accident, his wife
Chloe almost died, he took on the combined tasks of nursing her back
to health, running the farm, and bringing up their four children, all
of which he carried out with quiet dedication. The children all
succeeded in getting into Oxford, the farm was a model of good
management, and, most important of all, Chloe, who had been told that
she would never walk again, was restored in mind and body, thanks
largely to the devoted support of her husband.
James Teacher was the son of a brigadier, Tony Teacher, a noted rider
and horse-racing expert, who made major improvements to the courses at
Ascot and Aintree, and invented a safer form of head-gear for jockeys.
James spent most of his childhood in the Scottish Borders, learning to
ride on Salisbury Plain, where his father was often based; he learnt
enough later to be made joint Master of the Quorn, one of the top
hunts in the country.
Educated at Wellington and Christ Church, Oxford, where he read
engineering science, he won a third-class degree at the second time of
asking, a result which he claimed was marginally better than his
friend Lord Salisbury, who was given what was known as "a nobleman's
pass". Although only a distant member of the Teachers whisky family,
he applied for a job with the firm, becoming a salesman and later a
director, based in Scotland.
In 1962 he met, for the first time, Chloe, daughter of the Tory MP,
Sir Henry d'Avigdor-Goldsmid, and seven years later, in April 1969,
they married. In 1974 he fought the marginal seat of
Aldridge-Brownhills for the Conservatives, losing by only 500 votes.
Any further political ambitions were brought to an end with the death
of Sir Henry in 1976, who left a 1400-acre farm and 4000 acres of
estate land at Somerhill in the Medway Valley.James and Chloe took it
on, developing a fruit farm, and managing the woodlands in partnership
with the RSPB.
He discovered a passion for land management, and over the next 20
years achieved miracles of conservation, both at Somerhill and Fealar.
At Somerhill, he nurtured a colony of silver-washed fritillary
butterflies — the only one in Kent – helped to regenerate the
heathland, and became a key player in the Medway Otter Project; in
1994 he won the Forestry Authority's award of excellence. At Fealar,
he introduced two innovative projects — the regeneration of native
woodland and the restoration of cut-over peat bogs. In 1995 Scottish
Natural Heritage took the unprecedented step of commissioning him to
carry out an audit of his own estate. He researched and wrote a
history of Fealar, and regularly contributed book reviews to The
Spectator.
His expertise was sufficiently valued for him to be chairman of the
Kent Trust for Nature Conservation, and a member of the councils of
the RSPB, the Royal Society for Nature Conservation, the Wildfowl and
Wetland Trust, Nature Conservancy, and English Nature. He was Trustee
of the Countryside Education Foundation and the Scottish Grouse
Research Project, and helped to set up the Whitley Award for
International Conservation. He was a founder member of the restoration
project at Strawberry Hill, Horace Walpole's house at Twickenham.
In all of these roles he collected friends as well as colleagues.
Being with him was not only instructive but the greatest fun. He was
made Master of the Quorn as much for his knack of getting on well with
the local farmers as for his riding ability. He was a witty companion
and a brilliant after-dinner speaker. The easy rapport he had with
children meant that he acquired the reputation as something of a Pied
Piper, organising expeditions and adventures which he enjoyed every
bit as much as they did.
Chloe's riding accident in 1988 changed his life. He devoted himself
to her welfare, encouraging her to believe that she might not only
walk again but recover the mental agility for which she had been
famous. He succeeded triumphantly. Through patient exercises and
constant encouragement, he saw her, in the teeth of all the medical
predictions, recover her strength and her independence. Throughout the
long and often painful process, he made her believe that she could
become whole again — and she did.
His death, as a result of a heart attack, was as sudden as it was
unexpected. He leaves his wife, a son and three daughters.
James Teacher, conservationist, was born in Windsor on August 8, 1937.
He died in London on April 23, 2003, aged 65.