JOHN "Jock" Wilson, MM, did not join the parade on Arromanche beach in June 2004, on the 60th anniversary of the D-Day landings, but he was there, smiling and belying his years, in a wheelchair with his daughter and other veterans.
Born: 7 September, 1903, in Edinburgh. Died: 29 September, 2008, in Dunbar, aged 105.
He was over 100 and the oldest veteran of the landings, which he remembered with pride and great sadness. In a poignant comment, he summed up his own memories of
that gruesome day: "It was the noise, the screams, the bodies littering the beach and the overwhelming sense of helplessness. My driver, who was from Dundee, was killed on the beach. He was just 24."
But through all this tragedy Wilson remained resolute and determined. He served his country and his regiment with courage and pride and was a credit to both. In his later years he became a central figure at Remembrance Day services in East Lothian and throughout Scotland.
When he joined the 79th Regiment of the Royal Artillery, many of his comrades were half his age. Wilson was appointed to the radio division, which necessitated that his unit land with the first wave of troops on Juno Beach on 6 June, 1944.
They then had to advance under constant fire so a radio station could be assembled, a radio tower hoisted and wired up so that information could be transmitted back to HQ. The information was vital for the deployment of the Allies' ground forces and air power. The whereabouts of enemy gun emplacements and tank movements were of huge strategic importance.
Wilson witnessed much death and destruction in the ensuing months but he carried out his duties with unfailing good spirits. When he remembered his comrades he said: "It is important to remember them. The rest of us were knocked about a bit but we managed to hang on."
In the fighting across France and into Germany Wilson was twice wounded and received the Military Medal at Bremerhaven. After the war he worked in an Edinburgh printing firm and retired to Dunbar in the early 1970s to be close to his family.
Easter Road and Hibs always featured high in Wilson's life. He had been born close to theground and he remained a fervent and unquestioning supporter all his life. Indeed, this invariably cheery man once quipped when talking of his Military Medal: "Well, I didn't get it for following Hibs for 90 years. That would deserve the VC."
It was only fitting that in 2003 Wilson was a special guest at Easter Road and the team's longest-serving supporter sat in the director's box.
Wilson said the first time he went to Easter Road was when Buffalo Bill attended a home match and that evening Wilson went to see the cowboy at the Gaiety Theatre in Kirkgate. That was in 1910. "They lost," was a mumbled aside.
The 60th anniversary of the Normandy landings saw many veterans make an emotional return journey. Not least Wilson, who said: "Whenever I return to Juno Beach, the memories come flooding back." He had been to the French Embassy in London the day before to receive France's highest award, the Legion d'Honneur.
Wilson was a proud veteran and attended Remembrance Services in Dunbar regularly. In 2001, he placed a poppy in the Garden of Remembrance in Edinburgh's Princes Street Gardens.
His 105th birthday was celebrated this month at the Probus Club in Dunbar. Wilson was presented with a card and a bottle of malt whisky. He also received a card from the Queen, presented to him by East Lothian's lord lieutenant, Garth Morrison.
Jock Wilson's wife, Lily (née Ross), predeceased him in 1964. He is survived by a daughter, six grandchildren and five great grandchildren.
The full article contains 643 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
