BURNS SCOTT is not the only one with reason to be celebrate as he enjoys his 55th year of voluntary work. No doubt the people of Penicuik will also give thanks for the many years of devoted service he has offered them.
The former Penicuik Citizen of the Year cannot say 'no' to a chance to volunteer and has dedicated himself tirelessly to a host of community groups in the town, racking up an impressive five and a half decades of unpaid service.
Mr Scott, who also
celebrated his 80th birthday on September 29, was born in Lasswade and raised by his grandparents, Mary and Robert Stirling.
He was too young to join the war effort, but signed up for the Royal Navy in 1946, just before his 18th birthday.
He entered the supply and secretary branch of the service, travelling around the world on aircraft carriers and light cruisers.
Most notably, he served on HMS Birmingham during the Korean war, of which he recalled: "It was pretty hairy at times. We used to go up the west coast of Korea and bombard the coastline."
He married Helen in 1954, a year after leaving the Royal Navy and they settled in Penicuik, raising two daughters, Susan and Janette. Mr Scott went to work at Bruce Peebles Electronics in Inverleith Place, and then, in 1963, became an administrator at the University of Edinburgh's department of zoology, where he worked for 25 years.
His first volunteering efforts began when he joined the committee organising Penicuik's children's gala celebrations, which in turn led to his role as organiser of the Carnethy Five Hill Race.
He kept up the role for 25 years before handing over to the Carnethy Hill Running Club in 1995.
He was also an enthusiastic helper at the town's YMCA, acting as treasurer on its management committee and fundraising for an extension to the centre.
He had the chance to meet Princess Alexandra when she opened the extension, which he enjoyed immensely.
"It was very nice – to me she's one of the best royals," he said.
Mr Scott subsequently became involved with the Mauricewood Youth and Community Wing, now the Carnethy Centre.
He was youth leader there, helping to run youth clubs three times a week, with waiting lists soon building up for all of the clubs.
On leaving the Carnethy Centre in 1988, he joined the local branch of the British Heart Foundation, spending 18 years as its fundraiser and becoming its secretary/treasurer.
In 1991, he received a Chief Constable's commendation from the police after he was stabbed in the back with a tyre lever as he apprehended a car thief in the street outside his home. He received stitches in the wound and was presented with the commendation at Police HQ in Fettes.
Mr Scott's life of service was recognised in 2002 when he was made Penicuik's Citizen of the Year.
His work continues at the Ladywood Leisure Centre, where he helps out two days a week on reception, setting up sporting equipment and arranging events such as a recent old time music hall concert by the Melville Music Hall Company.
The full article contains 534 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
