Sir Herbert Archbold Brechin (1903 – 1979) was a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

politician who served as

Lord Provost of Edinburgh The Right Honourable Lord Provost of Edinburgh is elected by and is the convener of the City of Edinburgh Council and serves not only as the chair of that body, but as a figurehead for the entire city, ex officio the Lord-Lieutenant of ...

from 1966 to 1969.

Life

He was born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

on 3 November 1903, the son of David Brechin (d.1949), a civil servant, and Katharine Mary O’Brien. He was educated at James Gillespies School in

and then attended Heriot-Watt College (now

Heriot-Watt University Heriot-Watt University () is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1821 as the School of Arts of Edinburgh, the world's first mechanics' institute, and was subsequently granted university status by roya ...

) from 1919 where he trained as a surveyor. In 1931 he founded the company ’’H.A.Brechin & Co’’. In 1934 he married Jane Richmond Cameron. Brechin successfully campaigned with Sir John Inch to bring the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...

in 1970 which also involved the construction of the Commonwealth Pool and

Meadowbank Stadium Meadowbank Stadium (officially the Meadowbank Sports Centre) is a multi-purpose sports facility located in the Meadowbank, Edinburgh, Meadowbank area of Edinburgh, Scotland. Built on the site of the earlier New Meadowbank and Old Meadowbank spo ...

. In the 1960s he lived at ‘’The Garth’’ 3 Castlelaw Road in the

Colinton Colinton is a suburb of Edinburgh, Scotland situated southwest of the city centre. Up until the late 18th century it appears on maps as Collington. It is bordered by Dreghorn to the south and Craiglockhart to the north-east. To the north-w ...

area of

. In 1969 he was created a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was establis ...

. He was created a

Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

in 1971 for his services to the city of Edinburgh with particular reference to the

Positions Held and Honours

*Doctor of Letters from

1967. *Commander of the Order of the British Empire 1968London Gazette: 16 February 1968 *Deputy Lieutenant of Edinburgh 1970 *Chairman of

Court 1972-79

Artistic Recognition

Brechin was painted wearing the ceremonial robes of the Lord Provost by

Henry Raeburn Dobson Henry Raeburn Dobson (29 May 1901 – 22 May 1985) also known by his middle name Raeburn Dobson, was a Scottish portrait and landscape painter from Edinburgh. He was active in Edinburgh and Brussels from 1918 until 1980. His father, Henry John D ...

in 1967.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brechin, Herbert Archbold 1903 births 1979 deaths Lord provosts of Edinburgh Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Alumni of Heriot-Watt University