CAMPBELL OF PITTENWEEM, Rt Hon Baroness (Elspeth Mary nee URQUHART then GRANT-SUTTIE) (1940-2023)

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Report in the Scotsman -  Moving tribute from Sir Menzies Campbell after death of his wife, Elspeth | The Scotsman

She m (1) 1962 (div 1969) Sir Philip Grant-Suttie, 8th Baronet.  She m (2) 1970 Sir (Walter) Menzies Campbell, sometime Leader of the Liberal Democrats, later Baron Campbell of Pittenweem (LP)

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Obit in Telegraph -  Lady Campbell of Pittenweem, lively Edinburgh political hostess and support to husband Ming – obituary (telegraph.co.uk)

EXTRACTS:-

Lady Campbell of Pittenweem, lively Edinburgh political hostess and support to husband Ming – obituary

She was a woman of fierce intelligence, and as far removed from the stereotypical sandal-wearing Lib Dem activist as it was possible to be 

Lady Campbell of Pittenweem, who has died aged 83, was the daughter of Roy Urquhart, whose heroic exploits with the 1st Airborne Division at Arnhem were portrayed by Sean Connery in the film A Bridge Too Far, and the formidable and glamorous wife of the former Sir Menzies “Ming” Campbell, leader of the Liberal Democrats from March 2006 to October 2007…. 

The eldest of four children, Elspeth Mary Urquhart was born on January 5 1940 in New Delhi, where her father, then Major Roy Urquhart, was serving as the Deputy Assistant Quartermaster-General to Army HQ, India. When Elspeth was six months old, she and her 22-year-old mother, Pamela, embarked on a two-month journey to Britain, during which ships in their convoy were torpedoed…. 

Her father’s connections led to a job as a £8.50 a week secretary at Conservative Central Office where she recalled being “star-struck” at meeting politicians such as Rab Butler and Iain Macleod.

In her next job, working at a Park Lane venue hosting parties and dances, she met her first husband, the dashing Canadian-born Sir Philip Grant-Suttie, an accident-prone amateur pilot and dedicated bon viveur who had inherited a baronetcy and an estate in East Lothian. He swept her off her feet and they married at a lavish ceremony in Edinburgh in 1963. The couple had a son, James, but the marriage ended up in the divorce courts after seven years. 

Her lawyer during these proceedings was Nicholas (later Sir Nicholas) Fairbairn, the future Tory MP, who in 1970, after her divorce was finalised, fixed her up on a blind date with Menzies Campbell, a young advocate and Olympic athlete who was his junior in a criminal trial.

“He was tall and good looking, he was intelligent – I liked what I saw,” she recalled. Within two weeks, Campbell had proposed, and after consulting her father (who told her: “He’s far too good to lose”) she accepted. They were married three months later in a small church on the shores of Loch Lomond: “I think we both knew we’d found our soulmate and there was no point in hanging around.”…. 

Elspeth became Lady Campbell “of Pittenweem” when her husband became a life peer in 2015. He survives her with her son James.

Lady Campbell of Pittenweem, born January 5 1940, died June 5 2023

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From the Scotsman 12 Jun2 2023:

CAMPBELL Elspeth Mary (Lady Campbell of Pittenweem) (Edinburgh) At home on June 5, 2023, Elspeth, beloved wife of Menzies, loving mother of James and adored grandmother of Gregor, Andrew and David and dear sister of Judy, Adam and the late Suki. Family flowers only. Funeral private with a memorial service at a later date.

[Richard R]

From the Times of 13 June 2023 (reflecting above Scotsman notice): CAMPBELL Elspeth Mary (Lady Campbell of Pittenweem) at home on 5th June, Elspeth, beloved wife of Menzies, loving mother of James, adored grandmother of Gregor, Andrew and David and dear sister of Judy, Adam and the late Suki. Family flowers only. Funeral private with a memorial service at a later date.

[Richard R]

From the Times of 29 Aug 2023:

CAMPBELL Elspeth. A Service of Thanksgiving for the life of Elspeth, Lady Campbell of Pittenweem, will be held in St John’s Episcopal Church, 1A Lothian Road, Edinburgh… at 2.30pm on Friday 15th September, to which all friends are invited.