George Green obituary

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/nov/04/george-green-obituary

Version 0 of 1.

In 1939, my father, George Green, who has died aged 97, volunteered for the Royal Navy and trained as a telegraphist. His first seagoing ship was a flower-class corvette, HMS Violet, on which he served for eight months, principally escorting Atlantic convoys. In 1941 George was recommended for a commission and transferred to HMS King Alfred for training and in the same year was posted to HMS Kenya. Throughout 1942, he was involved in Russian, Atlantic and Malta convoys.

The ship suffered major torpedo damage in Operation Pedestal, the 1942 Malta convoy, but eventually made it back to Britain. After repairs, Kenya became part of the Eastern Fleet, initially as a flag ship. By that time George had become No 2 navigator and served in that capacity until the end of the war – the ship being based progressively at Freetown in Sierra Leone, Mombasa in Kenya, Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and finally in the Pacific.

Last year, George was awarded the Arctic star for his wartime service and Russia announced that it would honour British veterans with the Ushakov medal for their part in transporting crucial wartime supplies to Russia. George died before receiving the Ushakov medal, but his family will attend the award ceremony on his behalf.

He was born in Advie, Speyside, the son of Mary and William Green. William worked as a gamekeeper on the Tulchan estate, owned by the McCorquodale family. That connection resulted in George being taken on as an apprentice compositor at the Glasgow branch of the McCorquodale printing company in 1934.

After the second world war ended, he returned to the firm in 1946. He became general manager in Scotland in 1953 and in 1968 he was appointed to the board of the McCorquodale group of companies. Based in Cheshire, he was manager of the group’s general print division and then personnel director. He retired in 1978 and returned to Scotland to live in Ayr, where he indulged his passion of salmon fishing on the River Doon.

He is survived by his wife, Lora, son, David, and me.