The heartbroken brothers of a pioneering Fife-born doctor who died tragically while on a fishing trip on Speyside this week have spoken of the family’s grief.
Dr Bill Richmond (68), originally from Springfield, was wading in the River Spey, near Advie Bridge, during an annual holiday on the Tulchan Estate when he slipped and fell into fast-flowing waters.
It is thought his waders may have filled with water and he was swept away.
A four-hour rescue effort was launched involving police, coastguard, Glenmore Mountain Rescue Team and an RAF Lossiemouth helicopter.
Despite rescuers’ best efforts the body of the retired clinical biochemist was recovered around five miles downstream at Blacksboat.
At the home of Dr Richmond’s elderly parents in Newport-on-Tay on Friday, brother Robert (61) said the family were still coming to terms with the sudden loss.
He said, “It came as a great shock to us all.”
The retired land agent, also of Newport, arrived at the scene of the tragedy shortly after the body of Dr Richmond was pulled from the river.
He said, “The call from the police initially said he was missing.
“I immediately got in the car with my nephew and went straight to the scene. I was shortly joined by my two sons and we intended to help with any search efforts.”
He added, “But by the time we got there a body had already been found and I identified it as my brother.”Friend’s “valiant effort”Mr Richmond said, “We don’t know exactly what happened. He was knee-deep in water which was flowing at about seven knots.
“He was with a colleague who was around 100 yards away and who made a valiant effort to save him.”
A keen fisherman, Dr Richmond had travelled to Scotland from his London home to visit family and friends.
As part of this yearly holiday he and a group of close friends would spend time fishing on the river, and he knew the area well.
The shock of Dr Richmond’s death has left his parents, Bill (90) and Hilda (88), distraught.
Dr Richmond invented a test for blood cholesterol which has saved hundreds of thousands of lives worldwide a legacy which Mr Richmond said he is hugely proud of.
He said, “He was a very modest man despite his achievements. The test he developed was named the Richmond Process.
“He was an accomplished piper, he composed pipe music and was a member of the Scottish Piping Society and wrote medical textbooks. Bill was just a decent, upstanding man. It is such a huge loss to all of us.””Passion” for anglingBrother Iain (63), a Broughty Ferry dentist, also paid tribute to Dr Richmond.
He said, “Bill was quite an all-rounder but angling was his passion, along with composing tunes for the pipes, but he was quite a well known and respected scientist in his own right.
“He had won quite prestigious prizes for his work in cholesterol and also in the diabetic range of treatments.
“In St Mary’s Hospital in London they have a lecture theatre named in his honour in recognition of his work on heart disease and cholesterol.”
He added, “Bill was fishing with some colleagues and friends on the beat he had been fishing for 25 years. It had been his favourite spot for all that time.
“No-one actually saw him go into the water but one of his companions just saw him floating down the river in a strong current of nine to 10 knots.”
Mr Richmond said, “He was obviously trying to save himself but they couldn’t get to him for the trees on the bank.
“We really don’t know how he came to be in the water but he could have fallen or slipped.”Rescuers “magnificent”He added, “The police and the rescue services were magnificent. There couldn’t have been a better response.
“His passing is shocking for us. But we are extremely proud of him and of our great lifetime together.
“We were brothers to the core and friends as well.”
Mr Richmond said, “It gives us great comfort that, while he may be gone, his spirit, personality and research live on.
“We are privileged to have had him as a brother and thank God that we knew him as a man.”
Although retired, Dr Richmond kept up his lecturing work part-time and was a visiting fellow at a number of London colleges and universities.
He was educated at Bell Baxter High School, Cupar, and St Andrews University.
Dr Richmond ran the department of chemical pathology at St Mary’s Hospital until he retired in 2006.
His wife Joan died nine years ago, aged 53. The couple had no children.