Angus Wilson, a longstanding pillar of Penrith’s theatrical community, and the Milk Marketing Board’s chief veterinary officer for the North of England has died at the age of 83, having made Eden his home for almost 60 years.
Born just outside Glasgow in July, 1938, Angus was one of four children of George, an accounts clerk, and Jeanie Wilson.
His early life was marked by tragedy, losing his mother and two sisters before he was 17.
One sister died of TB, a disease which almost cost young Angus his own life — he was saved by the newly available drug Streptomycin, but only after spending a year in bed.
One of the first in his family to go to university, only preceded by his elder brother, George, he decided to fly high and go to Glasgow School of Veterinary Medicine and was still a student there when he and his first wife, Freda, got married in 1961.
He and Freda met as teenagers when they were both pupils at Hamilton Academy, but it was actually their love of opera that brought them together after they had left school.
Being a vet permeated many aspects of his family life — from the weird and frankly unmentionable substances that frequently lurked in the household fridge and the fact that by the age of five his children could not only say polymorphonuclear leukocytes but also tell you what they were, to the very reason the family were in Penrith in the first place.
After qualifying he started work in Garstang, Lancashire, then joined the Milk Marketing Board at Thiefside in 1964, eventually becoming their chief veterinary officer for the North of England — although he frequently travelled to see bulls as far as the northernmost reaches of Scotland, all the way down to Wales and further south.
Even after supposedly retiring, he kept up consultancy work until he was into his 70s.
His steely determination that long journeys wouldn’t keep him away from home overnight meant that his stamina for driving was unparalleled.
As they eventually entered young adulthood, it was something of a revelation to younger members of the family that most humans considered it entirely normal to stop the car and get out every couple of hours or so — he did soften his attitudes as he too grew older.
There was also a whole lot less singing in most other people’s cars — his family’s were full of top-volume opera, traditional Scottish numbers and Gilbert and Sullivan patter songs.
Continuing their love of G&S, he and Freda both joined the Penrith Savoyards, and performed in numerous operas.
There was little they loved more back then than singing — singing in the car, singing on stage, singing with friends in the dining room, where the parquet floor, installed by him, meant great acoustics.
It wasn’t just singing, he was also an accomplished amateur actor and his portrayal of Professor Frank Bryant in Educating Rita was highly acclaimed locally.
A stalwart of Penrith Players, it was there that he and his second wife Jenny — a teacher at QEGS — eventually fell in love after his first marriage ended.
Marrying in 1990, they worked together frequently over the years. He also devoted countless evenings to behind-the-scenes jobs such as set-building (he was a DIY genius and expertly installed many a kitchen and bathroom at home) and stage-crew.
Perhaps slightly unusually for a Scot, he had a great love of cricket, and much less unusually, for rugby too. In his younger days he was very involved in the Penrith club at Winters Park, and followed the fortunes of both Scotland and England avidly — all his children knew better than to phone him during the Calcutta Cup!
He never lost sight of his love for Scotland. Of his two favourite holiday destinations, one was a Corfu village where he and Jenny returned over and over again, but the other was the Highlands and Islands, especially his beloved Mull.
However, he was also very much a Cumbrian — his children (Brenda, Keith and Marie) were brought up in Penrith itself, largely in Frenchfield Gardens, and then Lowther Street, but really he was a country man.
Initially he and Jenny lived in Blencow.
Later they had a brief flirtation with living in town, but the bright lights weren’t really for them, so soon headed to Culgaith, where the birds and red squirrels were such perfect subjects for his wildlife photography.
Angus Wilson came here almost 60 years ago, and never left. He took Penrith and the area into his heart and like every other soul round here when he saw the Beacon from the road his spirits — and often his voice — sang because he knew he was nearly home.
After a short illness, he died peacefully in the Cumberland Infirmary, and is survived by his wife, Jenny; children Brenda, Keith and Marie; step-daughters Helen, Catherine and Barbara; six grandchildren and one great-granddaughter.
