THE
MAGAZINE
of
THE KINTYRE ANTIQUARIAN
& NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY
This is now the twenty-third WebEdition of The Magazine. It is such as
a mark of respect to the late A.I.B. Stewart. His death was a shock to me,
personally and, I know, has saddened many of his friends throughout the world.
I will be compiling a special edition on the online Magazine which I will
post as soon as it is ready. Until then, take good care of yourselves.
From the Campbeltown Courier and Advertiser, Friday 16th October, 1998
--------------- Obituary ---------------
A I B Stewart
Ian Stewart, solicitor and fishing industry
representative, has died aged 83.
As a leading advocate for the Scottish fishing industry
his foremost acheivement was the founding in 1973 of the Scottish Fishermen's
Federation.
Archibald Ian Balfour Stewart was born at Campbeltown
on May 15th, 1915 the son of Archibald Stewart, solicitor.
He was educated at Campbeltown Grammar School and Cheltenham
College.
He matriculated at Glasgow University at the age of 16
but left before taking a degree to work for the Daily Express.
Graduated
He returned to Glasgow University and in 1938 graduated
Bachelor of Law with distinction.
He then joined his father in the firm of Stewart Balfour
and Sutherland at Campbeltown and Lochgilphead.
He was appointed Town Clerk of Lochgilphead in 1939 and
held this appointment until 1946.
Ian Stewart's father had been appointed Procurator Fiscal
at Campbeltown in 1931.
On February 9th, 1941, Archibald Stewart
was killed in a German air raid on Campbeltown.
Ian Stewart found himself, at the age of 25, at the helm
of the law practice and Procurator Fiscal in succession to his father.
In 1947 he was appointed Town Clerk of Campbeltown and
held that office until 1954.
In 1950 he organised the celebrations to mark the 250th
Anniversary of the granting of the Charter to the Royal Burgh of
Campbeltown.
Procurator Fiscal
Ian Stewart remained Procurator Fiscal at Campbeltown
until 1974.
His tenure of that office was marked by both efficiency
and compassion.
Following his retirement as Procurator Fiscal, Ian Stewart
accepted a commission as Temporary Sheriff.
He dispensed justice in many courts throughout Scotland
with good sense and not without humour.
He resigned his temporary commission in 1988 and was appointed
Honorary Sheriff at Campbeltown.
His services were often called on and the law was applied
with rigour to foreign fishing vessels caught within the limits.
Ian Stewart served as Chairman of the Argyll and Bute
National Insurance Commitee and Kintyre Employment Committee.
Senior Partner
He continued until 1983 as senior partner of his
law firm.
After his retirement as Fiscal he developed a defence
practice, defending fishermen who had fallen foul of what he saw as the outmoded
statutory prohibition on inshore trawling.
His connection with the fishing industry brought him
lasting satisfaction.
Succeeding his father as Secretary of the Clyde Fishermen's
Association, he saw the inshore industry in Scotland had little future if
it were not united.
Secretary
He was instrumental in the formation of the Federation
of Scottish Herring and White Fish Catchers which existed from 1943 to 1950
and was, throughout its existence, its Secretary.
Its failure through one of the endemic internecine quarrels,
which so blight the industry, did not deflect his aim.
The impending decision of the United Kingdom to join
the European Community proved the catalyst that he and others of like-mind
required and resulted in the formation in 1973 of the Scottish Fishermen's
Federation of which he was the first President until 1977 and thereafter
one of its Honorary Presidents.
Almost single-handedly he mobilised the UK inshore industry
to oppose the proposition which the Heath Government seemed prepared to accept
that there should be unrestricted access for Member Stae fishing vessels
right to the beaches of the United Kingdom.
Thwarted
His aim during the entry negotiations and the subsequent
Wilson Government renegotiation to extend further the protection zone round
the United Kingdom was thwarted by the pro European attitude at the Foreign
Office.
Nevertheless, what was acheived remains, and has been
adopted by other Member States as the sine qua non of the 2002 Common
Fisheries Policy renegotation.
Ian Stewart was particularly pleased that Unemployment
Benefit and Pensions for share fishermen in 1947 was agreed to by Ministers
directly contrary to the advice of Civil servants.
He was also proud of the campaign which thwarted the
then Labour Government's desire to impose the National Dock Labour Scheme
on fisheries ports.
The revocation of the ban on inshore trawling by means
of the Inshore Fishing (Scotland) Act 1984 was in no small part due to his
political and legal campaigns.
His qualities as a negotiator resulted in successive
governments appointing him Adviser to the Uk Delegation to the Northeast
Atlantic Fisheries Commission and to the United Nations Law of the Sea
Conference.
His retirement as Secretary of the Clyde Fisherman's
Association in 1974 was marked by his being appointed an Honorary President,
a unique honour for an Association Official.
CBE
His efforts on behalf of the industry were also
recognised by his appointment, in 1966, as an OBE and in 1975 as a CBE.
Ian Stewart's love of Campbeltown and Kintyre found
expression in his research into local history and genealogy of local
families.
He was President of the Kintyre Antiquarian and Natural
History Society.
He helped to found the Society's magazine and remained
its editor for 20 years until shortly before his death.
His researches revealed much new information about the
18th century emigrations from Kintyre and Islay to the Carolinas.
Kintyre
He edited, for publication by the Scottish Record Society in 1991, the
18th century list of tenants on the Duke of Argyll's estates in Kintyre.
He was a good shot, a competent sailor, a keen gardener
and a lover of wine and of poetry and literature.
He married in 1944, Ailsa Massey.
They had three sons, all of whom followed him into Law,
two into his practice and the other to the Bar.