Geoff Shaw

Geoffrey Mackintosh Shaw (9 April 1927 – 28 April 1978) was a Church of Scotland minister who had an unconventional ministry outside the normal parish structures and became the first Convener of Strathclyde Regional Council. He was widely expected to become the first leader of a proposed devolved Scottish Executive, but died before the Scotland Act 1978 had achieved implementation.

Family and education Coming from a wealthy Edinburgh family, he was educated at Edinburgh Academy. He left with the intention of studying law at university with the aim of becoming a lawyer. He was called up for National Service in the Royal Navy, during which he felt a calling to become a minister.

On his return he studied arts and divinity at Edinburgh University, graduating MA in 1950. As part of his theological studies, he went to Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York.

Ordained ministry Whilst in New York Shaw had experienced work with people from the poorest parts of that city, particularly East Harlem. But, as Ferguson argues, Shaw was a party loyalist to his bones, and once support for Home Rule was accepted as Labour policy he became reconciled to the idea, reasoning that a devolved government in Edinburgh would not necessarily pose a threat to the existence of regional councils as he had originally feared. However, Shaw died before the Scotland Act had been implemented, and its provisions never came into force. Twenty years later the Scotland Act 1998 eventually created a new Scottish Parliament, which first sat in 1999.

Death and legacy Overwork and smoking eventually led to a heart attack, and although he recovered initially, he suffered a relapse and died on 28 April 1978 at the age of 51. He was survived by his wife Sarah, whom he had married only a few years earlier. His funeral was an elaborate ceremony in Glasgow Cathedral, which (despite the failure of the Scotland Act 1978) has been likened to a formal state funeral for a state premier.

Scotrail’s Class 318 250 carries a plaque internally to Shaw’s memory.