Sir Robert Duncan Fairbairn (25 September 1910 – 26 March 1988) was a Scottish banker and amateur sportsman, who was the chairman of
Clydesdale Bank
Clydesdale Bank () is a trading name used by Clydesdale Bank plc for its retail banking operations in Scotland.
In June 2018, it was announced that Clydesdale Bank plc's holding company, CYBG, would acquire Virgin Money for £1.7 billi ...
from 1975 to 1985. In sport, he played two
first-class cricket
First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is of three or more days scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officially adju ...
matches (one of which was for
Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
) and played for
St Johnstone in the
Scottish Football League
The Scottish Football League (SFL) is a defunct league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4&nbs ...
.
Early life and career
Fairbairn was born at
Longhirst in
Northumberland
Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...
, the fourth of five children of Robert Fairbairn and his wife, Christina Robertson.
His family moved to
Perth
Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...
in Scotland, where he attended the
Perth Academy
Perth Academy is a state comprehensive secondary school in Perth, Scotland. It was founded in 1696. The institution is a non-denominational one. The school occupies ground on the side of a hill in the Viewlands area of Perth, and is within the P ...
.
His father was employed as head gamekeeper to
Lord Forteviot at
Dupplin Castle
Dupplin Castle is a country house and former castle in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, situated to the west of Aberdalgie and northeast of Forteviot and Dunning. It overlooks Strath Earn.
The earliest known owner of the castle was Sir William O ...
in Perthshire.
After leaving school, he joined the
Clydesdale Bank
Clydesdale Bank () is a trading name used by Clydesdale Bank plc for its retail banking operations in Scotland.
In June 2018, it was announced that Clydesdale Bank plc's holding company, CYBG, would acquire Virgin Money for £1.7 billi ...
in Perth at 17.
In his youth, Fairbairn was active as a sportsman in the Perth area. He played cricket for the Dupplin and Perthshire clubs, and came to prominence in
junior football as an
inside-forward for St Johnstone YMCA.
In June 1930, he signed for
Scottish Football League
The Scottish Football League (SFL) is a defunct league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4&nbs ...
club
St Johnstone as an amateur. He made his senior debut in a 1–1 home draw against
King's Park on 23 August 1930, but was "severely barracked" by a
Muirton Park
Muirton Park was the second of three football stadiums the football club St Johnstone from Perth, Scotland, have occupied in their history. It was preceded by the Recreation Grounds (1885–1924) and succeeded by McDiarmid Park (1989&ndas ...
crowd disappointed by both his and the team's performance.
After the Clydesdale Bank transferred Fairbairn to their head office in Glasgow, he continued his cricket career as an opening batsman for
West of Scotland, and also played football for "one of the
Queen's Park elevens".
He was a recipient of the Beckett & Whitehead Prizeman from the
Institute of Bankers
Walbrook Institute London is a for-profit provider of apprenticeships, degrees and professional qualifications, with students being members of the LIBF professional body. It is one of five bodies in the UK accredited by the Financial Conduct Auth ...
in 1934, the same year in which he joined the
Midland Bank
Midland Bank plc was one of the Big Four (banks)#United Kingdom, Big Four banking groups in the United Kingdom for most of the 20th century. It is now part of HSBC. The bank was founded as the Birmingham and Midland Bank in Union Street, Birming ...
.
While still employed by the Midland Bank at
Bolton
Bolton ( , locally ) is a town in Greater Manchester in England. In the foothills of the West Pennine Moors, Bolton is between Manchester, Blackburn, Wigan, Bury, Greater Manchester, Bury and Salford. It is surrounded by several towns and vill ...
,
he played
minor counties cricket
The National Counties, known as the Minor Counties before 2020, are the cricketing counties of England and Wales that do not have first-class status. The game is administered by the National Counties Cricket Association (NCCA), which comes unde ...
in England for
Cheshire
Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...
in 1938 and 1939, making seven appearances in the
Minor Counties Championship
The NCCA 3 Day Championship or National County Championship is a season-long competition in England and Wales that is contested by the members of the National Counties Cricket Association (NCCA), the so-called national counties (previously ca ...
. His debut in
first-class cricket
First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is of three or more days scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officially adju ...
came for
Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
against
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...
at
Harrogate
Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and civil parish in the North Yorkshire District, district and North Yorkshire, county of North Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist de ...
.
WWII and later career with Clydesdale Bank
Fairbairn joined the
Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve
Royal may refer to:
People
* Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name
* A member of a royal family or royalty
Places United States
* Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community
* Royal, Illinois, a village
* Roya ...
(RNVR) in 1939,
He was a
sub lieutenant until September 1940, when he was promoted to the temporary rank of
lieutenant
A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...
. He served in the RNVR until 1946, leaving the reserve with the rank of
Lieutenant commander.
While serving in the reserve, Fairbairn played one first-class cricket match in
British India
The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...
for the
Europeans
Europeans are the focus of European ethnology, the field of anthropology related to the various ethnic groups that reside in the states of Europe. Groups may be defined by common ancestry, language, faith, historical continuity, etc. There are ...
against the
Parsees
The Parsis or Parsees () are a Zoroastrian ethnic group in the Indian subcontinent. They are descended from Persian refugees who migrated to the Indian subcontinent during and after the Arab-Islamic conquest of Iran in the 7th century, whe ...
in the 1944/45
Bombay Pentangular
The Bombay Tournament was an annual cricket competition held in British India between 1892 and 1946. Until 1936, matches were played on either the Bombay Gymkhana Ground, Gymkhana Ground in Bombay or the Deccan Gymkhana Ground in Poona, and then ...
at
Bombay
Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...
.
After leaving the reserve, he returned to his profession in banking. He was an assistant general manager for Clydesdale Bank in 1951.
Fairbairn was
knighted
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity.
The concept of a knighthood ...
for services to development in Scotland in the
1975 Birthday Honours.
He was chairman of Clydesdale Bank from 1975 to 1985.
He died at
Guildford
Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, England, around south-west of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The nam ...
in March 1988.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fairbairn, Robert
1910 births
1988 deaths
People from Morpeth, Northumberland
Cricketers from Northumberland
Footballers from Northumberland
People educated at Perth Academy
Clydesdale Bank people
Scottish bankers
Scottish cricketers
Cheshire cricketers
Europeans cricketers
Military personnel from Northumberland
Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II
Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Scottish men's footballers
Men's association football inside forwards
Scottish Junior Football Association players
Scottish Football League players
St Johnstone F.C. players
Queen's Park F.C. players
Royal Navy officers of World War II
20th-century Scottish businesspeople