Dr Simon Peter Carruthers of Holmains, Chief of Clan Carruthers was confirmed in August 2019 by the Lord Lyon King of Arms, through the right to bear the hereditary Chiefly Arms of CARRUTHERS.
In a decision issued on 19th August 2019, and published on 9th September 2019, the Lord Lyon found Dr Carruthers “entitled to be recognised in the name, style and title of:
’Simon Peter Carruthers of Holmains, Chief of the Name and Arms of Carruthers’
and maintained, ratified and confirmed the undifferenced Chiefly Arms of Carruthers of Holmains originally matriculated after the Lyons Act, c. 1672”.
(The Lord Lyon’s Decision can be found here in full)
This decision followed 10 years of research by the Society, nearly 20 months of analysis of the petitioners proofs by the Lord Lyon and included two hearings of the Lyon Court in Edinburgh. The hearings were held on March 2019, at which Dr Carruthers was represented by Sir Crispin Agnew of Lochnaw, Bt, QC. Based on the Lord Lyons decision, on 16 November 2019, supporters were granted to the Chiefs Arms by the Lord Lyon.
Official Carruthers Clan/ Family Tartan : Registered with the Scottish Register of Tartans (STR 11700).
CLAN CHIEF
Dr Peter Carruthers of Holmains
Chief of the Name and Arms of Carruthers, 22nd of the line
Dr Simon Peter Carruthers of Holmains, Chief of Carruthers (right)
Who is our Chief?
The Chief’s grandfather was Col. Nigel L Carruthers, 2x great grandson of John the 12th, last chief of Carruthers before it became dormant. Nigel served as an officer in the British Army in India and his great uncle, Nigel’s brother, was the world-renowned explorer, Alexander Douglas Carruthers.
Peter’s father was an officer in the Royal Marine Commandos during the Second World War (1939-1946) and was reputedly the first to lead his men on shore in the repatriation of Hong Kong. Having been involved in other campaigns during the war, happily his final command as an officer and his survival, was just as Japan surrendered on 15 August 1945.
His mother, Molly had lived in Burma with her British expat parents and to escape the Japanese invasion of that country in 1942, took the treacherous Naga trail, also called the Road of Death along with the remnants of the British forces This was not an easy route out of Burma into India and they were continually hounded by the Japanese, who were after total destruction of civilians and troops alike. Although helped by the Naga people along the way and with fatigue, disease and starvation biting, many brave souls didn’t survive to tell the tale, thankfully Molly did and more importantly made it home.
Charles and Molly Carruthers were married in St Jude’s Church, South Kensington in London in 1951. Following in the footsteps of his grandfather and many family members before him, as expats they moved to India in 1954 to work for a British tea company. It was here that their only child Simon Peter was born.
Feeling they didn’t want to bring their child up in a foreign land, Charles and Molly returned home to the UK with their son, now 6 months old. Dr Carruthers known as Peter, spent both his childhood and his informative years in the Britain, where he was educated up to doctorate level.
Peter is an agricultural scientist, with further qualifications in management and theology. For many years he was on the staff of the Centre for Agricultural Strategy at the University of Reading. Subsequently he worked in environmental education and rural policy, in the public and third sectors. Currently, he is director of a Christian charity that supports the rural church. He is a co-founder and former Chairman of Farm Crisis Network (now the Farming Community Network) in the UK, is a member of the Royal Society of Biology and an Honorary Senior Fellow at the University of Worcester.
Above; Peter Carruthers of Holmains (centre), with a few of the other Chiefs in attendance at the Inauguration of the Chief of Clan Buchanan, overseen by the Lord Lyon, October 2022.
Peter is quoted as saying; “The Carruthers are a unique and special family. There are many more of us in Scotland, the UK, and around the globe, than people realise! And over the centuries, we have had many distinguished family members, some known and some unsung, who have served their countries and contributed to human flourishing and the common good. It is therefore a great privilege and a sober responsibility, to have inherited the position of Chief of Carruthers, and I will do my best to lead and serve the family in our future together.”
Peter, is the 22nd of his direct line and can trace his ancestry back to John progenitor of the Holmains line, the younger brother of Thomas first of Mouswald, and to his great grandfather William of Carruthers, first mentioned in the 1100’s. His lineage is therfore without question, faultless.
On his confirmation, the Scottish Register of Tartans listed the Carruthers tartan as the official Clan/Family tartan of our Name.
Peter holds a hereditary seat on the Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs. Carruthers currently has no recognised Chieftains.
Happy Birthday Chief!
Happy Birthday from the Pacific Northwest!
Edmonds, WA USA