The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Couple celebrate incredible 76 years married.
More than sevenand-a-half decades together for Jean and Donald Scott
A remarkable Perthshire couple have celebrated their 76th wedding anniversary.
Jean and Donald Scott, both 96, met when they were 18 and their marriage at the age of 21 has brought them three daughters, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great grandchildren.
Donald was born and bred in Perth, while his wife was born in Edinburgh but moved with her family to the Dunkeld area at a young age.
A lifelong passion for the railways had seen Donald embark on the career that would see him through his working life.
Aged 16, he joined the railway, starting work in the same yard as his father and his brothers with London and North Eastern Railways.
Joined at the Moncreiffe Care Home in Bridge of Earn by daughter Shirley Anderson and Perth and Kinross Provost Dennis Melloy, Mr Scott was only too happy to reminisce.
Shirley said family days out had often involved a trip to see a steam train or two, with Donald remarking that his favourite had been LNER’s 250 Perthshire, powerful and “green in colour”.
He also shared memories of some of the famous passengers who climbed aboard his train in years gone by.
“I was the fireman on the trains,” he said. “One time we had the entire royal family as passengers, heading for Balmoral, another time our passenger was Queen Mary (wife of King George V).”
Winston Churchill was another to have Donald providing the power to his journey – though the pensioner didn’t know it at the time.
“He joined us from an airfield up north and we took him to Leuchars and then on to Inverkeithing. I was up front and didn’t know he was one of our passengers. We didn’t find out he’d been aboard until a few days later.”
Jean worked for Thomson’s Laundry in Perth before moving into retail.
Now together at the care home, Mr Scott said they thought long and hard before giving up the family home.
And thanks to manager Norma MacLeod and her staff the couple have had few regrets since moving in.
“It’s been fantastic,” he said. “Norma really looks after us.”
One time we had the entire royal family as passengers