Frederick McDermid (9 February 1924 – 23 August 2011) was a Scottish Liberal Party politician. Born in Partick, McDermid studied at Hyndland School before completing an apprenticeship as a quantity surveyor. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he volunteered as an air raid warden, then spent the last two years in the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

, based in the UK. In the late 1940s, McDermid had two bouts of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

, and in 1950 he moved to Stonehouse, hoping that the cleaner air there would improve his health. He worked locally as a quantity surveyor, and became active in the Congregational Union of Scotland, serving on its building committee. He also served as president of the Congregational Union for several years in the 1960s. He also became a

lay preacher A lay preacher is a preacher who is not ordained (i.e. a layperson) and who may not hold a formal university degree in theology. Lay preaching varies in importance between religions and their sects. Overview Some denominations specifically disco ...

, and from 1986 served as pastor for the Lanark Evangelical Union Church. In 1967, McDermid was elected to Hamilton District Council as an independent, but in 1970 he decided to join the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

. He stood unsuccessfully for the party in

Lanark Lanark ( ; ; ) is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, located 20 kilometres to the south-east of Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Hamilton. The town lies on the River Clyde, at its confluence with Mouse Water. In 2016, the town had a populatio ...

at the October 1974 and 1979 general elections, and also in the high-profile 1978 Hamilton by-election, at which he took only 2.6% of the vote. In 1980, he was elected as chair of the Scottish Liberal Party, then in 1982 he moved to become its president. In his later years, McDermid devoted his time to religion and community activities. He was also known as an expert on Robert Burns and for the votes of thanks he was invited to give at many events.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McDermid, Fred 1924 births 2011 deaths Councillors in Scotland Independent politicians in Scotland People from Partick Scottish Congregationalists Scottish Liberal Party councillors Scottish Liberal Party parliamentary candidates