Obituary: Paul van Vlissingen

Keen shooter, conservationist and fisherman Paul van Vlissingen has died of cancer at the age of 65.

Dutchman van Vlissingen had the largest landholding of any foreigner in Britain, following the purchase of the wild and mountainous 85,000-acre Letterewe estate, in Wester Ross. He ran the estate in as traditional a way as possible, using deer ponies when out stalking and rejecting any plans for development that might have scarred the landscape.

CA chief executive Simon Hart knew Mr van Vlissingen well. ?Paul was a long time supporter of a number of different projects,? he told ST. ?He made hugely important contributions, not only on a financial level, but also to anything to do with conservation. He always challenged conventional thinking and was a valuable source of visionary advice. In later years he enjoyed running a high-quality shoot and took huge interest in how the shoot ran before, during and after shoot days.”