I have been searching various newspapers and their websites for mentions of Wishaw High School when I found this obituary for a former pupil. The Nimmo family of Wishaw have a long history with Wishaw High. William Nimmo, Architect Obituary from the Glasgow Herald, 28/01/2010 William Nimmo, who has died aged 80 following a short illness, was one of Scotland’s most distinguished architects. William Nimmo and Partners spread its name from Glasgow to London, where the extent and reputation of its work brought awards to the company, while the man himself was made a freeman of the city. Back home, he would lead major projects which ranged from Scottish Television and the Radio Clyde headquarters at Clydebank to the £400m redevelopment of the Faslane Submarine Base on the Clyde. That last contract occupied his substantial team of architects for nine years. At the heart of it all was the tall, engaging personality of Bill Nimmo, whose ability to delegate responsibility became a hallmark of his success. Well read and articulate, he could inspire with his own enthusiasm. For the boy from Wishaw High School, however, it all began quite modestly. Bypassing the family joinery business, he set his heart on being an architect, studying first at Glasgow “Tech” (later Strathclyde University) and then at the Glasgow School of Art, where he was the Rowand Anderson Medallist, the foremost award for final-year students of architecture. Ahead of him would lie the obligatory two years of National Service. But, first, he would boldly establish his own practice as an architect in Wishaw, leave it in the hands of the trusted Tom Miller, marry his beloved Mae Hannah and carry her off to married quarters when posted to the British Army of the Rhine in Germany. But those “quarters” were often damaged barracks and, when the Royal Engineers discovered Bill Nimmo’s qualifications as an architect, they not only commissioned him as an officer but gave him the task of masterminding the design and construction of new barracks and thousands of houses for British soldiers and German civilians. It was a massive responsibility for the young man from Wishaw. But with that experience, he returned to civilian life with an appetite for greater things. Soon he was joined in his architectural partnership by Jean Welsh, the first female architect to qualify in Scotland, and by Jimmy Robertson and John Carswell. They moved to Glasgow and were now carrying out large-scale commissions, including schools, factories and two new whisky distilleries for the Canadian conglomerate of Seagram. Department stores built for Baird Brothers led to more work from the expanding House of Fraser empire. Bill Nimmo now had his sights set on London, establishing his practice in Grosvenor Square and then in Chelsea, with a large team of architects engaged in designing new office blocks in the City of London and elsewhere. Britannic House, for example, became the world headquarters of British Petroleum. Retiring in 1997, at the age of 68, he was awarded the CBE and became a Fellow of the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, recognising his work in London. From his student days, Bill Nimmo never lost the inspiration he gained from assisting in the Glasgow visit of Winston Churchill. Fascinated by politics, he also retained to the end an unswerving belief in the future of Britain. Life was an adventure, which he pursued to the end, cruising by Martha’s Vineyard and exploring the Crusader sites of Malta just a few weeks ago. Until a week before his death, he had no warning that he was suffering from acute leukaemia. The end had a swiftness that characterised his own life. He is survived by his wife Mae, a talented artist, sons David, Robert and Wilson, and daughter Sandra. ===== heraldscotland/comment/obituaries/william-nimmo-architect-1.1002020
Posted on: Mon, 21 Oct 2013 21:58:38 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015