It is with great sadness that we announce the sudden and unexpected passing of our long time staff member Barclay Bissett. Peacefully passed at Ninewells Hospital, on Thursday, July 10, 2025 aged 78 years.
Barclay Bisset had worked tirelessly for many years dealing with disability issues, he was original member of the organisation before it officially became Aberdeen Action On Disability in 1992 when it was granted OSCR charity status and became a Limited Company. Over his time with AAD he held the position of Administrative Assistant and Company Secretary, being involved with a variety of office duties, office admin and the general running of the charitable organisation. He was every present in our offices in Aberdeen until the Covid Pandemic where he then chose to work remotely from home in Montrose due to his ongoing health issues and concerns. He continued to be a regular attendee at our monthly board meetings which he did via zoom right up until this month ( July). He also actively took part in communication and engagement with local third sector organisations, national bodies and various other companies who help and were involved with Disability rights and Welfare rights. He was respected, well known and well liked in the Aberdeen area with a wide range of charities, third sector and public organisations. He was a founding member of the Aberdeen Bon Accord access panel along with several other colleagues at AAD who were working tirelessly to ensure accessibility, and that disabled peoples voices and input where being heard and taken on board by the local authority and publicly accessible buildings and areas ensuring that they were meeting the needs of the disabled community and abiding by the Disability Discrimination Act of 1995 along with the updated Disability Equality Act of 2010. He was a tireless advocate for the disabled community here in Aberdeen with all the staff and volunteers at Aberdeen Action On Disability.
On a more personal note, his colleagues at Aberdeen Action on Disability will miss him dearly and his absences will be felt throughout the organisation and further afield. Our Chairperson Roslynn had known and worked with Barclay for more than 10 years, having been involved when AAD since being in the old premises at Spring Garden before we moved to our current location on Bridge of Don attended his funeral yesterday (24/07/25) in Montrose on behalf of everyone at AAD.
