Logie Bruce Lockhart

Lockhart died in September 2020 at the age of 98 and was buried at St Andrew’s parish church, Holt, Norfolk.

Now We Are Very Old (2012) is a collection of Lockhart’s cautionary verses for the elderly, while Now And Then, This And That (2013) is a reflection on his family history, his experiences in the Second World War, the changes in education during his teaching career, and the changes in society during his lifetime. British Bird Watching for Beginners & Enthusiasts (2018), written for his grandchildren and illustrated with his own watercolours, explored his lifetime passion for ornithology. As a boy, he was taught to paint birds by Talbot Kelly.

Lockhart retired as Headmaster of Gresham's School at the end of the Summer Term of 1982. Interviewing him for The Illustrated London News, Roger Berthoud noted his view that “children should have privacy and a little kingdom of their own” and commented that he would be a hard act to follow.

Lockhart's first book, The Pleasures of Fishing (1981) was about his adventures as a fly fisherman, mostly in England and Scotland. His second book, Stuff and Nonsense, gave the philosophy of a retired headmaster and thoughts on educational topics of the previous half century, the 'Stuff', while a variety of essays on rugby, fly fishing, camping in old age, wind-surfing in France, and so forth provided the 'Nonsense'.

He became Chairman of the Eastern Division of the Headmasters' Conference in the 1970s and broke new ground by inviting the heads of the Girls' Schools Association to attend HMC meetings. In 1977, he argued that five subjects, rather than three, should be taught in sixth forms, and that this could be made possible by universities teaching more inter-disciplinary and creative courses.

From Cambridge, Lockhart followed in a long family tradition by deciding to enter the teaching profession. He became an assistant schoolmaster and rugby union coach at Tonbridge School, and then in 1955, at the age of 33, was appointed as Headmaster of Gresham's School, Holt.

After playing rugby union for Cambridge, Lockhart went on to play for Scotland between 1948 and 1953, mostly at fly half and once at centre. His first and last international games were both against England, on 20 March 1948 and 21 March 1953.

In 1944 Logie Bruce Lockhart married Josephine Agnew, and they had two sons and three daughters. His wife died at Holt in 2009, aged 86. Jennifer Bruce-Lockhart became a teacher of music in Paris. Rhuraidh Bruce-Lockhart is a property developer in Norfolk. Fiona Drye was a Head of English who gained a 'Teacher Trailblazer' award from the Poetry Society for her work in helping children to write poetry. Bede Bruce-Lockhart played rugby union for Scotland B and works in the City. Their sister Kirsty was killed in a car accident in childhood.

Logie Bruce Lockhart (12 October 1921 – 7 September 2020) was a British schoolmaster, writer, and journalist, in his youth a Scottish international rugby union footballer and for most of his teaching career Headmaster of Gresham's School.

Lockhart’s uncle, Sir Robert Bruce Lockhart (1887–1970), was an author and adventurer whose son, Robin Bruce Lockhart, became an author. One nephew was Sandy Bruce-Lockhart, Baron Bruce-Lockhart; another, Kim Bruce-Lockhart, played squash for Scotland. A great-nephew, Dugald, is an actor and director.