REL Lieutenancy
Lord-Lieutenant
Mr John Jeffrey JP, DL
John was born in Kelso and has lived his whole life there on the family farm. After studying at Newcastle university, he returned home to the farm helping to grow it into a sustainable business employing local people.
John has served on sporting and agricultural boards including the Border Union Agricultural Society and chairing the Moredun Foundation for Animal Health and Welfare.
His involvement with local charities includes successfully cycling from Lands End to John O'Groats to raise funds for a mobile incubator to transfer babies from the Borders to the Simpsons Maternity Hospital in Edinburgh. He is a founding Trustee of the My Name's Doddie Foundation which raises funds to find a cure for MND as well as offering help to people who suffer from the disease.
He played rugby for Kelso and had the honour of playing and captaining the South of Scotland as well as playing for Scotland and the British Lions. Since retirement (from rugby!) he has served on numerous sporting bodies ultimately Chairing Scottish Rugby, The Six Nations and Vice-Chair of World Rugby.
He has also been a local Justice of the Peace for 30 years.
John is married to Anne and they have two girls Lara & Kate.
Vice Lord-Lieutenant
Philly Lee
Philly has lived and farmed in the Scottish Borders with her husband Guy since 1990.
She has been a DL since 2014, was appointed Vice Lord-Lieutenant in 2018 to the Duke of Buccleuch and was reappointed in 2025 when John Jeffrey became Lord Lieutenant.
She is involved in many organisations and charities supporting the local community. For the past twenty years she has volunteered in the Macmillan Centre and Margaret Kerr Unit at the Borders General Hospital.
Whilst at home she enjoys a busy life in the garden and on the farm, playing sport and being a grandmother to nine.
Kirsty Dunlop
Rosamund de la Hey
Deputy Lieutenants
The team of Deputy Lieutenants is appointed by the Lord-Lieutenant to assist in carrying out their duties throughout Roxburgh, Ettrick and Lauderdale. They represent the Crown in local communities and support various civic and charitable initiatives across the counties.
Kathy Weir
John grew up in the Borders, subsequently studying for a BA in Education at Jordanhill College in Glasgow. After teaching for several years he decided to pursue a different career and, after working for the Bristol and West Building Society and Scottish Mutual Assurance, joined with some close colleagues to start a business where he served as a Director until retiring in 2015.
During this time he played rugby for Scotland and representing the British and Irish Lions in 1983 and 1986. After his playing days were over, he became a coach, including coaching the Scottish Team for four years.
He lives in Selkirk with his wife, Alison. John assists with several local charities and community events and chairs the youth rugby program in the town. He and Alison are parents to three sons, and grandparents to two girls.
John Rutherford
Gareth Baird
Evelyn Chelley
Now under her fourth Lord Lieutenant Kirsty was appointed as a DL in 2004, shortly before her husband died.
She juggled motherhood to four daughters with running the farm in Upper Teviotdale.
Kirsty is a trustee of the Lavender Touch charity having previously been very involved voluntarily with Macmillan Cancer Support both locally and nationally.
She now enjoys her ten grandchildren in Scotland and New Zealand, gardening, hill walking, cycling, revelling in the company of her many friends.
Gareth is a Kelso farmer, married to Kirsty with 3 children and 7 grandchildren.
During his career, he has been involved in agricultural cooperatives, Scottish Enterprise, The Crown Estate and independent education.
He currently chairs the Moredun Foundation and the Fallago Environment Fund which is responsible for distributing grant funding generated by Roxburgh Estate’s wind farm in the Lammermuirs.
Originally from Hexham, Northumberland, Kathy attended school in Newcastle. Along with her three sisters, she enjoyed horse riding taking part in the local pony club. This hobby carried through into her working life, alongside a variety of other roles: a position at NatWest bank, a role within the MOD, and nannying in the mix.
Kathy and her late husband Doddie, first moved to the small village of Stow in the Scottish Borders for his rugby career. Later moving over the hill to a small farm outside Blainslie where they and their three boys have lived for the past twenty-four years.
Kathy now combines running the family farm alongside her involvement with the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation, set up in her late husband’s memory, which is dedicated to raising awareness of motor neuron disease and funding crucial clinical research in search of a cure.
Ross Gardiner
John Philip Scott
Evelyn Chelley grew up on Howahill Farm near Bonchester Bridge.
As a dual-registered Adult and Child Nurse, she has spent much of her career working in emergency care, resuscitation training, and clinical education.Alongside her teaching and clinical work, Evelyn is involved in pre-hospital and remote rescue medicine training, including work with Scottish Mountain Rescue and the Borders Search & Rescue Unit. She also volunteers as a ski patroller at Glenshee.
Evelyn lives on and runs Shankend Farm, south of Hawick, which she and her late husband Darryn developed together into their home and working farm. She is a mother of three adult sons. Evelyn breeds Kunekune pigs and enjoys taking part in local country shows, as well as being involved in her rural community.
Rosamund grew up in Ayrshire. After graduating from Newcastle University, she pursued a career in publishing. She was children’s marketing director at Bloomsbury Publishing where she worked from 1994-2007, giving her a lifelong love of children’s books.
She and her husband moved to the Borders in 2003, and together they opened The Mainstreet Trading Company in 2008 in St Boswells. Originally a bookshop & café, Mainstreet expanded in 2012 to create a deli and homeware department and has won several awards over the years, including Britain’s Best Small Shop.
Rosamund is an active member of The Booksellers Association and served as President 2016-2018. She was made an honorary fellow of the Borders College in 2015. She lives with her husband and three (mostly grown up) children near Jedburgh.
Ross lives in Galashiels with his wife, Johanne and two daughters and was appointed as a Deputy Lieutenant in early 2026.
He attended the local schools before relocating to Edinburgh, London and Copenhagen, returning in 2012. A senior finance professional with 30 years in financial services, Ross has volunteered on the Life Insurance Board of the Actuarial profession and was vice-chair of Live Borders and chair of the Finance committee for 5 years.
He loves music and performs regularly as a musician throughout the UK and has run local music events including a large town-centre festival in 2015. He also enjoys participating in local sporting events including the Live Borders Triathlon series and Tour of the Borders.
Ross is keen to foster strong links with local charities, voluntary organisations and individuals who serve the community.
Johnny Scott’s family have lived near Galashiels for many generations.
Upon graduating from Cambridge in 1974, he went to Asia with Jardine Matheson, working in Hong Kong and Australia.
In 1981, he returned to the UK to work in London and then Tokyo for the investment bank Lazard.In 2001, he and his family moved back to the Borders, to Hollybush Farm, whereupon he worked in Edinburgh and London in investment management, insurance and technology. He was for 8 years Chairman of Baillie Gifford’s flagship fund, Scottish Mortgage.
Johnny married Jaqueline Rae in 1977 and they have 2 sons and 5 grandchildren. Jaqueline died in 2024 and in 2025 their son Jamie moved into Hollybush.
Now largely retired from commercial activities, he is a former trustee of Abbotsford and currently holds many voluntary and charitable positions, including serving as a Tweed Commissioner for the past 25 years.
