Iain Copland, who died in January aged 87, joined the Business Education department at Heriot’s in September 1982 and retired in 1999. Iain was a clever, witty man; at my very first staff meeting the then Headmaster, Keith Pearson, announced that the staff was to become smoke-free; Ian’s response was a noisy lighting of his pipe!

Colleagues in the department recall Iain as a colleague who enjoyed teaching the variety of courses in the department, in particular the real life examples that he could incorporate into his lessons. He was always willing to be an early adopter of new courses such as Management and Information Studies, later called Business Management. He relished challenging questions from the pupils – the tougher the better!

Having served in the Armed Forces, Iain found a natural niche in the Combined Cadet Force, commencing as an Army Section Officer, and serving as the Contingent Commander from 1990 until his retirement, attending annual camps regularly at Wathgill and Cultybraggan, and the Bisley shooting competition.

Iain was a reflective, intelligent, knowledgeable man, once a contestant on ‘Mastermind’. He cultivated an air of detached indifference, which as Neil Grant pointed out in The Herioter on Iain’s retirement, fooled no one. The truth is he was a kind, thoughtful colleague with the driest of humours, who lived a full and useful life.

CDW