Strachan David McDonald (1956-62) died peacefully on 8th May 2025 aged 81 having had a brain haemorrhage some years ago and later suffering a stroke. He left a wife Ailsa, two daughters, four grandchildren and a beloved brother Garth (1959-63).  A private family cremation has taken place. It will be followed by a celebration of Strachan’s life at a later date.

The McDonald brothers grew up in Shiplake close to the Thames. Here Strachan first took to the river in the family’s fine Edwardian river boat and taught himself to scull. Rowing remained very much part of his life for years to come. At the NCP he was a member of the 1st VIII in 1960 and 1961. In 1961, as Captain of Boats and rowing at Stroke, he led a strong crew which reached the semi-finals in the Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup at Henley.

In 1962 Strachan and Garth, aged 19 and 16 at the time, achieved local and national prominence when they rescued a man and a woman from drowning in the Thames. Happening to be nearby on the water in the family launch, Strachan dived in and brought the unconscious woman into the boat with Garth’s help. The man’s life was saved the same way.

A member of Hesperus Division, Strachan became a Cadet Captain in Winter term 1961 and was a member of Form VI Science. He remained at the NCP to the end of 1962 to gain entry to Cambridge University and Jesus College in order to study Engineering. It was while an undergraduate at Cambridge that he achieved what he considered his greatest feat in rowing by winning the prestigious Fairburn Pairs with a friend against two older and much heavier American post-graduate students. He also rowed in the Jesus College 1st VIII for three years, reaching the final of the Ladies Challenge Plate at Henley each year but never being in the winning crew. He was duly elected a member of Leander Club.

Following Cambridge, Strachan spent nine months design engineering a motorway in Libya and six months working on a drains project in King’s Lynn. The experiences convinced him that engineering was not the career for him. Instead, he joined the Stock Exchange as an analyst researching engineering shares. Later he worked for First National Bank of Chicago in Chicago, where he also learned to fly and went solo in gliders, and then back in the UK as part of the investment team at British Steel.

In 1968 he moved in with another NCP rowing alumni Shaun Maynard (60-64) who was renting a large flat in London at Emperor’s Gate (EG), South Kensington. The pair became lifelong friends. “Our landlords were long-suffering and our parties at EG were legendary fuelled by copious amounts of beer brewed on the premises,” Shaun recalls. Maynard left London in 1973 to travel by Land Rover to South Africa, but the pair and their families remained close for the rest of Strachan’s life.

For most of the 1970s Strachan worked with niche investors helping them to find and invest in small businesses on the London stock market. When telecoms in the UK began to be deregulated in the 1980s, he spotted an opportunity, set up a computer system at home and ran his own telecoms company successfully for the next two decades.

In his spare time Strachan was a great explorer of the Scottish and English canals, building his own shallow-draft catamaran powered by a quiet and reliable 4-stroke outboard motor. The boat could be trailered easily to all points of the UK and was regularly upgraded with all kinds of electronic equipment and gadgetry at home in Balham, southwest London during the winter. He was also a senior Freemason, and eventually became very involved in politics, joining UKIP and being strongly in favour of Brexit.

Summing up Strachan’s life, Shaun Maynard writes: “He was blessed with an excellent brain, played the piano beautifully and was an outstanding oarsman and excellent administrator.” Adds brother Garth: “He had an amazing memory, a wonderful sense of humour, and great love for his family. I was so lucky to be his brother.”