Hamish Hardie
◆ Scottish businessman and Olympic yachtsman who brought Clyde-built Tall Ship back from Spain
Hamish Hardie, who has died aged 95, was one of Great Britain’s oldest surviving Olympians and possibly Scotland’s oldest, having competed at sailing in the 1948 London Olympics when aged 19, an experience he thoroughly enjoyed.
A love of the sea and all things nautical were central to his life and led to his playing a major role in Scottish maritime heritage through his involvement as prime mover in the painstaking restoration to its original 1896 condition of the Clydebuilt Tall Ship, the Glenlee, now berthed next to the Riverside Museum.
This entailed enormous commitment and a considerable amount of work, requiring him to travel to Spain to purchase it before overseeing its return by sea to Glasgow for complex restoration under his and colleagues’ expert guidance.
The invaluable role he undertook saw him awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Strathclyde University and, in 2011, an MBE for “voluntary services to maritime history”. He was also a successful businessman who held senior positions in the steel and plastics industries before operating his own model boatbuilding business.
Hamish Graeme Hardie was born in Glasgow to Graeme and Sheila, the middle son of three, between Bonar and Donald. His father ran the family business J and G Hardie, plastics manufacturers. Hamish initially attended Kelvinside Academy before going to Clifton Hall prep school near Newbridge and then boarding at Merchiston Castle.
After school he studied chemistry at St Andrews University where, in addition to sailing, which he had begun as a youngster, he also played rugby.
While still a student he was selected to represent Great Britain in the 6 metres class yachting event at the 1948 Olympics, held at Torquay. Hamish was one of a fiveman crew of the Clyde-built Johan, which included brother Bonar, all good friends and members of the Royal Clyde Yacht Club. He recalled how in the Olympics trial event their main rival made a mistake halfway around the course, enabling his crew to win and gain selection.
His particular role was dealing with the spinnaker sail during the seven races over the 16-mile course, which culminated in Johan finishing 5th of 11 competing. Talking about this some years ago, he recalled, “It really was such an amazing thing to be part of.”
Prior to the 2012 London Olympics he was pleased to have his photo taken holding the Olympic torch on board the Glenlee during its journey through Glasgow, as he and his teammates missed the opening ceremony of the 1948 Olympics in London through being based at Torquay.
Following graduation and a successful spell as a cadet, Hamish was commissioned as 2nd lieutenant during his National Service with the Royal Signals in Egypt, a period he enjoyed immensely and one which allowed him regular sailing in the Red Sea.
After National Service he joined Stewart and Lloyds, steel pipe manufacturers, on whose behalf he opened an office in Calgary in Canada to gain a foothold in the country’s oil industry.
In June 1955 he returned to Scotland to marry Elaine Cameron in St Giles’ Cathedral, Edinburgh, with whom he enjoyed a long happy marriage of almost 70 years, during which they had five children, Sarah, Angus, Alastair, Douglas and Susan.
The couple began married life in Calgary, with Hamish enjoying the outdoors lifestyle there. He bought a small piece of land in the foothills of the Rockies, where he had occasional encounters with bears, and on occasion he also went panning for gold.
The couple returned to the UK in the early 1960s and settled in Kilmacolm, Renfrewshire, living there for almost 60 years and it was a place of great happiness for them. Hamish then worked in the plastics industry before setting up his own company, Gryffe Boats, making scale models of ships for corporate gifts.
Through ongoing interest in maritime heritage, he became a Director of the Clyde Maritime Trust, which developed a project to return the Tall Ship Glenlee from Spain, where it was to be auctioned, to the Clyde for restoration.
Glenlee was a three-masted sailing ship built by Anderson Rodger at Port Glasgow which served as a cargo vessel for bulk carrying. Since its 1896 launch it had been around Cape Horn 16 times and completed four circumnavigations.
From the early 1920s it had been owned by the Spanish Navy and was used as a sail training ship until 1969, since when it had been lying effectively abandoned at a quay in Seville. It was of significant historical importance as one of only five Clyde-built sailing ships remaining worldwide.
On behalf of the Trust, Hamish attended the auction and overcame bureaucratic difficulties to successfully bid £40,000 for what was essentially only a floating hull, with its masts and yards stored separately.
Restoration then took place over several years, involving thousands of hours’ work, involving many volunteers and expert craftsmen, overseen and encouraged by Hamish and colleagues to return it to its splendid 1896 condition, a massively impressive achievement. With an eye to the future he was especially keen that young craftsmen were trained in traditional maintenance skills. The Glenlee is now a leading visitor and tourist attraction, as well as a popular events venue.
Hamish was a true old school gent. A great family man, he especially enjoyed get togethers on the island of Inchlonaig on Loch Lomond, rented by the family over many years.
He is survived by his wife, children,11 grandchildren and three great grandchildren.