Margaret Paterson Archer: an appreciation

Margaret Paterson Archer (1916-2012) passed away peacefully at the age of 95. She was a retired partner of Moncreiff Warren Paterson & Co, which merged in 1985 with McGrigors, now merged in turn with Pinsent Masons.

She was one of the first, if not the first, female partner of a law firm in Scotland in 1958. Her father, Paul Archer was a wholesale tobacconist in Parliamentary Road, Glasgow and an elder of the Barony Church of Scotland. Margaret attended Hutchesons’ Grammar School until 1934 and went on to the University of Glasgow, graduating MA in 1937 and LLB in 1940. She attained the rank of captain during World War II in India, and was a member of the Special Forces (FANY) in the early 1950s. She was also a member of the Soroptomists, FOGGLA, and the Alumni associations of Hutchesons and the University of Glasgow.

Margaret never married but was a devoted and much loved aunt and godmother. She loved travel, daily yoga exercises, recycling all things, and was a stickler for detail. She skied, played golf and drove brightly coloured cars – a turquoise mini in the 1960s, a purple Morris Marina in the 1970s, a bright green VW Golf and then a red one until she stopped driving in her 80s.

She retired in 1985 and then started a business venture which kept her very busy for many years until her health declined five years ago, when she moved to residential care. She died on 23 July 2012, a lady ahead of her time in so many ways.