SALVESEN OF EAGLESCAIRNE, Robin Somerwell 1935-2025

[Richard R]

From the Telegraph of 18 March 2025: SALVESEN Robin (East Lothian). Died on 10th March peacefully at home with his wife, Sari, beside him after 64 years of marriage. A man of integrity, kindness and generosity, he was very proud of their 7 daughters and sons and 19 grandchildren and deeply loved by them. The Funeral Service is on Friday 28th March, 11 a.m. at St Mary's in Haddington with a gathering thereafter for all family and friends.

He was s of Lt-Col Iver Ronald Stuart SALVESEN 1901-57 scion of that Scots gentry family and Marion Hamilton 1911-97 d of Alexander Logan McCLURE KC 1860-1932 of Edinburgh and Jessie Evelyn Ramsay HOTSON 1878-1966. He m 1960 Sari Frances Judith b 1937 reg Q3 Cumberland d of Charles CLARKE [1904-60] by his 1936 m reg Q2 Oxon to as her 1^st h Audrey Frances 1915-2006 (Mrs Harold Gregson) d of Francis Henry BETTISON 1882-1943 by his 1914 m to Dora Hadfield EDMONDSON 1892-1985, and had 3 sons and 4 daus.

[colinp]

Obituary in the Scotsman 24 April 2025 -  Obituaries: Robin Salvesen, senior executive at Christian Salvesen who was devoted to public service and family

EXTRACTS:

Robin Salvesen, shipping industrialist. Born: 4 May, 1935 in Edinburgh. Died: 10 March, 2025 in Haddington, aged 89

Robin Salvesen, who has died at the age of 89, was a shipping industrialist and fourth-generation scion of the Scots-Norwegian Christian Salvesen family business

A quietly spoken, courteous man, he was Vice Lord Lieutenant of East Lothian, a kirk elder, a Territorial Army major with the Royal Scots, a Conservative local councillor, a keen market gardener and a record 82-prize-winning bowman with The Royal Company of Archers, the monarch’s bodyguard in Scotland.

For 25 years he was Consul General for Denmark in Edinburgh and Leith, for which he was created Knight First Class of the Order of the Dannebrog (the Danish flag). Other awards include the Scouting Silver Acorn and being named a ‘Pillar of Leith’ alongside businessman Sir Tom Farmer and Hibs legend Pat Stanton.

Salvesen was the father of seven children and 19 grandchildren. His dedication to public service, shared with his wife Sari, saw them entertain a hugely diverse mix of contacts at Eaglescairnie, the family home near Haddington.

An engineer by training, Salvesen held several senior executive and board positions in Christian Salvesen, the Leith-based firm founded in 1872 by his Norwegian great-grandfather Salve Christian Frederik Salvesen.

Originally shipbrokers, the firm switched focus to become the world’s largest whaling business. From 1909 to 1963, it made its fortune in Antarctic waters from a base at Leith Harbour on South Georgia, 800 miles south-east of the Falklands. […………..]

Outside the business, from which he retired as a non-executive director in 2002, Salvesen held many positions related to seafaring, including the General Council of British Shipping, Lloyds Register of Shipping, the Glasgow College of Nautical Studies and the Lights Advisory Committee, which deals with lighthouses and navigation buoys.[……………]

In later life, he was an active elder at St Mary’s, Haddington, valuing his visits to the 15-30 homes of his ‘district’. Other good causes included King George’s Fund for Sailors (now Seafarers UK), the Association for the Protection of Rural Scotland and contributing to improved conditions at Scots Veteran Residences. An honour guard of the High Constables of Leith attended his funeral.[………….]

Robin Salvesen is survived by Sari, his four daughters and two sons. His youngest son Iver died in 2016, aged 47, of heart failure while carrying out voluntary work in Tanzania.

His younger brother Alastair, also a prominent Scots businessman and generous philanthropist, predeceased him by three months.