Helensburgh's 'man with the keys', Duncan McIntosh, dies aged 75

A familiar face around the town, Duncan sadly lost his battle with a long illness last Tuesday and tributes have poured in for the popular family man.

Having begun his working life as a sheriff officer and then a taxi driver, Duncan had his first health scare while still driving his taxi, prompting a career change which ultimately set him on a path to a new life in Helensburgh.

He retrained as a locksmith, initially with Crockets Ironmongers in West Nile Street in Glasgow, but he adapted so quickly to this new profession, learning his skills on the job, that he was offered a franchise in Keys Galore in Colquhoun Street in 1990.

After a few years of commuting to the shop, Duncan relocated from Bearsden to the Burgh in 1997 and spent a quarter of a century behind the counter before retiring in 2015.

Anyone who knew him knew the kettle would always be on; often seen standing outside the store happily chatting to passers-by, his key shop became more of a tea shop and he formed lots of friendships over the years.

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Regular call outs to the elderly were free of charge, and there was rarely a locksmith issue that he couldn’t solve.

Aside from the business, Duncan was an active member of the community and was involved in a number of charitable organisations. He was a past president of Helensburgh Lions Club, and helped organise the club’s annual dinners for local pensioners, as well as driving the Lions’ community bus to the Vale of Leven Hospital.

He was recently presented with a 50 years diploma from the Masonic Lodge, while his other interests included golf and watching football, going for a pint on a Friday night and enjoying a coffee with friends at the Commodore Hotel.

Above all else, though, his family were his everything, and his most favourite days were spent in Glen Fruin watching his grandkids play in the river or playing football at the park in Rhu.

He met his wife, Margaret, when she was 16 and he was 18, and they married in 1970; the couple would have been celebrating their golden wedding anniversary this year.

Along with two children, Fiona and Graeme, Duncan leaves behind six grandchildren: Arran, Iona, Sam, Ruairi, Jackson and Noah – affectionately known as ‘Papa’s army’.

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“He was absolutely besotted with them and his love was very much reciprocated,” said Fiona.

'Papa's army'

Duncan’s fear of flying meant that when Fiona married her husband in Slovenia, Graeme and his dad went on a memorable road trip through Europe to get there so he could walk her down the aisle.

His love of Ayrshire and Robert Burns led to the family getting a caravan on the banks of the River Doon where they spent many years thereafter.

Duncan also loved to listen to music, very loudly, and sing – again, very loudly – and discovered a singing group in Glasgow that he went to weekly. With the Savoy Club, Duncan would learn Gilbert and Sullivan operas and as a tenor he would perform at the Kings Theatre in their annual show.

Dr Roger Brown, a former GP at the Helensburgh Practice, who has since left to return to Northern Ireland, would regularly entertain at the Lions Club dinners with his guitar and, according to Fiona and Graeme, the song he wrote for Duncan’s 60th birthday summed him up perfectly.

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Fiona added: “The support from the community, his friends and neighbours has been amazing and brought a lot of comfort to us all.”

The song read:

“Let us all join together to honour a hero, a man in our town who helps all those he sees. A man of great standing, a man of great prowess, let us sing ‘happy birthday’ to the man with the keys.

“With this birthday he gets a bus pass and a pension, it’s enough to bring Duncan right down to his knees. But I’m sure you’ll agree, he looks younger than fifty, so, let us sing ‘happy birthday’ to the man with the keys.

“Now, with locks he’s a genius. There’s no-one can beat him, as he’ll fix them or pick them at will as he’ll please. And there isn’t a lever, or mortice or padlock, that will ever beat Duncan, the man with the keys.

“He’s got his head screwed on when it comes to parking, for the ‘parky’s’ his pal who gets coffees and teas, and some shelter and respite from Helensburgh weather, when he visits the shop of the man with the keys.

“So what more can we say of this genial ‘Lion’, who gave up his birthday you people to please?

“Let us thank him and wish him fine things from here onwards. And let us sing ‘happy birthday’ to the man with the keys.”

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