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Clive, who has very generously loaned two of his vessels, Marigot and Lady Lex, to Taymara, was born on 5th April 1930 at Newcastle. He refuses to admit this and refers all enquirers to his obituary in due course. Clive has an interesting background and a rather tenuous, link with Dundee from over 100 years ago.
Clive’s father was William McKeag, who lived in Whickham, Gateshead, at the corner of Millfield and Cornmoor Roads. He was a Solicitor, a Member of Parliament for Durham City and became Chairman of Newcastle United Football Club. He was an Alderman and twice Lord Mayor of Newcastle upon Tyne. He was a well-known figure in the district. He was a personal friend of Sir Winston Churchill who had served as a Liberal MP for Dundee from 1908 to 1922. During the Cod Wars in the 1950s and 1970s William McKeag was appointed as Icelandic Consul for the North East of England. During this period he practiced as a solicitor in Newcastle-upon-Tyne and later established McKeags Solicitors, 1-3 Lansdowne Terrace Gosforth Newcastle NE3 1HN. He eventually passed control of the Firm to his sons Gordon and Clive.
Gordon attended both Durham and Cambridge universities and followed in his father's footsteps to become a solicitor and latterly the Icelandic Consul to continue his father’s work. He was first appointed to the Board of Newcastle United in November 1972 on the death of his father. In June 1988 he took on the top job as Chairman at the club. He led the club through a difficult period when it was demoted to the old Division 2. During that time he fought off takeover bids from Sir John Hall. He stepped down from the post in December 1990 after a club share issue failed to gain support. He continued to be involved in a number of high profile organisations. He was President of the Football League, Chairman of the FA Challenge Cup Committee, Director of the Football Association and Director of the Football League and Professional Footballer’s Association Administration. He was also President of the Jesmond Lawn Tennis Club where he was a member for more than 30 years.
Adroitly avoiding the Second World War, Clive aspired to a career in the Army and in 1947 he joined the Light Infantry Training Corps at Borden, Hampshire. Within three months he was promoted to L/Cpl and within his 3 years service he was elevated to the Commissioned rank of Major in the Durham Light Infantry (albeit only for his last two weeks and only then within the guardrails of a troop ship because all the other officers were ashore!) Having served in Germany and latterly with the newly formed Royal Marine Commandos, Clive concluded he’d done his bit and reverted to civilian life where he went on to represent Cambridge University at Boxing whilst completing his Law Degree there in the early 1950s.
As a practising Lawyer Clive was a Conservative Councillor and Alderman of the City of Newcastle-upon-Tyne between May 1967 and March 1974. He served 2 periods as Alderman and also 2 periods as Under Sheriff of the City of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Both posts were abolished soon afterwards; yet Clive is strangely anxious to assure us that he was not responsible for the demise of these ancient and honourable appointments. However, he was responsible during the 1970s for attracting Princess Margaret and World Heavyweight Boxing Champion, Mohammed Ali to the City and amassed donations to the Boys Clubs charity raising almost £1 million over 3 years. Clive has represented the RSPCA for 42 years, still conducts Court prosecutions against those charged with cruelty to animals and was recently presented with an RSPCA national award in recognition of his commendable service. After 20 years voluntary service with the MacMillan Cancer Support, Clive remains their North East Regional Chairman and serves on the National Council. Clive was recently appointed as a Commander of the Sovereign Order of Lazarus of Jerusalem in recognition of his services to charitable causes. Clive, who remains anxious, wishes it to be known that this Order has no connection with Freemasonry.
In 2005, during a chance encounter with a Taymara member, Clive learned of the work being done by Taymara in Dundee and immediately identified the potential for putting his vessel, Marigot, to use by introducing the challenge and satisfaction of seamanship to excluded members of the community and in particular those committed to improving their lives by breaking away from the debilitating shackles of unemployment, mental health issues, homelessness and drug and/or alcohol addiction. Accordingly Marigot has been in Dundee since 2006 and is operated by the Taymara charity to give effect to Clive’s vision. Lady Lex arrived during the summer of 2010, sailed up from the Mediterranean by a crew which included Taymara members and she is now a stunning addition to Taymara’s fleet with a truly iconic presence in Dundee’s Victoria Dock where she is currently berthed
All those who deliver voluntary service to Taymara and the people whose lives are inspired and improved by association, are sincerely grateful to Clive and wish him continued good health.
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Images and web design are protected by copyright - Ken Bushe, webmaster (e-mail)
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Taymara is a charity run entirely by volunteers on a not for profit basis for the benefit of the local community.
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We aim to provide a community boat service and maritime experience through sightseeing and dolphin watching trips which allow great opportunities to see the river and its wildlife as it should be seen - from the water!
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Thanks to all our sponsors and all those who have supported us -
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Mr Clive McKeag, The DC Thomson Charitable Trust, The St. Katherines Trust, The Mathew Trust, The Tay Charitable Trust, The Alexander Moncur Trust, The Robertson Trust, Forth Ports and the Port of Dundee, The Apex Hotel, Dundee City Council, David Winch and Gareth Norman of Secureforce Controlled Environments
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Images and web design are protected by copyright - Ken Bushe, webmaster (e-mail)
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