What’s in a name?

Quite a lot really. We’ve always been ‘Intrepid’… well, far back into the mists of time anyway. ‘Intrepid’ was chosen for the company name as it is my family ie: the Leitch family motto. What better to reflect your core values than your own heritage? It speaks of the can-do, adventurous, bold, just-do-it attitude that defined my forefathers. It’s what the company and I live by today, that’s our brand.

Explaining the family crest pictured below: The name ‘Leitch’ means doctor or healer. The serpent has had well known associations with medicine since ancient Greek times, and is widely used today in pharmacies and healthcare worldwide. But that’s only one possibility of why it was adopted. My own theory is that it may have been chosen in reference to the story of Farquhar Leitch (alternative spelling of Leiche i.e.: the healer), who was physician to King Robert II of Scotland (1316 – 1390), and namesake of my late father. An old Scots folk tale tells of the said Farquhar catching a white snake (on the instructions of a passing doctor), boiling it up, and unintentionally tasting the broth it produced. ‘Lo! he (Farquhar) knew everything, and the eyes of his mind were opened.’ From that day forward he knew how to heal people… and the passing doctor missed his chance at enlightenment.