It is with great sadness that we report that Dr Walter Yellowlees, who initiated the formation of the McCarrison Society in 1960, becoming its first president, and who, since the establishment of the Scottish Group in 1981, has been its chairman or a leading committee member, has died on 26 May, at the age of 97.

At the start in 1948 of more than 30 years as a high respected and much loved rural GP in Aberfeldy, Perthshire, Watty, as he is affectionately known, was profoundly influenced by the research of Sir Robert McCarrison, whose findings pointed clearly to sound nutrition being the crucial factor which determines good health and prevents the development of degenerative diseases. Throughout both his professional and personal life, he embraced and actively promoted McCarrison’s principles and also highlighted the potential hazards to our health of using chemicals in fertilisers, food or water, notably as a prominent campaigner against fluoridation.

Watty when still a GP

Watty speaking at his 90th birthday lunch

The Food Programme in 2007.