Sir John Gilmour, 4th Baronet

Gilmour was educated at Eton College in Berkshire[1] and the North of Scotland College of Agriculture. He was admitted to the Royal Company of Archers.[1]

Gilmour married Valerie Jardine Russell, daughter of George Walker Russell, on 6 May 1967. They lived at Wester Balcormo, Fife.[2] His maternal grandfather was Frank Oliver Wills the High Sheriff of Bristol, whose father was Sir Frank William Wills, the Bristol architect & Lord Mayor of Bristol, who was a member of the Wills tobacco family – WD & HO Wills. Also his 3rd great-grandfather was Seth Smith (property developer) who developed large parts of the West End of London, including Belgravia & Mayfair, in the early 1800s.

Commissioned on 26 May 1966[3] as a second lieutenant into the Fife and Forfar Yeomanry/Scottish Horse, Gilmour became the fourth generation of his family to serve in this regiment.

Rising to captain, he saw the regiment turned into a cadre[4] with its armoured vehicles removed and its pay stopped. This continued until he finished his service as a captain when his regiment was put into suspended animation. In 1992 his regiment were reactivated, and in 1999 he gained the rank of honorary colonel.

Gilmour held the office of deputy lieutenant of Fife from 1988.[1]