ESRA members to attend memorial service for 'extraordinarily generous' philanthropist Lord Cadogan who supported good causes in Sutherland over many years
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Representatives from organisations in Sutherland are expected to travel to London to attend a memorial service for Charles Cadogan, 8th Earl Cadogan.
Three members of East Sutherland Rescue Association (ESRA) in full uniform will be at the service in St Luke’s & Christ Church, Chelsea, on Tuesday, November 28. This will be followed by a reception at the Saatchi Gallery.
Lord Cadogan, who died on June 11, aged 86, was a great benefactor to Sutherland, his good works extending over many years. A modest man, he did not seek publicity and his generosity has largely gone unsung and unrecognised.
ESRA was his favourite charity and it is largely down to his munificence that the independent voluntary organisation was able to build its new lifeboat station at Dornoch beach. Lord Cadogan contributed more than £400,000 towards the spacious new building.
ESRA was so grateful that they named the building the Cadogan Lifeboat Station in his honour and invited him to the opening on August 15, 2022.
ESRA chairman Neil Dalton paid tribute to Lord Cadogan’s generosity at the event and also later at another ceremony at the lifeboat station to name the organisation’s new boat.
Lord Cadogan, who used to receive a copy of the Northern Times every week and said it was the only paper he liked to see his photogaph in, was also a patron of the Lawson Memorial Hospital at Golspie. It was thanks to him that a palliative care room was established at the hospital. He also provided funding for the Cadogan Terrace at the Cambusavie Unit. Patients could be wheeled out to the terrace to enjoy some fresh air.
He had a strong Christian faith and donated funds for the refurbishment of the Scottish Episcopal Church in Brora, which he liked to call the “Tin Tabernacle”.
Lord Cadogan owned the north bank of the Lower River Brora and had a house in the village.
Without pretension, he would always say “Call me Charles” to people who wondered how to address him.
A Sutherland resident who knew him well, said: “He was a very funny, kind, extremely generous man who didn’t miss very much and acted on small kindnesses too. He never forgot a name, a place or a face. His personal kindnesses and gifts are many and I’m sure will benefit people here for many years to come.”
Sutherland MP Jamie Stone said: “I met Lord Cadogan on a number of occasions during my time as an MSP and MP. I was really impressed by his lively interest in the goings on in East Sutherland and seemed to have a real passion for the area.
“But more than that I was aware of his extraordinarily generous and genuine commitment to a part of the world which is economically fragile and in need of funds.
“I was very sorry to hear of his death and wish his family well.”
A history of his life can found on the Cadogan Estate website. (www.cadogan.co.uk/remembering-the-life-of-the-earl-cadogan/).
Educated at Ludgrove and then Eton, the family lived at Snaigow in Perthshire during his childhood, where he developed a lifelong love of the natural environment and enthusiasm for country sports which he enjoyed throughout his life.
National Service followed school and he was a Second Lieutenant in the First Battalion of the Coldstream Guards, serving in Germany. On leaving the Army, he went into the City where he worked for Schroders for 16 years.
He joined the family business, the Cadogan Estate, in 1974 and took control of its management when his father retired in 1979.
Lord Cadogan is said to have been “loyal to a fault” and a sentimental man who would quietly shed a tear during moving events such as the party his team at the estate held for his retirement as chairman.
The article on his life reads: “He disliked extravagance and took great pleasure in giving away money both personally and through the Cadogan family, which he did discreetly and with great enthusiasm throughout his life. He supported many local charities as well as many national causes.
“Despite his desire for discretion, in 2012 he was recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours and awarded with the Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire for his philanthropy.”
He is survived by his wife Dorothy, whom he married in 1994, and by his three children Anna-Karina, Edward and William from his first marriage in 1963 to Lady Philippa Wallop, who died in 1984.
