Tributes have been paid to inspirational Scone man George Stewart after he sadly passed away aged 103.
The definition of living life to the full, George led a heroic and colourful life and was still skiing at the age of 100 and playing tennis competitively in his 80s.
In his earlier life, service in the Territorial Army saw him called up to fight in the Second World War.
He fought in the battle of El Alamein in Egypt then on to Italy – where he narrowly evaded capture by the Germans and was also awarded a Military Cross for his heroic action.
It was in Italy that George learned to ski, a sport he very much became a legend in. He was still hitting the slopes as a centenarian.
He skied abroad every year – with three exceptions – until he was 100.
George, who lost his wife Jean in 2004 and is survived by their two children, four grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren, spoke to the PA after a trip to the slopes of Vignec, France, aged 100.
He said at the time: “I was very pleased with myself. Not many people can say they skied at 100. I’d like to think I have shown what an oldie can do.”
George was president of the Scottish Ski Club in the 1970s as well as president of the Scottish National Ski Council, now Snowsport Scotland.
Tennis was another love and, although he did not take up the game until he retired, George was a member of the first British over-80s team to take part in the Seniors World Team Championships.
He was a finalist in the Individual Over-85 Championship and twice won the doubles with Gerry Ells MBE.
Jane Morrison, former club coach at Kinnoull Tennis Club, where he played, knew George for more than 30 years.
“He was already heavily involved in the club when I met him and this continued for the rest of his life,” Jane recalled.
“It was he and Ian Strachan who were instrumental in getting the grants needed to resurface the courts and move the club forward.
“He was ever-present, either playing, organising, watching and supporting or making sure the surrounds and courts were immaculate, the perfectionist that he was.
“He loved hearing about the successes of all the juniors and fully supported our junior programme and any events that we ran. He of course loved to compete himself having taken up tennis in his 50s!
“To hold a world over-80 doubles title is quite incredible in itself but just typical of George and the man he was.
“One of his favourite tournaments was the Highland Championships at Pitlochry where he regularly competed and often won. In his later years he loved to spend a day at the event where he was, of course, treated like a king and loved by us all.
“Tennis was only one of his passions and I loved chatting to him about skiing and getting a few tips from the master, the oldest skier in Scotland.
“It wasn’t until his 100th birthday party that I found out about all his achievements in WW2, his medals and heroics. Not surprising though. He was such an unassuming man he had never talked about them.
“What can anyone who knew George say about him?
“A true gentleman, an inspiration to all who met him in whatever walk of life, a very much loved man who will be sorely missed but never forgotten by all who knew him.”
George was born in Glasgow on December 12, 1919 and was the son of Herbert Alexander Stewart – a chartered electrical engineer – and his wife Janetta Girdwood. He was educated at Kelvinside Academy.
After a childhood much affected by illness, George spent a year at Glasgow University before being called up for military service in 1940.
He was commissioned the following year in the Royal Artillery and posted to 78 (Lowland) Field Regiment which, before the war, had been a Territorial Army unit in Edinburgh.
In 1942, the regiment was sent to Egypt in time to take part in the battle of El Alamein.
After North Africa had been won for the Allies, the regiment went to Sicily and then across the straits of Messina into Italy, where George spent the rest of the war.
He narrowly escaped capture at Anzio when the Germans had come to the front of a ruined farmhouse one night. George managed to get out through a fortunate shell hole in a back wall.
He was awarded the Military Cross for an action with the US 10 Mountain Division at the crossing of the River Po. He later received a Mention in Dispatches.
After the war George graduated in Forestry at Edinburgh University in 1948. He joined the Forestry Commission in 1949.
The following year he married Jean Murray and took up his first appointment in Langholm. Later appointments followed in Selkirk and Edinburgh.
The Territorial Army was re-formed after the war and George rejoined his wartime unit, now 278 (Lowland) Field Regiment. He was Commanding Officer from 1957-1960.
After a long spell in north-west England based at Chester, in 1968 he became conservator for the west of Scotland and was faced with the disastrous storms of January 1969.
The following year he was appointed Commissioner for Forest and Estate Management, a position he was to occupy until he retired at the end of 1979.
A major part of his work was to increase the forest estate and, during his time, it grew by 450,000 acres. He believed firmly in the environmental benefits of forest.
After retirement George joined the staff of the National Trust for Scotland as their representative in the Perth area. He stayed at Branklyn Gardens and became closely associated with that property.
During this period, he was a member of the British Railway Board’s environmental panel. He was also a member of the Countryside Commission for Scotland from 1981-88 and chairman of the Scottish Wildlife Trust 1981-87.
Sport was a passion and, alongside enjoyment, George was incredibly successful.
George, who enjoyed playing bridge at both Perth and Scone clubs – and who also always appreciated the kindness of members at Scone and St Martins Parish Church – carried the Olympic Torch in the local village of Newburgh in 2012.
His own legacy and the positive impact he left on so many will forever shine bright.
