Mr Iain A. MacLauchlan (1976)

Provided by Mrs Jill MacLauchlan

lain Alexander MacLauchlan, C.Eng. BSc. MBA

Iain was born on 24 December 1953 to John Milne MacLauchlan and Catherine MacLauchlan (nee Learmonth). His mother often told the tale of the chaos he caused by arriving that day as he had been due early in January. However whilst she was reaching up to put decorations on the tree Iain decided it was time to join in with the celebrations and he was born at The Barratt Maternity Home, Northampton. At some stage John went to visit with James in the car, the handbrake was released and the car rolled down the car park into the bushes. No great harm was done but this was never forgotten and Iain reminded everyone of how hard it was to have his birthday on Christmas Eve, consequently friends and family made a big effort to remember each year and everyone made a big fuss of him!

The family lived in Milton Malsor and James recalls that they had a typical country upbringing enjoying village life and having the freedom to play in the village making dens and exploring. This is presumably where Iain got his love of nature and outdoors from. Iain and James attended the local village school and life was good. Tragedy struck in April 1961 when John died suddenly. lain was 7 years old and although he never told me a lot about that time in his life he did tell me that he forgot how to read and write and needed extra help.

It was obviously a difficult time for Catherine and Iain told me that the family were well supported and that right up until he was at University he had family members and friends who took him out for meals and acted as a father figure. In 1964 the family moved to a house in Ridgeway, Northampton. Catherine considered this an ideal location and it meant that Iain could attend Northampton Boys Grammar School. James remembers that Iain played rugby for the school and joined in with a lot of adventurous boy's activities. He also learnt to play the cello and had a great singing voice. James recalls how the three of them pulled together to run the house and garden. Iain told me that it was during that time he developed his love of cooking because on returning from school he would start the evening meal before his Mother came home from work.

Following his A levels Iain attended Imperial College London, The Royal School of Mines and during his time there he worked in County Durham at a Fluorspar Mine in Weardale and he also went to South Africa and worked in the Goldmines at Welkome. He made the most of both experiences and we have got photographs showing us what he saw during his travels.

Iain loved London life and he made some good friends during those years. It seems that studying was often not his first priority and Iain often recalled tales of the fun he had as a student in London. Although he wasn't particularly good at keeping in touch with friends from the past, whenever he met up with them again it was as if they had never been apart. He was very proud of those friendships and as our responsibilities decreased he was looking forward to spending more time with old friends.

In 1977 Iain graduated and was accepted onto The National Coal Board training scheme. He moved to Ashby-de-la-Zouch and rented a room in Cliftonthorpe Farm, the main thing he seemed to remember about those days was that in the winter it was so cold even the toilet froze over! Again he met friends that he was very fond of and when one of those friends bought a house in Clifton Drive Iain moved in and they all continued to live a student type life in a lovely new house. A favourite place in Ashby at that time was The White Hart and he had a big circle of drinking friends he enjoyed spending time with and listening to music by the much admired Bruce Springsteen.

In July 1978 lain was invited over to Syston Rugby Club for a 21st Birthday party. A friend of mine was working at The Royal Hotel and had got to know Iain and his crowd and had offered a general invitation to all those in The White Hart. It was at that party that lain and I met, he invited me to dance to 'You're the One That I Want' from Grease and one of the first places in Ashby that he took me to was The Royal Hotel.

Iain bought a house in Station Mews, got his first cat, Becky, and in October 1980 we were married at St Michaels and All Angels Church in Thurmaston. Iain worked shifts and I was an ambitious young teacher so we led independent lives but also had a lot of fun together. We had great holidays with friends and visited different parts of the country to welcome in the New Year. I have a lot of happy memories of these times and Iain loved cooking and entertaining our wide circle of friends. We moved to a house on Nottingham Road and then to Willesley Close where we spent a lot of time decorating and improving the house. We also had a lot of help from local miners who always seemed willing to help Iain with home improvements.

By the time Lucy Jane was born in January 1988 and Kate Alexandra in May 1990 it was clear that mining was not going to provide Iain with a job for life. Iain had moved to a variety of pits ending up at Daw Mill Colliery. He had started to study for an MBA with the Open University and when he left British Coal Corporation he took time to complete his studies ready to launch himself into a new career. I was always proud of Iain for these later academic achievements. I was also studying and still teaching so we took it in turns to take the girls out for long walks to give each other time to study and we were well supported by family and friends.

Having achieved the MBA lain launched himself into a new career and had a variety of jobs that eventually led him to set up his own Consultancy and he worked as a contractor at Alstom in Birmingham on the Pendolino project. This eventually led to a permanent job in London with Railtrack, then a post with Network Rail and his most recent job as a Research Manager with Rail Safety and Standards Board. He particularly enjoyed this final post and enjoyed the London life.

Whilst building up this new career, family life was very busy. His mother had a stroke and for a number of years James and Iain shared the responsibility of regular visits to Northampton. Eventually Catherine was forced to move into a Nursing Home in Northampton and Iain found visits to see her very painful. He was a totally devoted son and took time to get over the death of his mother in March 2005.

Iain spent 4 days each week travelling to London from Nuneaton Station and he had made some great friends to travel with so the journey, like everything in his life became fun! He talked fondly of the people in the office and he considered that living in Ashby and having the buzz of London four days a week was the best of both worlds. He was looking forward to the time Lucy will spend in London later this year and supported her in the dreams she has of life in London when she graduates.

Back in Ashby Kate takes after Iain for her love and passion for animals. During the Autumn 2007 he supported her dream of owning a horse and was so proud of her care for the kittens she has been rescuing. In November 2007 despite my protests he allowed Kate to keep Mad Max and over the last few weeks of his life he would walk round the house with Max draped round his shoulders! He loved Abby the horse and was enjoying supporting Kate with the mucking out a couple of days a week.

Iain had so much to live for and so much to do but he had also done and achieved so much. Three years ago, rather than investing it he decided to spend some money on very exciting and extravagant holidays with the girls, whilst they still wanted to come with us. Those trips are now providing us with such important memories and being together as a family gave Iain such pleasure. He had his dream vehicle, started to go on trips with friends to follow the Rugby, enjoyed regular fishing trips with James and friends, treated himself to a lot of new fishing equipment and visited Lucy in Falmouth, fish ing and taking her out for expensive meals! He spent money on the house and within reason the three of us could have had anything we wanted. Enjoying that money was the best decision you ever made Iain!

Iain lived life to the full. He loved his family, his friends, his house and garden, his car, rugby, fishing and of course good food and drink. He made the most of every opportunity and worked hard to provide the best for 'his girls'. We are all enormously proud of his achievements and the fact that so many people have recognised his qualities as a loving and caring husband, a devoted Daddy and a kind, generous person - a true gentleman.