Tributes paid to Breadalbane Bakery founder and Aberfeldy’s resident ‘Santa’ – John Keir Young.

The “wonderful” baker lived and breathed Aberfeldy and was always up for a nice chinwag around town. John Keir Young wore several caps.

Aberfeldy’s children will remember him in his Santa hat, hooting and hollering at village events to which he devoted so much time and energy.

Others will remember the famed piper in his bonnet, who played in weddings, parades, and funeral processions over the years.

For former colleague and friend John Watson, his first impression of his late employer in his bakery hat remains “etched in the mind”.

“My first memory of John was him standing proud in his white bakery hat and apron, a true master of his craft,” Mr Watson said in tribute to the “firm but fair” man who co-founded the famed Breadalbane Bakery in 1966 and worked there until his retirement in 2003.

But “proud Fifer” John Keir Young’s narrative began over the Tay in Cupar.

A clever child with a ‘sweet tooth’

On April 19, 1938, he was born at 118 Bonnygate as the only child of a ladies’ maid and a blacksmith.

Cousin Catherine McGuin remembers the day fondly: “He was born at my grandmother’s house, and I remember the baby crying.

I was four years old, therefore I don’t think that made me happy!” He was a “clever, curious” child, going by Keir at home and John at school.

Following the family’s wartime relocation to Aldershot and subsequent return to Fife, he attended Lundin Links Public School, Leven Junior Secondary, and St Andrews Burgh.

At the age of eight, he became obsessed with baking at Watson’s Bakery.

Catherine says that he “always had a sweet tooth,” which he may have acquired from his baker uncle, whose recipe books John saved after his death in the war.

After completing school, he attended Kirkcaldy Technical College to study food and baking before working as an apprentice for John W Dean in Buckhaven. He finished his apprenticeship and subsequently performed two years of National Service in the Army, working as a clerk in the RASC.

He then spent a year and a half at HM Gunwharf in Portsmouth before returning home to work at Stevens Bakery in Leven.

His skills led him to Perth’s Woods bakery and then to J Lyons & Co in Glasgow, where he rose to the position of senior supervisor, controlling 100 employees.

How John came to feed Aberfeldy

Then when the opportunity came up to go into business with two friends in Aberfeldy, he couldn’t resist.

Together, under Walker, Wilson and Young, they established the Breadalbane Bakery Co in June 1966.

They traded successfully for ten years, after which John took over the business on his own.

And he built a legacy of perfection when it came to cakes.

“John was not just a wonderful baker; he was a mentor,” says colleague John, who worked for 20 years at Breadalbane.

“His black bun was his pride and joy, and to have the privilege of making it for him was both an honour and a little scary, as it had to be perfect.

“And though his hand had a shake, when donning a piping bag to put a name or picture on a birthday or wedding cake, he was second to none – absolutely perfect.”

He did the wedding cakes for almost every member of his immediate and extended family.

But John’s talents extended beyond pastry and icing.

An ‘gentle’ artist and animal-lover

Cousin Louise Oliphant recalls his affinity for pencil drawing, with subjects ranging “from a trainer to boats and sailing ships”, perhaps inspired by his love of the RNLI.

Following in the footsteps of his mother, John raised thousands of pounds for the lifeboat charity over his lifetime through bake sales and fetes held in his own garden.

He was a lifetime member and enjoyed visiting the lifeboat stations and occasionally riding out on launches.

Meanwhile Catherine will never forget John’s meticulous hand for model train sets, which always took up a room in his house and led him to connect with enthusiasts all over the country.

He was passionate about piping, and taught the bagpipes to local school pupils.

And though he never married or had a family of his own, his house was always full of warmth.

A “soft and gentle” soul, he opened his home and his heart to dozens of cats and dogs over his lifetime.

And Catherine recalls many summer holidays and Easter breaks spent with John in Aberfeldy.

“He let us take over his house,” she laughs. “The kids adored him and he was always generous, never arriving empty-handed.”

‘A real community man’

John was a staple in Aberfeldy and was always up for a “good old chinwag” while out and about. He was generous not just with his gifts, but also with his time.

Loved ones described him as “a real community man.” He formed the Aberfeldy and District Round Table, was a founding member of the Aberfeldy and District Rotary Club, and later joined the Probus Club of Aberfeldy, serving as president of all three.

He was a fellow and subsequently president of the Institute of British Bakers, a deacon of the Baker Incorporations of Dundee, and a member and former president of the Scottish Association of Master Bakers.

He also made time for his duties as Elder at Dull and Weem Parish Church.

John died on November 1, 2025, at Dalweem Care Home, following a brief illness.

Never one to be taken off guard, he left his loved ones “everything they would need to make arrangements” in a black box beside his favourite couch.

He even draughted his own eulogy for his memorial ceremony, which will take place in Weem Parish Church at 2.30pm on Monday, November 17, 2025.

His loved ones will miss his “good-natured” humour, delicious delicacies, and capacity to make a single cup of black tea last the entire day.

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