Lord Hector MacKenzie was born in 1940 at Killantringan Lighthouse, where his father was Assistant Lighthouse Keeper (ALK). The family subsequently moved to Holy Island, and the Erraid Shore Station when his father was posted to Dubh Artach. His father’s promotion to Principal Keeper, and transfer to Skerryvore, saw the family move a few doors along the street at Erraid. Then followed time at Tiumpan Head and Rona as the family were moved around the Service.

Hector MacKenzie did a stint as relief keeper at Rona in the early 1960s, but then trained as a nurse. He came back to lighthouses with the Clyde Lighthouses Trust in 1964 and served as Assistant Lightkeeper at Toward Lighthouse for a few years. With the establishment of Clydeport to manage the navigation of the Clyde, it became apparent that the lights would soon be automated, so once again Hector MacKenzie turned to nursing.

After a three-year stint as ALK at Toward Point lighthouse (then part of the Clyde Lighthouses Trust (CLT), he moved to Whitehaven to train as a general nurse. Following that, he enjoyed a distinguished career as a union leader – he was elected General Secretary of the Confederation of Health Service Employees (COHSE) in 1987, served as joint General Secretary of UNISON for seven years, and was elected President of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) for the year 1988–9. He joined the House of Lords as a working peer in 1999.

A Commissioner with Irish Lights, Sally has a lifelong interest in lighthouses and their history and was guest speaker at our 2022 AGM in Belfast.

Sally was brought up in the seaside towns of Ramsgate and went to school in Broadstairs within sight and sound of the Northern Foreland Lighthouse. At Manchester University, she obtained a degree in Zoology. Her move to Belfast in 1976, followed her marriage to a fellow zoologist who was appointed as a lecturer at Queen’s University Belfast. This is also where Sally obtained her PhD and her teaching certificate before going on to teach biology in several schools. In 1990 she joined the Ulster Museum, becoming Head of Education in 1995. Sally was then seconded to form W5, the Science Centre in Belfast, going on to become its founding CEO in 2001. During this time, Sally developed a number of exhibitions including one on RMS Titanic and SS Nomadic and helped to bring the Tall Ships to Belfast in 2009.

In 2012 she became a freelance consultant and a Board member of Maritime Belfast, retiring from both in 2021. Sally led the research and interpretation of the Mew Island Hyper-Radial lens and the Belfast buoys. In 2019 she was appointed as a Commissioner to the Commissioners of Irish Lights and is also a member of the Historic Monuments Council.

Sally became a patron of the ALK in 2023.

Paul Murton is a renowned Scottish writer, presenter, film maker and historian, producing and presenting BBC documentary series including Grand Tours of Scotland, Grand Tours of the Scottish Islands, and Grand Tours of Scotland’s Lochs. Paul grew up in Ardentinny on the shores of Loch Long, Argyll, Scotland, and before his career in writing and broadcasting commenced, he spent his gap year as a mobile lighthouse keeper for the Northern Lighthouse Board.

Paul served on Corsewall, Covesea Skerries and Tarbat Ness lighthouses during the era when clockwork mechanisms and paraffin lamps were still the order of the day! His time as a lighthouse keeper fostered a deep interest in the weather, the natural environment and of course, lighthouses.

Paul subsequently studied at the University of Aberdeen, the National Film and Television School, and prior to his Grand Tour series, directed several well-known TV series including Bramwell, The Bill and Casualty. Paul has also presented and directed a range of historical documentaries on the BBC, Channel Four and the Discovery Channel. He is author of travelogues The Hebrides, The Viking Isles and The Highlands.

Paul still lives in Scotland and became a patron of the ALK in 2023.