Born: 5 June, 1932, in Aberdeenshire.
Died: 23 March 2008, in Edinburgh aged 75. THE death of Duncan (Jock) Ellin, OBE, on Easter Sunday marked the end of an era: an era when the Senior Service was still senior, and officer
s were (more often than not) gentlemen.
The story goes that when he proposed to Third Officer WRNS Jill Oxley in 1958, he said to her: "You must understand, dear, that the navy will always have to come first." Although earning him nought out of ten for tact, it does say something about the character of the man.
For those of us who were privileged to know him, he will forever be remembered as a fervent Scottish patriot and a dyed-in-the-wool royal naval officer – Captain Jock Ellin, OBE, Royal Navy.
His early life was spent in Aberdeenshire. His mother died shortly after he was born, and he was brought up by two maiden aunts, almost in a sort of "Kiplingesque" childhood.
Two gifts from Nazi Germany could also have affected his choice of career in the service of king and country. He received a Christmas card from Adolf Hitler (like many children at that time, and which his aunts immediately despatched to the rubbish bin), and he was presented with the control column of Rudolf Hess's aircraft, which some thoughtful neighbour had looted from the crash site.
His education at Peterculter primary and secondary schools obviously did him no harm, because he passed into the Britannia Royal Naval College Dartmouth as a scholar at the age of 16, and was second in the national list.
After Dartmouth he did his midshipman's time aboard the cruiser HMS Belfast, where he saw active service in Korea and the Malayan emergency.
He was in a cutter off the coast of Korea when it was fired on by the Chinese, and his Royal Marine bren gunner (who to Duncan's amusement went by the name of Marine Coffin) was shot in the backside.
Later that year the midshipmen were sent ashore and attached to 45 Commando in Malaya. The campaign was one of the few successful counter-insurgency operations ever.
On completion of training, he specialised as an observer in the Fleet Air Arm, at a time when it was a particularly hazardous occupation. The Gannet aircraft he flew had the nasty habit of plunging into the ocean, taking their pilots and observers with them.
After several more operational and training appointments in the Fleet Air Arm, he spread his wings and had a succession of seaman and staff appointments, one of which was as commander of the RN Gunnery School Whale Island.
Also significant were his six years on the staff of Flag Officer Scotland and Northern Ireland. The discovery of oil and gas in the North Sea had brought a new threat of maritime terrorism.
Ellin was Fosni's staff planning officer during this time.
He became the main instigator of an exceedingly sophisticated and synergistic operation involving Royal Air Force Nimrods and helicopters, naval off-shore vessels and helicopters, marines, SAS, SBS, as well as contributions from the Norwegian and Dutch armed forces.
A Royal Marine colleague tells of a time when Ellin decided to have a look at the "front-line action".
It involved him having to clamber down a rope, at the black of night, on to an oil rig 60 miles out into the North Sea. The problem was that with the helicopter's "flared" attitude above the rig, it was impossible to see the bottom of the rope, but because of his absolute trust in the expertise of the pilot and aircrewman, he didn't hesitate for a second.
His last job in the regular RN was as senior directing staff on the Bangladesh Staff College, which had the advantage of being an accompanied posting, so that his wife, Jill, could share the adventure with him.
They both loved it and it was a fitting end to his career, but not quite. He was appointed naval regional officer for Scotland and Northern Ireland, with responsibility for co- ordinating all visiting warship visits and liaising with communities throughout the region.
He was also vice-chairman (navy) of the Territorial, Auxiliary and Reserve Forces Association for the Highlands of Scotland, a member of the Royal Naval Club of Edinburgh, Scottish chairman of the Forces' Pension Society and on the board of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama.
He was married twice – to Jill, who sadly died in 1994 after nearly 35 years of marriage, and to Carol, whom he married in 1996.
Jock Ellin is survived by Carol, three children, Catherine, Alex and Julian, and nine grandchildren.
The full article contains 785 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
