Obituary: Peter Adam BSc DSC

Peter Adam, master at Glenalmond College.

Born: 29 January, 1924, in Edinburgh.

Died: 4 May, 2010 in Errol, Perthshire, aged 86.

PETER Adam had a connection with Glenalmond College, the Perthshire public school, stretching back to 1937, when he was a pupil there. He was then on the school's staff from 1949 and acted as the sub-warden from 1977 to 1984.

He was a much respected teacher and is remembered by generations of pupils for his committed enthusiasm and for the breadth of the outside interests he pursued with the students.

Adam taught biology, and Ian McLennan, a former colleague, recalled: "In 1949 biology was the Cinderella of the sciences and it is largely due to Peter's pioneering work that it is now one of the larger departments in the college. It is fitting that a laboratory, the Adam Laboratory in the new science building, has been named after Peter."

When Adam retired in 1984 McLennan wrote: "No man is indispensable but Peter is irreplaceable."

Peter Bradley Adam attended Glenalmond from 1937 to 1942. He then joined the Fleet Air Arm and with 857 Naval Air Squadron was posted to fly Avengers in the Far East as part of the British Pacific Fleet.

In January 1945 (on his 21st birthday) Adam was involved in Operation Meridian, a daring and successful raid to destroy two oil refineries at Palembang in Sumatra. For the courage he displayed on this sortie he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.

The squadron was recommissioned in December 2006 and Adam was invited to visit them when they were stationed at Leuchers. Adam very much treasured the framed photograph he was given as a memento of the occasion.

After the war Adam read science at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge (where he rowed for the College) and returned to Glenalmond as a master when it was still, geographically, a somewhat remote school. For a young master, trips to Edinburgh were something of a rarity but Adam involved himself in school affairs from the outset and was to prove, over the next 35 years, a most popular and admired teacher.

He was a tall man with a swift and bracing walk, who cheerfully strode down the school's cloisters – usually followed by clouds of smoke from his pipe – greeting staff and pupils. Adam principally taught biology but was often co-opted by colleagues in the science department to teach chemistry and physics.

However, his teaching of the wonders of reproduction – especially in the 1950s when teachers had to choose their words with care – was practical and he communicated his love of the subject with a keen enthusiasm that inspired many.

Inevitably with Adam there were the humorous moments in class. Andrew Sherwood, now a senior executive with Micromeritics Instrument Corp in America, recalls being instructed by Adam to dissolve an old copper penny in acid, only to be told by the delighted and smiling Adam that "defacing a coin of the realm is officially a criminal act".

Adam ran the RN section of the Combined Cadet Force but it is his contribution to the sailing club that many especially recall. He spent many winter evenings with the boys, building boats which he then, in the summer, transported to nearby Loch Freuchie in an ancient reconstructed wagon (he called it Jezebel) at weekends.

In the 1950s a group of the masters clubbed together and bought the nearby Chapelhill Inn. Adam was the managing director and much enjoyed evenings spent there. He also acted as the school's fire-master which normally required organising fire drills. There was once a fire in an upper corridor. Adam dashed into action and with lack of concern for his own safety ensured the fire was extinguished before it took hold.

Adam was housemaster of Reid's from 1968 to 1977 and sub warden from 1977 to 1984. He fulfilled both posts with an unpretentious dignity. He had a rare gift for being forthright and straightforward – but never impolite or casual. For a term Adam, as sub-warden, was in charge of the school when the warden was away. It was no easy posting and some internal difficulties were resolved quietly and efficiently.

Many of the boys recall with fondness Adam's breezy nature. As another colleague of many years, Alan Elliott, told The Scotsman: "Peter was always in a good humour, and ready to be outspoken on any subject. He ran the sailing club with tremendous zeal and took boys up to Loch Freuchie in all weathers.

"He was a born enthusiast. Peter was a practical person; he could mend and build anything. He was always kind-hearted and genuine, and a good friend."

His wife Elisabeth, whom he married in 1957, died in 1994. Peter Adam is survived by their son Richard.

ALASDAIR STEVEN