'Quiet' teacher leaves secret £2.6m fortune to charities

Alexander Sharp, who died in December aged 90, lived in Glasgow's Broomhill area with his wife Etta until she died in December 2006.

The son of a housewife and a clerk, Mr Sharp, who was also known as Alastair, was brought up in Glasgow and studied at the city's university.

He served in the Royal Artillery during the Second World War before working as an English teacher. Around this time, he met and married Mrs Sharp, who was a French teacher. In 1952, the couple began working at Jordanhill College but Mr Sharp moved to Callendar Park College in Falkirk, where he was vice-principal from 1965 until he retired in 1978.

It emerged yesterday he left instructions for the bulk of his 2,604,344.91 fortune to be shared by 12 organisations including Shelter, Amnesty International, Cancer Research UK, the British Red Cross, Save The Children and Age Scotland.

He also gave three close friends 10,000, and donated a painting by the artist JD Fergusson to the Hunterian Art Gallery in Glasgow.

The Sharps led a modest lifestyle and never raised a family of their own. The size of the legacy – which included an art collection valued at 480,000 – stunned friends and neighbours. Malcolm Adair, a close friend of Mr Sharp, said art and his wife were the loves of his life.

He said: "He had an interest in rugby but he was into art and collecting. He and Etta both lived for each other and did everything together.

"They enjoyed travelling during their retirement and would often go to their retreat in Perthshire.

"He was a fantastic teacher. He would bring books to life by jumping up on the table, and would inspire his pupils."

A neighbour, who lived beside Mr Sharp in Broomhill for more than ten years, said: "It's staggering to think he has left practically all his money to charity.

"Nobody had any idea that he and his wife had such a fortune, they were a very modest couple. He was a quiet man who largely kept himself to himself; however he was very well liked and respected by his neighbours.

"I am stunned at the amount of money left but he was a true gentleman."

Mr Sharp's passion for fine art led to a love of the Scottish Colourist movement. He and his wife were invited to different exhibitions over the country.

They enjoyed travelling and would often spend time abroad and at their holiday home in Aberfeldy, Perthshire. Mr Sharp cared for Etta in her final years as she suffered ill-health.

The bulk of Mr Sharp's estate was made up of stocks and shares, with his will revealing he had a portfolio worth more than 1m.

A spokeswoman for Age Scotland said yesterday: "The income we receive from legacies allows us to continue working to improve the lives of older people in Scotland and we deeply appreciate people donating in this way."