Sir Ronald Orr Ewing

Born: 14 May, 1912, in London Died: 14 September, 2002, in Cardross, Port of Mentieth, aged 90

RONALD Orr Ewing was one of the most prominent Scottish freemasons of modern times. Well travelled in his own right, he was one of the first Grand Masters to initiate visits to daughter lodges around the world. This proved a tall order, for his period of office for four years from 1965 pre-dated today’s ease of air travel.

His visit to Hong Kong in the mid-Sixties is particularly well remembered. He arrived in some style by P&O liner, and with his military bearing and distinguished air, established a commanding presence in the colony. His portrait still hangs there in Zetland House.

He relished international relations, enjoying a close connection with the Grand Lodge of Nova Scotia and in Europe. His work particularly endeared him to his French counterparts, who made him Honorary Senior Grand Warden of the national Grand Lodge of France.

Successor as Scotland’s senior mason to the Earl of Elgin (then Lord Bruce), Sir Ronald continued his family’s long involvement in the craft. Inducted in 1948 into Lodge Ancient Stirling No 30 and also a member of Scots lodge No 2319, he continued the long-established place of Orr Ewings in the movement. His elder son, Archie, is currently Grand Master.

Ronald Archibald Orr Ewing was educated at Eton and the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst. Commissioned into The Scots Guards in 1932, he remained with the regiment for 21 years, during which he saw action in the Second World War in North Africa. Taken prisoner at Tobruk in 1942, he was shipped to a number of PoW camps, finally to Fontellanato in northern Italy. Released when Italy joined the Allies, he had the misfortune to be recaptured by Axis forces, and spent the rest of the war in Germany.

He succeeded his father, Sir Norman, 4th baronet, in 1960. The name "Captain Norman Orr Ewing" survives as an established pipe tune on every pipe band repertoire, composed by Pipe Major William Ross in 1912 in honour of Orr Ewing, sen, as battalion adjutant.

Sir Ronald’s Perthshire boyhood was spent among woodland and forest, and he developed a fascination for trees which never left him. However cheerfully he would describe his recreation as forestry, his deep knowledge of the subject gained widespread respect among arboriculturalists.

The Orr Ewing family was deeply rooted in rural central Scotland. Sir Ronald’s ancestry included descent from Alexander Ewing, born in Balloch around 1660, and a maternal lineage from a Campbell of Dunstaffnage (the "Orr" had been adopted by the first baronet, Sir Archie, shortly after creation of the baronetcy in 1886). Sir Ronald’s wife, Marion, was a younger daughter of Sir Donald Cameron, 25th of Lochiel, and his mother-in-law, Hermione, a daughter of the 5th Duke of Montrose.

His family motto, "Audaciter" (Boldly), could have been created specially to describe him. Tall, with Brilliantined hair offsetting a dashing appearance, he moved easily among all he met, and was a popular member of the New Club in Edinburgh.

In 1963 he was appointed Deputy Lieutenant for Perth-shire, and was a member of the Royal Company of Archers (the Queen’s Bodyguard in Scotland). His business interests included the chairmanship from 1975 of Clayton Dewandre Holdings.

He died at home after being ill for some years, but his lifelong passion for freemasonry will be maintained to the end, when at his funeral on Tuesday, 24 September, mourners will be invited to donate to Scottish Masonic Homes rather than to send flowers.

His wife, Marion, predeceased him in 1997, and he is succeeded as 6th baronet by his elder son, Archibald Donald. He is survived by three other children, Jamie, Janet and Fiona; and grandchildren, Alastair, Jasper, Jocelyn, Jemma, Jonathan, Nicholas and Anthony.