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I remember my Grandfather, George SCOTT (1906-1971) for many
reasons. He was a jovial sort of chap
who liked a cigarette and a drink. He
spoke with a strong Glasgow accent despite having lived in London for many
years. I always knew him as ‘POP’. He was a generous Grandfather even though he
was not wealthy – indeed his generosity was the source of several problems.
I knew he was my Grandfather – the father of my Mother (Jean
Duncan McGAVIN/SCOTT/PALMER/TRENDALL1924-1982), but if a future generation
follows the paper trail he would not appear as according to my Mother’s birth certificate
she was the daughter of John Simpson McGAVIN (1895-1940), the first husband of
my Grandmother – Helen Kirk McBeth DUNCAN (Nellie) (1896-1971). Everybody knew that George SCOTT was her
biological Father – and much family pain ensued. By 1925 George SCOTT and Nellie McGAVIN (as
she was at the time) were living together.
They could not marry until the John McGAVIN died, which he did in
1940. By that time George and Nellie had
two more children: George SCOTT (1928-2009) and Andrew Nicol SCOTT (1931-1931). Andrew was given the middle name NICOL after
George SCOTT’s (B1906) Mother. He was severely
disabled and lived only a few months. I
recall my Mother describing how shocked she was when she saw the deformities
that her brother was born with. She said
that he was only expected to live a few hours and she also recounted how caring
her parents were with him.
George SCOTT (B1906) worked as a labourer, a miner and as a
ship’s steward/cook (including on board the famous Athenia which was the first
British ship sunk, with a great loss of life by a German U Boat). In later life and for many years he worked at
the London Hospital as a porter. I don’t
recall much being mentioned about his service the Second World War. There was a family story about him singing ‘We’ll
Meet Again’ when being waved off at Glasgow Central Station and another tale
that he was always slightly relieved at the end of his leave from the army to
get away from the bombing in London.
He used to say with a smile that he was safer in the army!
I recently tracked down a copy of his army record via a
Freedom of Information Request to the National Archives. The record added to my knowledge of a man I
only knew when I was a child.
He enlisted within six weeks of the start of the war. He chose the army rather than the navy
despite (or perhaps because of) his experience of passenger ships. Throughout
his service he described his nationality as English. This is common in records of the time when ‘English’
and ‘British’ were used interchangeably.
Those were the days when the Scottish Nationalists were seen as a dangerous,
anti war, fringe group. He joined in
Glasgow as a single man (no mention of living with Nellie) but other records
before they were married in 1941 do describe her as his wife. He was noted as being as 5’7 ½ tall, with hazel
eyes and a fresh complexion. I recall
that he had a tattoo on his arm and this is described in his papers as being of
two clasped hands. A common design among
sailors. He joined the Pioneer Corp as a
labourer. Within a month of joining up he
was sent to France with the British Expeditionary Force (BEF). He remained there until the final evacuations
from the continent in June 1940. As a
member of the pioneer corps it is likely that he saw a considerable amount of
action. He was attached to various
regiments including the Middlesex Regiment, RAOC and the Royal Fusiliers. Later he transferred to the Royal
Artillery. During his time in the army ‘at
home’ he served at various locations. A
week after D Day he was back in Europe where he remained until September. He was demobbed in November 1944 and returned
to his family, who were by this time living at 89 Cambridge Heath Road London –
a flat I well remember.
He was a well behaved soldier for the most part with only
minor deviations from the straight and narrow.
During his first stint in France he would have served in
proximity to both my Father (Frederick Alfred TRENDALL 1914-1983) and to my
other Grandfather (Frederick TRENDALL 1890-1940). But of course he would not have known them as
my Mother did not meet my Father for another decade and a half.
On returning to the UK in 1944 his commanding officer in the
496th Field Battery, Royal Artillery wrote:
“This soldier served
throughout the campaign in NW Europe and was first class. He is very loyal, reliable and willing, and
cheerful in difficult circumstances. He
always did his job efficiently and conscientiously, and no hardship or difficulty
ever got him down”
Not a bad set of comments and the description reminds me of
the man I briefly knew.
In many ways George SCOTT’s record of service was very
similar to that of many other men who found themselves in extraordinary
circumstances. Together with the men and
women who served on the Home Front it was typical of a generation that has now
nearly passed. What a generation! when
ordinary people did amazing things. A
generation that bequeathed to us a life of peace and comfort. A life they could only have dreamt off. We must not forget our debt to those that
endured so much for our freedom.
Philip Trendall
August 2025
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