Obituary: Alex Purves

TRIBUTES have been paid to Alex Purves, an Edinburgh banker who turned his love of theatre into a second career, who has died, aged 70.

Mr Purves was born in 1939 while his father was serving in the Second World War with the Royal Engineers. He attended the Royal High School at primary and secondary level between 1944 and 1955, and went straight into banking after finishing his education.

He started with Clydesdale Bank, where Mr Purves would work his entire banking career, on the branch floor.

After postings in Edinburgh, his first managerial role was in South Queensferry, but he quickly climbed the ranks to the prestigious manager's job at the Princes Street branch. He later became the manager at the chief office, during which time he worked closely with the Institute of Bankers on tutoring and exam setting, before retiring in 1997.

His colleagues remember him as "a shrewd and able manager".

It was his love of theatre that took up much of the rest of Mr Purves' life.

He joined the Leitheatre group, then the Kirkgate Church Dramatic Society, in the early 1960s, and despite moving to Glasgow to pursue his career he continued his involvement in community theatre. Mr Purves joined a number of local dramatic groups, even starting the Antonine Theatre Group in Bishopbriggs, Glasgow. It survives to this day.

Returning to Edinburgh in the 1980s, Mr Purves again became a stalwart of Leitheatre. Friends from the company remember his commitment to the group. When there were no roles for him to play, Mr Purves would paint scenery, run the box office or work back stage.

After taking early retirement, Mr Purves joined the Equity actors' union and began taking work as a professional. He took a number of bit parts on television, in shows such as Monarch of the Glen and Taggart, but also was seen in the 2000 film Complicity, starring Brian Cox and Bill Paterson.

It was on the set of Taggart that the director picked him out of a crowd scene and suggested that Mr Purves might take on the role of a bank manager, saying: "You look the type."

"Is it that obvious?" was the reply.

Mr Purves was also a keen golfer and was a member of Murrayfield Golf Course. He was also a dedicated elder at Murrayfield Parish Church and a member of the Merchant Company. He also worked for Prostate Scotland.

Mr Purves was predeceased by his wife Jean, whom he married in 1965, and is survived by their two daughters, Katie and Janet.