Obituary - Willie Baxter

Willie Baxter was well known to many in the Scottish timber trade and in the community in Grangemouth. He was born and raised in Grangemouth and during the second world war volunteered for service in the RAF, training initially as a wireless operator, then navigator and bomb aimer, before flying training in Canada, eventually becoming an instructor and receiving a Commission. He left the RAF at the end of the war, with the rank of Flight Lieutenant.

Returning to Grangemouth, he joined the well-known and forward-looking sawmilling company of Muirhead & Sons, starting work in the joinery manufacturing department, where his keen eye for detail was invaluable. Mr Baxter eventually rose to become a director of the company and was closely involved in its innovative timber engineering operations, as well as the sawmill.

In business, as in his private life, his no-nonsense and sometimes forthright manner came to be respected.

Mr Baxter also represented the trade's interests in discussions and negotiations with the port authorities for many years, via the Scottish Timber Trade Association.

He was a keen Rotarian and a long-standing member of Grangemouth Rotary Club; he had received one of Rotary's highest honours. He was a keen churchman too and amongst his leisure pursuits was a love of salmon fishing, especially on the River Spey.

Mr Baxter's wife Jean, whom he met during the war and married in London, passed away in 1991. He is survived by his two sons, daughter and grandchildren.