People

Sheila Stoddart joined the firm in 1980 having been educated at Tweedmouth County Primary School in Berwick, and at Ayton Public School from the age of 7 until 12 after she took the qualifying exam. At that point, Sheila was sent to board at Esdaile School for Girls, Kilgraston Road, Edinburgh. There was a connection here because Esdaile had been evacuated to Ayton Castle during the war and the office had been responsible for paying staff salaries etc. and had also been Factors for Ayton Castle Estate and therefore the connection was formed.

When Sheila left school in 1961 she was quite determined she was not going to go to University as in those days the only thing that was considered fit for a girl to do after a university training was to become a doctor, a teacher or a nurse. Her father had already put her off being a solicitor as he himself had been forced into that work as a young man and never enjoyed being a solicitor although he was quite a good one. So that she could make up her mind what to do, Sheila went off and worked as a Travel Rep. in Italy, trained as a Beautician and subsequently ended up with the BBC in London as Make-up Artist.

When that job also lost its glamour she eventually decided to bite the bullet and apply to Edinburgh University law faculty. To her surprise she was accepted as a mature student and suffered three years of studying for her law degree. Sheila has always said that had she known then how difficult it was going to be she would never have gone through with it. After she graduated in 1978, she served a two year apprenticeship in Edinburgh with the firm of Allan, Dawson, Simpson & Hampton, W.S. By doing a W.S. apprenticeship, she was entitled to become a Writer to the Signet at the end of her two years.

In December 1980, she therefore left Edinburgh and came home to live and work in Ayton. Sheila served 14 years as a member of the Council of the Law Society of Scotland and convened the P.Q.L.E. Committee, Competence Committee and latterly the Finance Committee. Sheila was at one time the most reviled solicitor in Scotland for pushing through the requirement that all solicitors should do Continuing Professional Development for a certain number of hours per annum.

During this time, Sheila also became acquainted with Australian Terriers in 1982 when she purchased her first dog. She was encouraged to show him although she had never shown at a dog show in her life, and in 1985 had the great thrill of making up her first champion in the breed. Sheila has now owned and bred several champions in the breed and is currently the top breeder in the United Kingdom for Australian Terriers and has been for the last two years.

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