Dean's Shortbread leads to a £250,000 bequest to the local Secondary School

A tin of Dean's Shortbread bought in a Canadian supermarket six years ago has led to a £250,000-plus bequest to the Gordon Schools in Huntly.

No one thought the man who bought the commemorative tin of millennium shortbread was a dollar-millionaire - never mind a possible major benefactor.

If the tin of imported Dean's of Huntly shortbread evoked childhood memories for elderly Ronald Ironside of Ottawa, subsequent contact with his old school confirmed the exile's link to his roots and enduring affection for his homeland.

In his letter to the school, Ronald Ironside indicated that he was born in 1919. ‘At the age of eight I was sent for adoption in Canada, where I have spent my life.'

Seeing the biscuit box brought back such wonderful memories that he established contact with his old school. The school promptly sent him a large selection of memorabilia about Huntly and the North East of Scotland and, in return he sent Geographical publications and collections of Canadian photographs which he hoped would be of interest to the school.

Bill and Helen Dean, were also shown the letter and were delighted to learn that their export sales of Dean's shortbread in tins displaying a photograph of The Gordon Schools had sparked such a revival of memories.

“The news of Mr. Ironside's death at the age of 86 in February saddened the school”, said The Gordon Schools rector John Swan in a recent address. But he added: "We were absolutely amazed when a law firm in Ottawa recently contacted the school to say they were executors for Mr. Ironside, who had named the Gordon Schools in his will.

"When we learned the amount involved, I thought it must be some kind of scam,” said Mr. Swan.

Revealing the story behind the awards in his prize giving address, Mr. Swan said the former pupil had left 100,000 Canadian dollars (around £49,000) for the setting up of the achievement in sciences awards.

The residue of his estate amounting to 1million Canadian dollars (around £500,000) will be shared between the school and Manitoba University.

Ironside memorial endowments will be set up at both to provide science bursaries or scholarships in Scotland and the university in Winnipeg and new prizes for achievement in the sciences were awarded to the school's top pupils using Mr. Ironside's legacy.

"It is remarkable that such a small incident as seeing a tin of Dean's shortbread on a supermarket shelf in Canada should have sparked such a significant involvement for the school," said the rector.

As a former pupil of The Gordon Schools, Bill Dean is absolutely delighted that the purchase of a tin of his company's millennium shortbread has led to such a wonderful bequest and that generations of pupils will benefit from Mr. Ironside's love of his homeland.

July 5 2006

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