Ex-Inverness Royal Academy teacher and Scout leader remembered as great youth mentor and servant of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society (RSGS), Inverness Cathedral and the United Diocese of Moray, Ross and Caithness
A schoolteacher and dedicated youth mentor described as “a Scout to the bottom of his soul” has died at home in Inverness.
Robert Preece, Inverness Royal Academy’s former principal teacher of geography, spent much of his adult life pouring energy into helping young people make their own lives better.
Through an unwavering, lifelong commitment to the Scouts, he became the movement’s area commissioner for Inverness, renowned for promoting inclusivity and catalyst for an endless variety of events and outdoor adventures.
Robert also left a lasting legacy as the Inverness District Scouts’ archivist, while building similarly extensive historic annals for the IRA and Inverness Cathedral, where he was a choir member.
He also served with distinction within organisations including the Royal Scottish Geographical Society (RSGS), where he was local chairman, and the Association for Media Education in Scotland (AMES), where he was treasurer.
Along the way, Robert channelled his knowledge and passion for both scouting and education into two books, ‘Scouting Around Inverness 1907-2007’ and an official school history ‘Song School, Town School, Comprehensive: a History of Inverness Royal Academy’.
Calum Munro, a fellow scout leader and good friend of Robert’s, recalled: “I first met Robert through the Scouts in 1977. If I could characterise him, I would say he was a Scout to the bottom of his soul. That was how he lived his life, by the tenets of scouting.
“At Kingsmills, he ran an incredibly active troop, always seeking opportunities for young people.
“As a young leader, working with him, it was a very invigorating atmosphere. Robert would support you in an idea and run with it, so long as it met the scouting ideals.
“He was a great one for sharing activities with other groups and was always there for people. He took that further when he became the area commissioner.
“Like all good people, he did so much for others, very much below the radar.
“That was Robert - a good man who did good things, quietly.”
Born and educated in Edinburgh, Robert went to George Heriot’s school and then to Edinburgh University, graduating with honours in geography.
He gained employment at the old IRA at Midmills from August 1965, becoming principal teacher in August 1972 before moving with the school to the new Culduthel campus.
By 1990, he had qualified to also teach media studies which he introduced at the school.
Long after his retirement in 2003, the school archive remains an invaluable historical source and which he took great pride in keeping up to date.
Robert, of Heatherley Crescent in Inverness, passed away peacefully at home on January 6 aged 81.
He leaves behind wife Cynthia, who he met at Inverness Cathedral and married 1971, son Andrew and daughter Heather.
Heather, who is a mathematics teacher at the IRA, recalled: “Dad always liked working with and helping young people and really enjoyed getting them out and about in the great outdoors.
“It was very important to him that everyone was able to take part, so he would often apply to hardship funds and other sources to make sure nobody was left out.
“A bit of his passion must have rubbed off on me as I’ve been a Scout leader for nearly 25 years now.
“One of his big qualities was promoting inclusiveness and, as area commissioner and more recently as ADC Scouts for a huge area, always made great efforts to ensure outlying places were very much a part of things.
“In school, he would take responsibility for teaching activities like first aid training for the Duke of Edinburgh Award.
“During my childhood he took over the running and maintenance of the IRA outdoor centre in Fort Augustus and used it for geography fieldwork trips, along with Scout weekend indoor camps.
“We spent many happy days there growing up while he mended and painted things.
“It was a huge part of his life.”
Dr Mike Robinson OBE, chief executive of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society, said: “We were very sorry to hear of the death of Robert Preece, a highly valued volunteer and enthusiast for all things RSGS.
“Drawing on his long-standing passion for geography, Robert had been a member of RSGS for 62 years and for the past decade was chairman of our local group in Inverness.
“He was a representative on our national groups committee, but was mostly engaged in hosting our regular public talks in Inverness, where we have had an active local group since the 1980s.
“These talks were mostly held between October and March, and included all sorts of explorers, scientists, adventurers and journalists.
“He loved meeting speakers like Doug Allan, Sir David Hempleman Adams and Karen Darke amongst many others, and was always proud to talk to them about the best of Inverness, including his beloved Royal Academy.”
A spokeswoman for the United Diocese of Moray, Ross and Caithness said: “Robert worked meticulously to document and protect the Diocesan archives over the years.
“Robert also looked after the cathedral archive, was a member of the cathedral congregation and sang with the choir.
“Our prayers are with his family and all those who knew him at this time.”
A statement from the 2nd Inverness Scout Group read: “A great many former scouts at Kingsmills over the last 50-plus years will have their own memories of Robert through the countless opportunities his leadership provided for Scouts at Kingsmills and beyond.”
His funeral service will be held at 11.45am at Inverness Cathedral, and 1pm at Inverness Crematorium on Friday, January 31.
