Major Timothy Connell of Auchtermuchty has died. He was 75.
Born in Hertfordshire, Major Connell was educated at Orwell Park Preparatory School in Suffolk and attended Eton College before training at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.
He left Sandhurst as an officer and joined the Royal Dragoons. When the regiment amalgamated with the Blues in 1969, he joined the Royal Army Pay Corps and went on to be a paymaster for the Gurkhas in Nepal.
He also served in Malaya and Kenya.
Outside the army, Major Connell nurtured a passion for Highland ponies he had picked up while visiting farming relatives on Mull.
It was his interest in ponies which brought him together with his wife Jean, who is president of the Highland Pony Society. The couple met in 1990 through the Central Scotland Highland Pony Club and were married. two years later.
They set up home with their horses and dogs at Pitmenzie Farm, Auchtermuchty. Over the years he took pride in showing Highland ponies and standard schnauzers.
Until last year, he was still horse riding. A keen gardener, Major Connell ran a gardening maintenance business. He is survived by wife Jean, children David and Sue and granddaughter Faith.