Brother takes up fight to restore the house of Usher
WILLIAM CHISHOLM

A MEMBER of a dynasty that was once one of the wealthiest and most powerful in Scotland is to take up his late brother's fight to recover millions of pounds which he claims have been lost to the estate.

Sir John Usher, 58, the seventh Baronet of Norton and Wells, died suddenly in South Africa last weekend as he watched a rugby match on television.

Sir John's efforts to restore the family's prosperity did not suceed, but now the fight to win back the missing Usher fortune is to be taken up by his brother, Stuart Usher, who lives with his wife and two children in Jedburgh.

He is talking to his lawyers about the possibilities of raising court actions for compensation for the lost money.

The family, which gifted the Usher Hall to Edinburgh with a £100,000 bequest in 1896, made their money from whisky. At the height of their prosperity, the family owned thousands of acres of land across Scotland, country houses in the Borders and a castle in Perthshire.

However, according to Mr Usher, who worked for a time as a minicab driver to make ends meet after returning from South Africa in 1995, the great wealth of his family has been unacceptably diminished.

For 30 years before 1994 the estate was owned by two brothers, Peter and Robert, who both had Down's syndrome. This meant they were legally incapax - unable to manage their own affairs. A number of lawyers and others were appointed to run the estates on their behalf.

Mr Usher said: "I am continuing to investigate events and transactions which took place during that period and will be lodging a multi-million pound claim for damages.

It is claimed by Mr Usher that assets which belonged to the incapax landlords have either gone to outsiders or dramatically diminished.

A Law Society of Scotland inquiry, which is still going on after 14 months, began after Mr Usher lodged complaints against Brodie's, an Edinburgh law firm, which acted on behalf of the incapaxes between 1962 and 1994.

"My brother and I have done our best to gather in what is due to the executry." Mr Usher said. "I intend to carry on the fight until matters are put right on his, the executry and the Usher family's behalf."