Lipton's Legacy

I was in the Orthoptic department at Gartnavel Hospital today with my daughter for a routine appointment. Ive been there many times but this sign has always passed me by.

I did a bit if googling as I knew it related to Sir Thomas Lipton, the Glasgow grocer (and the man who gave his name to Lipton's Tea )turned philanthropist. This turned out to be right.

Thomas Lipton was a real lad o' pairts. He died in 1931 at the age of 81 after amassing a fortune.

A mad keen yachtsman, he was said to have been planning his sixth attempt at The America's Cup at the time.

Huge crowds lined the streets as the funeral cortege made its way to the Glasgow Necropolis, where he was to be buried.

He left £80,000 to establish the Frances Lipton Memorial Fund for the benefit of poor mothers and their children as well as bequests to Glasgow hospitals, servants and friends.

His London house, Osidge, became The Sir Thomas Lipton Memorial Hospital for Retired Nurses in memory of his mother. The residue of his estate was to be used by his trustees for the benefit of the poor in Glasgow. In 1937, the Lipton Trust for the benefit of the poor in Glasgow was set up

By 1946, when the last payment was made, The Lipton trust had donated a total of £821,000 to the City. The Lipton brand, now owned by Unilever, is still going strong.

The orthoptic unit we use today at Gartnavel Hospital was a beneficiary of this legacy.