It was with a great sense of loss that we learned of the death of our friend Bill Tulloch on 3rd July.
Both as competitor and marshal, Bill was a stalwart of the Scottish Islands Peaks Race for almost three decades mostly marshalling in Oban and Mull after he stopped racing and latterly being one of the friendly faces greeting finishers at Troon as well as an active member of the race committee with his equally stalwart wife Mary who has our condolences.
An absolute trooper Bill often spent all night driving up and down the route between Salen and Loch Ba on Mull reassuring, recording and sometimes rescuing runners. Bill even rescued one of the youth teams from “werewolves”!
As well as being a runner Bill was a crew member of Kinghorn Lifeboat and later of the Kinghorn Coastguard Rescue Team. He served on the lifeboat crew for a number of years before taking on the challenges of the Coastguard. He eventually became Kinghorn Coastguard’s Station Officer, leading the team and playing a key part in sea safety and emergency response in the Firth of Forth.
Following his retirement from the Coastguard, Bill became Chairman of Kinghorn Lifeboat Branch where he led the station and represented them in the local community. Only four weeks ago Bill accepted an award on behalf of the Station at a Civic Reception, hosted by Fife Council, where Kinghorn Lifeboat was recognised for its first 50 years of service.
His wealth of experience and practical nature was invaluable to SIPR in so many ways. Those of you who haven’t been involved in the Scottish Islands Peaks Race might recognise and remember Bill through his long time involvement with the Black Rock 5 race.
The RNLI have described Bill’s passing as a substantial loss to the Station, and the wider community, in which he played such a huge role. We are part of that wider community and Carnethy owe a huge debt to a man who put himself out there to ensure you could enjoy your activities and complete them safely.
Bill will be missed but remembered.