Alex Salmond and the trust he set up for his mum

It was set up by former first minister Alex Salmond in tribute to his late mother, a woman passionate about the Girl Guide movement and the great outdoors.

Alex Salmond is pictured with Roddy McColl

Up until her last moments, Mary Salmond was enjoying what she loved doing best – being in the mountains surrounded by friends and nature.

Mrs Salmond died of natural causes while out with her walking group near Glenmore in the Highlands in May 2003. She was 81. She had bagged more than 170 Munros during her time, despite only taking up the mission to complete them all when aged 65.

For Mr Salmond, MP for Gordon, setting up the Mary Salmond Trust in 2007 was a way to say thank you to his mum and to propagate the values and interests she held dear.

The 33rd Aberdeen Brownies holiday which was funded by the Mary Salmond Trust

It also allowed him to meet a pledge not to fully benefit from two parliamentary salaries, having been elected as MSP for the then seat of Gordon while also serving Banff and Buchan as MP.

The trust has since paid out £108,868 to individuals in Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire and Moray working to improve health and welfare of children and promote community development. The maximum award is £500.

Mr Salmond said he will have given around £150,000 to the trust since it began by the end of this financial year – and that his mum would be happy with what it had achieved in her name.

He said: “My mum’s big interest in life was helping various causes and the Girl Guides was her abiding interest. She was also a great believer that a little bit of help could go a long way to making a difference.

The 33rd Aberdeen Brownies holiday which was funded by the Mary Salmond Trust

“She was a very active person and she loved supporting people who were out doing things or trying to help others. I think she would be very pleased with what the trust has achieved so far.”

Mr Salmond has given the trust only one direction – and that is that under no circumstances should they turn down an application from the Girl Guides. His mother served as a county camp commissioner for more than 30 years.

Recent awards include £250 for new tents for a Scout group in Methlick and £485 for the 33rd Aberdeen Brownies so they could go on a weekend activity break last summer.

Despite the trust being close to his heart, Mr Salmond leaves the four trustees alone to deal with the grant applications. He meets up with them once a year to hear progress on the trust and to buy them lunch, he said.

Making the decisions are trust chairman and Aberdeen solicitor Roddy McColl, Elizabeth Wallace, chief executive of Avenue counselling and mediation service, accountant Grace Burns and Aberdeen hotelier Stewart Spence of the Marcliffe Hotel and Spa, who joined the trustees in January.

Of Mr Spence, Mr Salmond said: “There is nobody who knows more about the north east or charitable work than Stewart. I have done several charity auctions at the Marcliffe and they have had quite a bit of success. There must be more charity auctions at the Marcliffe than at any other hotel in the world.”

Figures show that in 2015, Mr Salmond contributed £38,476.73 – 52 per cent of his parliamentary earnings and includes his £2,598-a-month first minister pension. Also donated was his £19,365 MSP’s salary.

One man to benefit from the trust’s activities is Peter Robertson, 75. He and his wife Mary have run the Forres Cycling Club for more than 40 years. Mr Robertson said: “I have only be competing for the past give years and it is quite an expensive sport. I absolutely love it and I love competing in the national championships. Without the Mary Salmond Trust, I would never have been able to attend these events and I would have quite a few less medals for my mantlepiece.”

Trust chairman Roddy McColl said: “Some of the ‘thank you’ letters you get are quite humbling, to feel that you have given someone a small amount of money and it has been so welcome, that it has allowed them to do thing that they otherwise would have been unable to do .

“We meet Mr Salmond once a year and have a good chat about what he is doing. He has always been very encouraging to the trustees, given the work that is being done in the name of his mother, whom he had a great deal of affection for.”