RECOLLECTIONS OF CHARLES’ CAREER AS SECRETARY RFACFS Margaret and I are deeply saddened to hear of Charles’ death and offer our sincere condolences to Coral and to her family. In 1976 Charles arrived as a stranger to Edinburgh from Otley in Yorkshire to be joined in December by Coral and their three young children. It was a low-key start to a remarkable professional journey that was to follow. Charles was appointed Secretary to the Royal Fine Art Commission for Scotland in September 1976 to become its seventh and last Secretary and, at his retirement in 2005, the longest serving. This was a post he grew into as his passion for places developed. He was good at making connections. In those early days Charles had no technical assistance, leading to occasional contact between the Commission and the Scottish Development Department Urban Design Group, where I worked with the late John Fullarton. My recollection is that around 1978 Adam Zyw was engaged to help Charles prepare material for commissioners, an initiative that led to successors including Marilyn Higgins, Terry Levinthal and others. Inevitably with in-house help, external professional support became less regular, but these were formative years and we remained in social contact for the rest of our working lives and in retirement. Established in 1927, the Commission’s independence as a public body placed it in the direct line of fire as a critical last resort for appraising controversial capital projects, mostly but not always buildings. Some of this work was confrontational and, like the Skye Bridge, very much in the public eye. Tam Dalyell once described the Commission ‘as an effective watchdog against undesirable development’. It could ruffle feathers. Charles served under five distinguished chairmen who understood the nature of this role. As Secretary, Charles was at the sharp end of first reconciling commissioners’ views and then conveying often difficult messages to company chairmen, developers, planners, civil servants, ministers and others in positions of some influence. Out of seventeen official reports published over the 78 year life of the Commission, ten were published during Charles’ time as Secretary. The Commission was replaced in 2005 by a less independent Architecture + Design Scotland. At work Charles was calm, thoughtful and master of the well constructed letter. From the start he was cheerfully positive and hard-working in what must have been often trying circumstances, keeping the show on the road with gentlemanly charm, good humour and a great deal of diplomacy. Like his namesake Lord ‘Willie’ Prosser, (Chairman 1990-95); Charles saw the role of the Commission as that of a constructive improver of design quality for the longer term benefit of Scotland, which he loved. Charles was doggedly determined in his promotion of the Commission and its chairs and he worked tirelessly to raise their profile. He spoke out. His contribution as a passionate champion of place was acknowledged in 1997 by The Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland when Charles was nominated Honorary Fellow. This should not be understated. It is an honour, in their words,‘only accorded to those who have made a very significant contribution to Scotland's cultural, academic, business or political life and to international figures whose direct or indirect contribution to world architecture is recognised through the invitation to join this very select group’. The Royal Town Planning Institute followed by making Charles an Honorary Member in 2002. Annual Exhibitions became something of an innovation of Charles’ tenure. They were always engaging and drew the work of the Commission to the attention of a wider public in a way that published casework reports simply could not do. His persistent, steady work and that of the commissioners over many years has left a lasting legacy in Scotland of a higher quality built environment than might have been. We take all this for granted. More personally, he never lost his sense of fun or ability to surprise. We recall a windy afternoon in the Summer of 1987 when Charles took the Robinson family and others out to Arthurs’ Seat to fly a giant kite, twice his height, that he had made himself. It flew well, to everyone’s delight. We are grateful for the happy memories we shared. We remember Charles as sincere, with an enquiring nature who enjoyed the quirky curiosities of life. He made our lives richer too, just as his energy benefitted the Commission he represented so well for so long. We all miss him.