Iain Colquhoun

Sir Iain Colquhoun dedicated his life to the Army, having been commissioned into the 1st Battalion of the Scots Guards in 1910, with whom he reached the rank of lieutenant-colonel. He served on the Western Front during World War I and won the Distinguished Service Order in 1916, with a Bar being added in 1918. He was also mentioned in dispatches. There is an unconfirmed report that Colquhoun kept a pet lion with him in the trenches. After the War, he returned to his normal life running the estates he had inherited having assumed the title of 7th Baronet of Luss on the death of his father in 1910. He was also Chieftain of the Colquhoun Clan, and Lord Lieutenant of Dunbartonshire, a post he held from and 1919 until his death.

Colquhoun, who graduated in law, held some important posts in the inter-War years. Amongst others, he was Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland and Lord Rector of Glasgow University between 1934-37, and again in 1940 and 1941. Colquhoun also became chairman of a small group of Scottish aristocrats who formed the National Trust for Scotland in 1931. A keen Freemason, Colquhoun was Grand Master Mason of Scotland in 1935-36. His successor was HRH Prince Albert, Duke of York, later King George VI. Colquhoun was created a Knight of the Thistle (KT) in 1937.

Colquhoun’s boxing career went from being a contestant, to becoming a referee and judge. He also served on the British Boxing Board of Control (BBoC), and was chairman of the Scottish section of the BBoC. As a fighter he won the Army lightweight title in both 1913 and 1914. He later became a referee, officiating in many big contests in Scotland, and was one of the judges and referees at the 1924 Paris Olympics. Colquhoun was also in demand as an MC (Master of Ceremonies). He also represented the Secretary of State for Scotland on the Racecourse Betting Board for 10 years from 1928. In his spare time he enjoyed shooting and fishing on his vast Loch Lomond Estate. The former Colquhoun ancestry home, Rossdhu Mansion, is now the clubhouse for the Loch Lomond Golf Club.