Sir Hugh Charles Rhys Rankin, 3rd Baronet (1899 – 25 April 1988)[1] was a soldier and sheep farmer and noted eccentric, who was the President of the British Muslim Society in 1935 for a short period.
[4] As a soldier with the 1st Royal Dragoons, he became a broadsword champion in 1921, but suffered an injury through a sniper's attack that ended his military career.
It was his subsequent travels in the Middle East that led to his meeting Lord Headley (known as Shaikh Rahmatullah al-Farooq), who persuaded Rankin to convert to Islam.
[4][3] Sir Hugh served as a Captain during the Second World War; this led him to believe in the value of a future revolution, and by the time he was elected to Perthshire County Council in 1950, he described himself as 'a... red militant communist'.
He was the first President of the Rough Stuff Fellowship, a cross-county enthusiasts' organisation, and a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland.