Tommy Macpherson
Encyclopedia
Colonel Sir Thomas Stewart Macpherson CBE, MC
, and Two Bars
, TD, DL
(born 4 October 1920) is a Scottish businessman, having previously been a much decorated British Army
officer during and after World War II
.
, Scotland on October 4, 1920. He was youngest of seven children of Sir Thomas Stewart Macpherson CIE LLD and Helen, the daughter of the Reverend Archibald Borland Cameron. His father’s brother was the first Baron Strathcarron and one of his own brothers, Niall, was also raised to the peerage as Baron Drumalbyn
. Another brother was George Macpherson
, one of Scotland's greatest ever rugby players. His family originates from Newtonmore, in the Highlands, yet he was raised in the city.
His childhood home was Edgebrooke, in East Fettes Avenue, and he attended Edinburgh Academy prep school before Cargilfield, in Barnton. At 14, he went to Fettes College
, where he joined the Officers' Training Corps. He also attended Trinity College, Oxford
, where he was awarded a first class degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics. He represented Oxford at rugby
, hockey
and athletics and was also a Scottish international student athlete.
(Territorial Army) in 1939, before serving in No. 11 (Scottish) Commando
in 1940-1941.
Macpherson was part of a four man team sent to reconnoitre beaches in preparation for Operation Flipper
, an attempted raid on on the headquarters of Erwin Rommel
, The famous German Field Marshal. In two canvas folboats, they waited at sea for their rendezvous with a submarine which was to return them to their base at Apollonia
. After two nights, the submarine had not appeared and one boat was leaking, so the men decided to land again and make a final attempt in one boat, but in the end the weather was too bad. They then decided to walk to Tobruk
, despite the fact they had no food, water or maps, and were dressed only in shorts. Captain Ratcliffe and Lieutenant Ravenscroft were captured on 2 November, Macpherson and Corporal Evans managed to hold out for another day before they too were captured by Italian forces near Derna. Interrogated by four army officers and six carabinieri
, one asked MacPherson to demonstrate how his Colt Automatic worked, he did so by "by putting in a spare magazine [he] still had, and then held the party up with the loaded weapon". Unfortunately, he then suffered a severe attack of cramp, and was recaptured and placed in solitary confinement. He made one further escape attempt before being taken to Italy in a destroyer, and held in a prisoner of war camp at Montalbo; here he made a further escape attempt, breaching the inner perimeter, but he could not find a way over the outer fence. In June 1942 he was moved to another camp at Gavi, near Genoa
.
After the Italian armistice the camp was taken over by German forces on 9 September 1943, and the prisoners transferred to German prisoner of war camps from 14 September when they were taken by road to Acqui. From here they were to be taken by train to Austria. Macpherson managed to get away from his guards, but was soon recaptured, and almost shot; fortunately the order by a feldwebel
(NCO) was countermanded by an officer. The prisoners were then transported by train to Stalag XVIII-A
at Spittal an der Drau
, Austria
. On arrival at this camp, Macpherson and a New Zealander, Captain Colin Norman Armstrong managed to hide from the Germans whenever they tried to take a roll call, and obtained assistance from the French held in a different part of the camp, escaping in French uniforms on 21 September, also accompanied by a Captain A. A. Yeoman. They managed to recross the Italian border, and were intending to make their way into Yugoslavia and link up with Allied-supported partisans there. Unfortunately, Armstong became separated, and on 26 September Macpherson and Armstrong ran into a German patrol near Chiusaforte
, Macpherson spoke to the patrol in Italian, pretending to be an Italian officer, and tried to convince the patrol that Armstrong was Croation. The Red Cross rations they were carrying revealed their true status, and they were sent to a camp in Hohenstein
, arriving on 30 September after a five day train journey with only a small amount of bread to eat and little water. On 1 October they were transferred to Stalag XX-A
at Toruń
, Poland. On 9 October they escaped again, with assistance from Private Hutson and Sergeant Glancy. The four then managed to travel to Sweden via Bromberg and Gdynia
. On 17 February 1944, Macpherson was awarded the Military Cross
(MC) for his escape.
"Just as I arrived I heard an excited young Frenchman saying to his boss, 'Chef, chef, there's a French officer and he's brought his wife!" Tommy aged 90, October 5, 2010, quote from The Scotsman newspaper. "Their mistaking me for a woman wearing a skirt was an easy error to make."
His first operation was to delay the advance of the 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich. His group demolished a small bridge, and then held the bridge at Bicteroux for 6 days, despite German attacks. Just 27 men were involved in these operations, of whom 20 were killed. They then switched to attacking road and rail routes between Brive and Montauban
, eventually completely stopping railway traffic between Cahors
and Souillac, Lot
on 1 July. Similar operations continued through July, and following Operation Dragoon
(the Allied invasion of Southern France, aimed at capturing Marseille), operations increased in scale. In one attack Macpherson and his men trapped 300 Germans and 100 members of the Milice
(Pro-German French forces) in a railway tunnel for several days.
Over the course of the next two months Macpherson killed or captured many German troops and systematically blew apart bridges. He operated from caves and woodland areas with his radio operator. Under the mantle of Agent Quinine, he achieved an operation of some kind virtually every day, his high-profile presence - he brazenly toured the countryside in a black Citroën with a Union Flag pennant on one side and a Croix de Lorraine on the other - infuriating the Nazis to the extent that they placed a 300,000 franc bounty on his head, describing him as "The Kilted Killer, A bandit masquerading as a Scottish officer and extremely dangerous to the citizens of France".
On one occasion when a German staff car was approaching a level crossing Macpherson booby-trapped the barrier arm so it crashed down on the vehicle, decapitating the local commandant and his driver.
On another occasion Macpherson took decisive action as the Second Motorised SS Infantry Division and the Das Reich Division pushed towards the fragile Normandy beach-head. Unarmed and accompanied by a doctor and a French officer, he drove a stolen German Red Cross Land Rover through ten miles of enemy-held territory, through machine gun fire and straight to the Das Reich Division headquarters where, dressed in full Highland regalia, he warned that he would unleash heavy artillery and call on the RAF if they did not surrender. In consequence, 23,000 German troops surrendered. It was a bluff that may have saved thousands of lives.
, northern Italy, despite being wounded soon after his arrival. Much of this effort was aimed at disrupting the German defensive line based on Tarvisio
.
On one occasion during an allied air raid Macpherson spotted a group of Italian officers retreating into a bomb shelter. The Scot opened the shelter hatch and threw a grenade down it. Macpherson was shot by an Italian officer, who arrived late but whom he succeeded in stabbing after a struggle.
(TA - then affiliated with the Gordon Highlanders), he was then promoted colonel. He transferred to Class III of the reserve on 1 April 1967, and was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 1968 New Year Honours
. His CBE was for his services as deputy commander of 56th Infantry Brigade from 1964 to 1967, and his efforts in support of the TA in general. He is a member of the Royal Company of Archers
.
On 7 October 2010, Macpherson's autobiography was published under the title, Behind Enemy Lines
, and as Chairman of Annington Holdings plc and Boustead plc.
While with Mallinson Denny, he was a member of the National Board for Prices and Incomes between 1965 and 1967. He was President of Eurochambres
(the Association of European Chambers of Commerce) between 1992 and 1994.
of Greater London in 1977, and served as High Sheriff of Greater London
in 1983. He was knighted
in the 1992 New Year Honours, receiving the accolade
from the Queen at Buckingham Palace on 17 March 1992. In 1985/86 he served as Prime Warden of the Worshipful Company of Dyers
and between 2001 and 2005 he was President of the Highland Society of London
.
Beside his British decorations, he is also a Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur
and was awarded the Croix de Guerre (2 Palms and Star) and was personally awarded the Star of Bethlehem
and a papal knighthood from the Pope.
Macpherson’s seat in the Highlands, Biallid House, near Newtonmore
, is in the heart of the ancestral lands of the Clan Macpherson
.
Military Cross
The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
, and Two Bars
Medal bar
A medal bar or medal clasp is a thin metal bar attached to the ribbon of a military decoration, civil decoration, or other medal. It is most commonly used to indicate the campaign or operation the recipient received the award for, and multiple bars on the same medal are used to indicate that the...
, TD, DL
Deputy Lieutenant
In the United Kingdom, a Deputy Lieutenant is one of several deputies to the Lord Lieutenant of a lieutenancy area; an English ceremonial county, Welsh preserved county, Scottish lieutenancy area, or Northern Irish county borough or county....
(born 4 October 1920) is a Scottish businessman, having previously been a much decorated British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
officer during and after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Origins and education
Macpherson was born in EdinburghEdinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, Scotland on October 4, 1920. He was youngest of seven children of Sir Thomas Stewart Macpherson CIE LLD and Helen, the daughter of the Reverend Archibald Borland Cameron. His father’s brother was the first Baron Strathcarron and one of his own brothers, Niall, was also raised to the peerage as Baron Drumalbyn
Niall Macpherson, 1st Baron Drumalbyn
Niall Malcolm Stewart Macpherson, 1st Baron Drumalbyn KBE, PC was a Scottish Tory and National Liberal politician.-Background and education:...
. Another brother was George Macpherson
George MacPherson
George MacPherson also known as GPS MacPherson was a Scottish rugby union footballer who played for Scotland in 26 Tests between 1922 and 1932....
, one of Scotland's greatest ever rugby players. His family originates from Newtonmore, in the Highlands, yet he was raised in the city.
His childhood home was Edgebrooke, in East Fettes Avenue, and he attended Edinburgh Academy prep school before Cargilfield, in Barnton. At 14, he went to Fettes College
Fettes College
Fettes College is an independent school for boarding and day pupils in Edinburgh, Scotland with over two thirds of its pupils in residence on campus...
, where he joined the Officers' Training Corps. He also attended Trinity College, Oxford
Trinity College, Oxford
The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity in the University of Oxford, of the foundation of Sir Thomas Pope , or Trinity College for short, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It stands on Broad Street, next door to Balliol College and Blackwells bookshop,...
, where he was awarded a first class degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics. He represented Oxford at rugby
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
, hockey
Field hockey
Field Hockey, or Hockey, is a team sport in which a team of players attempts to score goals by hitting, pushing or flicking a ball into an opposing team's goal using sticks...
and athletics and was also a Scottish international student athlete.
Military career
Macpherson was commissioned in the Queen's Own Cameron HighlandersQueen's Own Cameron Highlanders
The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders was an infantry regiment of the British Army formed in 1793. In 1961 it was merged with the Seaforth Highlanders to form the Queen's Own Highlanders...
(Territorial Army) in 1939, before serving in No. 11 (Scottish) Commando
No. 11 (Scottish) Commando
No. 11 Commando was a battalion-sized commando unit of the British Army during the Second World War. Formed in Scotland members of No. 11 Commando adopted the Tam o'shanter as their official headress....
in 1940-1941.
Macpherson was part of a four man team sent to reconnoitre beaches in preparation for Operation Flipper
Operation Flipper
Operation Flipper was a British commando raid, during the Second World War, that included among its objectives an attack on the headquarters of Erwin Rommel, the commander of the Axis forces in North Africa. It was timed to strike on the night of 17/18 November 1941, just before the start of...
, an attempted raid on on the headquarters of Erwin Rommel
Erwin Rommel
Erwin Johannes Eugen Rommel , popularly known as the Desert Fox , was a German Field Marshal of World War II. He won the respect of both his own troops and the enemies he fought....
, The famous German Field Marshal. In two canvas folboats, they waited at sea for their rendezvous with a submarine which was to return them to their base at Apollonia
Apollonia, Cyrenaica
Apollonia in Cyrenaica was founded by Greek colonists and became a significant commercial centre in the southern Mediterranean. It served as the harbour of Cyrene, to the southwest...
. After two nights, the submarine had not appeared and one boat was leaking, so the men decided to land again and make a final attempt in one boat, but in the end the weather was too bad. They then decided to walk to Tobruk
Tobruk
Tobruk or Tubruq is a city, seaport, and peninsula on Libya's eastern Mediterranean coast, near the border with Egypt. It is the capital of the Butnan District and has a population of 120,000 ....
, despite the fact they had no food, water or maps, and were dressed only in shorts. Captain Ratcliffe and Lieutenant Ravenscroft were captured on 2 November, Macpherson and Corporal Evans managed to hold out for another day before they too were captured by Italian forces near Derna. Interrogated by four army officers and six carabinieri
Carabinieri
The Carabinieri is the national gendarmerie of Italy, policing both military and civilian populations, and is a branch of the armed forces.-Early history:...
, one asked MacPherson to demonstrate how his Colt Automatic worked, he did so by "by putting in a spare magazine [he] still had, and then held the party up with the loaded weapon". Unfortunately, he then suffered a severe attack of cramp, and was recaptured and placed in solitary confinement. He made one further escape attempt before being taken to Italy in a destroyer, and held in a prisoner of war camp at Montalbo; here he made a further escape attempt, breaching the inner perimeter, but he could not find a way over the outer fence. In June 1942 he was moved to another camp at Gavi, near Genoa
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
.
After the Italian armistice the camp was taken over by German forces on 9 September 1943, and the prisoners transferred to German prisoner of war camps from 14 September when they were taken by road to Acqui. From here they were to be taken by train to Austria. Macpherson managed to get away from his guards, but was soon recaptured, and almost shot; fortunately the order by a feldwebel
Feldwebel
Feldwebel is a German military rank which has existed since at least the 18th century with usage as a title dating to the Middle Ages. The word Feldwebel is usually translated as sergeant being rated OR-6 in the NATO rank comparison scale, equivalent to the British Army Sergeant and the US Army...
(NCO) was countermanded by an officer. The prisoners were then transported by train to Stalag XVIII-A
Stalag XVIII-A
Stalag XVIII-A Wolfsberg and Stalag XVIII-A/Z Spittal were World War II German Army Prisoner-of-war camps located at Wolfsberg and Spittal an der Drau in the southern Austrian state of Carinthia, then part of Germany.- Timeline :...
at Spittal an der Drau
Spittal an der Drau
Spittal an der Drau is located in the western part of the Austrian federal state of Carinthia and the administrative centre of the federal state's second largest district, Spittal an der Drau. It lies between the Lurnfeld area and the Lower Drava Valley. The city consists of the seven...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
. On arrival at this camp, Macpherson and a New Zealander, Captain Colin Norman Armstrong managed to hide from the Germans whenever they tried to take a roll call, and obtained assistance from the French held in a different part of the camp, escaping in French uniforms on 21 September, also accompanied by a Captain A. A. Yeoman. They managed to recross the Italian border, and were intending to make their way into Yugoslavia and link up with Allied-supported partisans there. Unfortunately, Armstong became separated, and on 26 September Macpherson and Armstrong ran into a German patrol near Chiusaforte
Chiusaforte
Chiusaforte is a comune in the Province of Udine in the Italian region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, located about 90 km northwest of Trieste and about 40 km north of Udine, on the border with Slovenia...
, Macpherson spoke to the patrol in Italian, pretending to be an Italian officer, and tried to convince the patrol that Armstrong was Croation. The Red Cross rations they were carrying revealed their true status, and they were sent to a camp in Hohenstein
Stalag I-B
Stalag I-B Hohenstein was a German World War II prisoner-of-war camp located west of Hohenstein, East Prussia . The camp was partially located on the grounds of the Tannenberg Memorial and initially included a set of wooden structures intended to house World War I veterans during Nazi...
, arriving on 30 September after a five day train journey with only a small amount of bread to eat and little water. On 1 October they were transferred to Stalag XX-A
Stalag XX-A
Stalag XX-A was a German World War II PoW Camp located in Thorn/Toruń, Poland. It was not a single camp and contained as many as 20,000 men at its peak. The main camp was located in a complex of fifteen forts that surrounded the whole of the city...
at Toruń
Torun
Toruń is an ancient city in northern Poland, on the Vistula River. Its population is more than 205,934 as of June 2009. Toruń is one of the oldest cities in Poland. The medieval old town of Toruń is the birthplace of the astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus....
, Poland. On 9 October they escaped again, with assistance from Private Hutson and Sergeant Glancy. The four then managed to travel to Sweden via Bromberg and Gdynia
Gdynia
Gdynia is a city in the Pomeranian Voivodeship of Poland and an important seaport of Gdańsk Bay on the south coast of the Baltic Sea.Located in Kashubia in Eastern Pomerania, Gdynia is part of a conurbation with the spa town of Sopot, the city of Gdańsk and suburban communities, which together...
. On 17 February 1944, Macpherson was awarded the Military Cross
Military Cross
The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
(MC) for his escape.
Operation Jedburgh
Upon return to Scotland Macpherson joined the Jedburgh Unit, A team of hand picked operatives who would be dropped into occupied Europe to conduct sabotage and guerilla warfare.French Guerrilla operations
In June 1944 Macpherson parachuted down to Nazi-occupied France with a French officer and a radio operator, where, on Churchill's orders to 'Set Europe ablaze', he was to embark on a remarkable war-time exploit. Apparently eschewing any attempt at stealth, Macpherson landed in full Cameron Highland uniform, including tartan kilt and Sgian-dubh."Just as I arrived I heard an excited young Frenchman saying to his boss, 'Chef, chef, there's a French officer and he's brought his wife!" Tommy aged 90, October 5, 2010, quote from The Scotsman newspaper. "Their mistaking me for a woman wearing a skirt was an easy error to make."
His first operation was to delay the advance of the 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich. His group demolished a small bridge, and then held the bridge at Bicteroux for 6 days, despite German attacks. Just 27 men were involved in these operations, of whom 20 were killed. They then switched to attacking road and rail routes between Brive and Montauban
Montauban
Montauban is a commune in the Tarn-et-Garonne department in the Midi-Pyrénées region in southern France. It is the capital of the department and lies north of Toulouse....
, eventually completely stopping railway traffic between Cahors
Cahors
Cahors is the capital of the Lot department in south-western France.Its site is dramatic being contained on three sides within an udder shaped twist in the river Lot known as a 'presqu'île' or peninsula...
and Souillac, Lot
Souillac, Lot
Souillac is a commune in the Lot department in south-western France, on the river Dordogne. It is the site of the new Brive – Souillac Airport, that opened in 2010. The abbey has famous Romanesque carvings....
on 1 July. Similar operations continued through July, and following Operation Dragoon
Operation Dragoon
Operation Dragoon was the Allied invasion of southern France on August 15, 1944, during World War II. The invasion was initiated via a parachute drop by the 1st Airborne Task Force, followed by an amphibious assault by elements of the U.S. Seventh Army, followed a day later by a force made up...
(the Allied invasion of Southern France, aimed at capturing Marseille), operations increased in scale. In one attack Macpherson and his men trapped 300 Germans and 100 members of the Milice
Milice
The Milice française , generally called simply Milice, was a paramilitary force created on January 30, 1943 by the Vichy Regime, with German aid, to help fight the French Resistance. The Milice's formal leader was Prime Minister Pierre Laval, though its chief of operations, and actual leader, was...
(Pro-German French forces) in a railway tunnel for several days.
Over the course of the next two months Macpherson killed or captured many German troops and systematically blew apart bridges. He operated from caves and woodland areas with his radio operator. Under the mantle of Agent Quinine, he achieved an operation of some kind virtually every day, his high-profile presence - he brazenly toured the countryside in a black Citroën with a Union Flag pennant on one side and a Croix de Lorraine on the other - infuriating the Nazis to the extent that they placed a 300,000 franc bounty on his head, describing him as "The Kilted Killer, A bandit masquerading as a Scottish officer and extremely dangerous to the citizens of France".
On one occasion when a German staff car was approaching a level crossing Macpherson booby-trapped the barrier arm so it crashed down on the vehicle, decapitating the local commandant and his driver.
On another occasion Macpherson took decisive action as the Second Motorised SS Infantry Division and the Das Reich Division pushed towards the fragile Normandy beach-head. Unarmed and accompanied by a doctor and a French officer, he drove a stolen German Red Cross Land Rover through ten miles of enemy-held territory, through machine gun fire and straight to the Das Reich Division headquarters where, dressed in full Highland regalia, he warned that he would unleash heavy artillery and call on the RAF if they did not surrender. In consequence, 23,000 German troops surrendered. It was a bluff that may have saved thousands of lives.
Italian Guerrilla operations
In November 1944, Major Macpherson led Italian partisans in several major attacks on railways in UdineUdine
Udine is a city and comune in northeastern Italy, in the middle of Friuli-Venezia Giulia region, between the Adriatic sea and the Alps , less than 40 km from the Slovenian border. Its population was 99,439 in 2009, and that of its urban area was 175,000.- History :Udine is the historical...
, northern Italy, despite being wounded soon after his arrival. Much of this effort was aimed at disrupting the German defensive line based on Tarvisio
Tarvisio
Tarvisio is a town in the Province of Udine, in the northeastern part of the autonomous Friuli–Venezia Giulia region in Italy...
.
On one occasion during an allied air raid Macpherson spotted a group of Italian officers retreating into a bomb shelter. The Scot opened the shelter hatch and threw a grenade down it. Macpherson was shot by an Italian officer, who arrived late but whom he succeeded in stabbing after a struggle.
Post war
After the war he reverted to the rank of lieutenant and continued to serve in the Territorial Army with the Camerons. He was promoted back to captain on 1 September 1948, and awarded the Territorial Efficiency Decoration on 20 June 1950. On 2 August 1960 he was promoted back to major, and transferred to the Gordon Highlanders. He was promoted lieutenant-colonel on 31 October 1961, and until 1 November 1964 he commanded the London ScottishLondon Scottish (regiment)
The London Scottish is a unit of the British Army. Formerly a regiment, the unit is now a company of The London Regiment.-Founding of the regiment:...
(TA - then affiliated with the Gordon Highlanders), he was then promoted colonel. He transferred to Class III of the reserve on 1 April 1967, and was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 1968 New Year Honours
New Year Honours
The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, being a civic occasion on the New Year annually in which new members of most Commonwealth Realms honours are named. The awards are presented by the reigning monarch or head of state, currently Queen Elizabeth II...
. His CBE was for his services as deputy commander of 56th Infantry Brigade from 1964 to 1967, and his efforts in support of the TA in general. He is a member of the Royal Company of Archers
Royal Company of Archers
The Royal Company of Archers is a ceremonial unit that serves as the Sovereign's Bodyguard in Scotland, a role it has performed since 1822 and the reign of King George IV, when the company provided a personal bodyguard to the King on his visit to Scotland. It is currently known as the Queen's...
.
On 7 October 2010, Macpherson's autobiography was published under the title, Behind Enemy Lines
Business career
Macpherson has enjoyed a successful business career, including periods variously as the Managing Director and Chairman of the Mallinson-Denny Group, as a director of Brooke Bond Group, Scottish Mutual Assurance Society and the National Coal BoardNational Coal Board
The National Coal Board was the statutory corporation created to run the nationalised coal mining industry in the United Kingdom. Set up under the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946, it took over the mines on "vesting day", 1 January 1947...
, and as Chairman of Annington Holdings plc and Boustead plc.
While with Mallinson Denny, he was a member of the National Board for Prices and Incomes between 1965 and 1967. He was President of Eurochambres
Eurochambres
EUROCHAMBRES is the Association of European Chambers of Commerce and Industry. The association is one of the largest business representative organisation in Brussels, representing over 20 million companies through its network of 2000 Chambers of Commerce and Industry...
(the Association of European Chambers of Commerce) between 1992 and 1994.
Honours
Macpherson was appointed a Deputy LieutenantDeputy Lieutenant
In the United Kingdom, a Deputy Lieutenant is one of several deputies to the Lord Lieutenant of a lieutenancy area; an English ceremonial county, Welsh preserved county, Scottish lieutenancy area, or Northern Irish county borough or county....
of Greater London in 1977, and served as High Sheriff of Greater London
High Sheriff of Greater London
The office of High Sheriff is over 1000 years old, with its establishment before the Norman Conquest. The Office of High Sheriff remained first in precedence in the counties until the reign of Edward VII when an Order in Council in 1908 gave the Lord-Lieutenant the prime office under the Crown as...
in 1983. He was knighted
Knight Bachelor
The rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the most basic rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Orders of Chivalry...
in the 1992 New Year Honours, receiving the accolade
Accolade
In the Middle Ages, the accolade was the central act in the rite-of-passage ceremonies conferring knighthood.-Ceremony:...
from the Queen at Buckingham Palace on 17 March 1992. In 1985/86 he served as Prime Warden of the Worshipful Company of Dyers
Worshipful Company of Dyers
The Worshipful Company of Dyers is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. The Dyers' Guild existed in the twelfth century; it received a Royal Charter in 1471...
and between 2001 and 2005 he was President of the Highland Society of London
Highland Society of London
The Highland Society of London is a charity registered in England, with "the view of establishing and supporting schools in the Highlands and in the Northern parts of Great Britain, for relieving distressed Highlanders at a distance from their native homes, for preserving the antiquities and...
.
Beside his British decorations, he is also a Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur
Légion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
and was awarded the Croix de Guerre (2 Palms and Star) and was personally awarded the Star of Bethlehem
Star of Bethlehem
In Christian tradition, the Star of Bethlehem, also called the Christmas Star, revealed the birth of Jesus to the magi, or "wise men", and later led them to Bethlehem. The star appears in the nativity story of the Gospel of Matthew, where magi "from the east" are inspired by the star to travel to...
and a papal knighthood from the Pope.
Private life
In 1953 Macpherson married Jean Henrietta, the daughter of David Butler Wilson. They have two sons and a daughter.Macpherson’s seat in the Highlands, Biallid House, near Newtonmore
Newtonmore
Newtonmore is a village in the Highland council area of Scotland. It has a population of about 1000. The village is only a few miles from a location that is claimed to be the exact geographical centre of Scotland...
, is in the heart of the ancestral lands of the Clan Macpherson
Clan Macpherson
Clan Macpherson is a Highland Scottish clan from Badenoch, on the River Spey. It is a leading member of the Chattan Confederation.-Origins:...
.