My neighbour Stanley Dunlop, who has died aged 92, was the life and soul of Friends of Starbank Park, a charity that helps to look after the park in the north of Edinburgh.
When the Friends came into being and took it over in 2013, it was near derelict. By 2018 it had won the UK Neighbourhood Park of the Year award.
A charming, intelligent nature lover, Stan was involved in the Friends from its formation, and was instrumental in transforming the park into the haven it is today. Commanding magnificent views over the Firth of Forth, it was once part of the grounds of the 19th-century Starbank House, owned for many years by the Goalen family, until it passed into the hands of the local council in the late 19th century.
For many years the old house there has provided accommodation for former council workers and Stan, an ex-local authority employee, lived in one of its upper flats following his retirement in the 1970s.
He was a fund of knowledge about the park’s history, lovingly tending its gardens until shortly before his death.
Born in Edinburgh, Stan was one of the three children of Jessie (nee Simpson), who worked in a biscuit factory, and Alan Dunlop, a watchman. Shortly after his mother’s death, Stan left Niddrie Marischal secondary school at the age of 14, initially working as a van boy delivering bread and cakes before a brief stint as a trainee mechanic and three years as a firefighter.
Aged 24 he moved into farms and market gardening until he joined Edinburgh city council four years later. He worked there in various roles for nearly 40 years, including as a tractor, lorry and minibus driver, a market gardener and as a groundsman.
In retirement at Starbank Park, visitors would find him either gardening or in a rapt conversation with a passing toddler. He was adored by children: my daughter learned to walk there and loved Stan, so we saw a lot of him.
His retired life began early in the morning. There was no need for an alarm clock – Smokey, his Burmese cat, saw to that. At 6am sharp he started his day with a digestive biscuit and a cup of tea. There followed a slow walk around the park to ensure everything was in order. Then he fed “the bairns” (the local birds) and refreshed the water bowl for the many visiting dogs. After tea and toast in his upstairs flat, he would head back down again to clean and replenish the bird feeders and look after the garden for the rest of the day.
Stan was twice married, first to Iris Westwood in 1967, who died in 1980; then to June Buchanan, who died in 2012. He is survived by four children from his first marriage, and by two grandchildren.
