ROCKCLIFFE TIMES

Ian Grant Henderson, solicitor. Born: 4 May 1922 in Lockerbie, Dumfries & Galloway. Died: 24 April 2019, aged 96

Ian Grant Henderson wa s b o r n i n 1 9 2 2 i n Lockerbie to Thomas and Lilias (nee Marchbank). Ian was the youngest of three c h i l d r e n a n d t h e o n l y s o n , his elder sisters being Marjor y and Elizabeth. He attende d Fet te s f o r h i s s e c o n d a r y schooling and was destined to follow his father into the family legal firm. Like so many of h i s g e n e r a t i o n h i s s t u d i e s were interrupted by war.

He joined the R AF in 1943 a nd wa s p o s te d to B o mb e r Command. He undertook his training in the UK and then Canada. Most aircrew were tested for pilot training but Ian reported that he was prone to bring the aircraft down so hard that he punctured the t yres. Following this he trained as a navigator. In 1944 he started the series of sorties that all aircrew in Bomber command had to complete before they were stood down for a rest. A tour normally consisted of 30 sor ties but Ian’s crew did 31. Many crews did not sur vive their first tour.

Reading his log, one is struck by how dangerous it was even towards the end of the war o w i n g t o r a d a r - c o n t r o l l e d flak and night fighters. There were other dangers from his own side, such as collisions in the huge bomber formations which were quite common by that stage of the war. During his sorties he was a Flight Sergeant but he was commissioned shortly afterwards. For h is c o u r a g e h e wa s awa r d - ed the Distinguished Flying Medal. Ian sur vived his tour of duty and, soon after, peace in Europe was declared.

After the war he completed his legal studies in Edinburgh Universit y and joined his father as a lawyer practicing in Lockerbie – his father

h a d f o u n d e d H e n d e r s o n & Mackay as a young man. Father and son built it into a successful practice, with clients from all over Dumfriesshire and beyond.

Ian was for many years the S e c r e t a r y o f t h e Du mf r i e s - shire branch of the National Farmers’ Union, a post which had previously been held by his father. A few ye ars into h i s l e g a l c a r e e r h e me t h i s future wife, Elizabeth Thomson. They were married in 1951 and set up home in Lockerbie. His father retired in the late 1950s, after which Ian became the senior par tner in Hende r s o n & Ma c k ay. A f t e r t h e death of his parents, Ian and Elizabeth moved to the family home in Lockerbie, a house built by his father in 1914 and the home in which Ian grew u p . Af te r ex te n s ive r e mo delling it became their home for the rest of Ian’s life. A feature of the house is the large garden which had been laid out by Ian’s father. It provided Ian with interest and exercise throughout this life – he was still cutting the extensive lawns months before his last illness.

Gardening was not his only i n t e r e s t . H e w a s a f o u n d - er director of the Lo ckerbie ice rink and a keen curler all his life. He was also an eager b r i d g e p l ay e r a n d e n j o y e d being a member of a number o f g r o u p s , o n e o f whi c h , i n M o f f a t , h e a t t e n d e d e ve r y Monday until recently.

H e a n d E l i z a b e t h a l s o e n j oye d t h e t h e a t r e , whi c h they could indulge when taking holidays in London and the seaside towns they liked to visit.

Ian also continued the family involvement in the Lockerby Trust, a property-owning charit y based in Edinburgh.

He liked to sail, play golf, set fishing lines and, when he was younger, swim. Latterly he took to the sea in a small boat

The Trust had been set up by a distinguished forebear to provide subsidised housing for those who had fallen on hard times. Ian was, for many years, the factor of the estate.

Another abiding interest was the coast around Rockcliffe, n e a r D a l b e a t t i e . H i s f a m i - ly had a tradition of taking a summer holiday at Rockcliffe every year. This tradition was started before he was born and carried on ever y year since, apart from the war years. He liked to sail, play golf, set fishing lines and, when he was yo u n g e r, s wi m. L a t t e r l y h e took to the sea in a small boat with an outb oard engine to enjoy the sailing escapades of his many nephews and nieces.

Ian and Elizabeth had many n e p h e w s a n d n i e c e s f r o m both the Henderson and the Thomson sides of the family. Ian took great delight in keeping up with all their activities and, as the years went on, their expanding families. He had an elaborate handwritten matrix of all their key dates. This led to a card and often a cheque marking the bir thdays of all o f h i s n e p h e ws a n d n i e c e s , as well as their children and grandchildren.

I a n wa s a me mb e r o f t h e B omb er Command Asso ciation throughout his life. It gave him g r eat sat isfaction to be present in London on 28 June 2012 for the formal opening of the Bomber Command memorial in Green Park in London. He felt that it was a long overdue memorial to the 58,000 young men of Bomb - er Command who died during the war and the countless others who, like him, had done their dut y with courage and fortitude while following the orders of the War Cabinet and in accord with the overwhelming wishes of the population.

Ian Henderson died on 24 Ap r i l 2 0 19 a f t e r a s h o r t i l l - ness. He is sur vived by Elizabeth and family members.