Galashiels good samaritan calls it a day after almost 40 years

Former banker Bill Watt has been treasurer and secretary of the Galashiels Local Relief Fund since 1981.

The fund was set up during the Second World War to help elderly people in the town struggling to make ends meet.

It picks 50 beneficiaries to support each year from names put forward by members of its executive committee, councillors, ministers and other well-intentioned locals aware of retired townsfolk in need of a helping hand financially.

Mr Watt, 86, said helping to oversee the distribution of the fund’s money for so long had been a privilege.

He said: “The fund has been in existence since the end of the Second World War but is still not too well known by the people of Galashiels.

“I took over from Tom Purves, of the Adam Purves garage group in Galashiels, after he arrived at my door and asked me to take on the role of treasurer. I suppose they thought that because I was a retired banker I could add one and one and make two.

“Everybody has worked exceptionally hard for the benefit of the elderly in the town.

“I enjoyed taking part and making sure that everybody was given due consideration in getting help, especially those requiring a little assistance with their pensions.

“I felt it was becoming a wee bit of a burden because of my age, making sure the books were all right and what have you. I had just begun to feel my age.

“I feel that I did do my bit, without blowing my own trumpet, and I really enjoyed what I was doing.”

Relief fund chairman Bill White presented Mr Watt with a bottle of malt whisky to mark his 39 years’ service.

He said: “Bill has served the town wonderfully for almost four decades and made a lot of people’s lives much easier as a result of his efforts.”

The fund was launched in 1943 by ex-provost Robert Watson with a bequest not just £43,000 but also of his house in Scott Terrace.

At the end of the war, the town council formed a committee of councillors and professionals to distribute that money to those most in need.

Further donations followed from other town notables over the years, including £22,000 from William Forester and £32,500 from Chris Boyd, the latter being a local man who had moved to America to make his fortune.

The fund received a huge boost in 2013 after the late George Knox, a retired burgh clerk, left more than £400,000 to be used for the benefit of the elderly in Galashiels.

Anyone aware of any elderly folk they think could benefit from the fund is asked to email Andrew Bailey at [email protected] or Bill White at [email protected]