Gavin Harold Russell Vernon (11 August 1926 – 19 March 2004) was a Scottish engineer who along with his accomplices, removed the

Stone of Scone The Stone of Scone (; , meaning Stone of Destiny, also called clach-na-cinneamhuinn; ) is an oblong block of red sandstone that was used in the coronation of Scottish monarchs until the 13th century, and thereafter in the coronation of Englis ...

from

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Christmas Day Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A liturgical feast central to Christianity, Chri ...

1950 and took the Stone to

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

Background

Vernon was born in

Kintore, Aberdeenshire Kintore (; ) is a town and former royal burgh near Inverurie in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, now bypassed by the A96 road between Aberdeen and Inverness. It is situated on the banks of the River Don. Nearby are the remains of Hallforest Castl ...

, the son of a doctor and educated at Strathallan School in

Perthshire Perthshire (Scottish English, locally: ; ), officially the County of Perth, is a Shires of Scotland, historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore, Angus and Perth & Kinross, Strathmore ...

, Scotland. After Strathallan, Vernon completed his

national service National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...

with the

Royal Signals The Royal Corps of Signals (often simply known as the Royal Signals – abbreviated to R SIGNALS) is one of the combat support arms of the British Army. Signals units are among the first into action, providing the battlefield communications an ...

serving in

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

and

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

. He then attended the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

where he studied

electrical engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

. Whilst studying in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

he became a member of the Scottish Covenant Association, a group which supported home rule for Scotland.

Removal of the Stone of Scone

Whilst studying at the University of Glasgow, Gavin Vernon, was approached by a fellow student, Ian Hamilton, to participate in a daring plan to remove the Stone of Scone from Westminster Abbey in London and take it to Scotland, along with

Kay Matheson Kay Matheson (7 December 1928 – 6 July 2013) was a Scottish teacher, political activist, and Gaelic scholar. She was one of the four University of Glasgow students involved in the 1950 removal of the Stone of Scone. Life Matheson was born ...

and Alan Stuart. The heist was a success and set off one of the biggest manhunts in

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

history. The border between Scotland and England was closed for the first time in over four hundred years. All but one of the group, Ian Hamilton, admitted to their role in the raid. The authorities decided not to prosecute the students for fear it would politicise the incident. The incident created considerable publicity in the United Kingdom and beyond. The four students became household names both at the time and to later generations. Vernon's name would become inextricably linked with the raid and amongst the devolution and nationalist movements in Scotland he gained iconic status. For the rest of his life he would be remembered for his role in the events of Christmas Day 1950. In 2008 the incident was made into a film called '' Stone of Destiny'', where Vernon was played by Stephen McCole.

Later life

In 1960 Vernon married Anne Fraser with whom he had one son in addition to her two sons from a previous marriage. In 1963 he emigrated with his family to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and initially found work on a

potash Potash ( ) includes various mined and manufactured salts that contain potassium in water- soluble form.

mining project in

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

. Vernon worked on several engineering projects around the world in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

, the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, London,

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

and

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

before finally settling in

West Vancouver West Vancouver is a district municipality in the province of British Columbia, Canada. A member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District, West Vancouver is situated on the north shore of Burrard Inlet to the northwest of the city ...

. In Vancouver he became a consulting engineer and contributed to the establishment of The Western Canada Group of Chartered Engineers. When the Stone of Scone was officially returned to Scotland in 1996 Gavin Vernon attended the ceremony in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

. On Christmas Eve 2000, the fiftieth anniversary of the event, Vernon returned to Westminster Abbey which was specially opened for him with the words: 'Welcome back, Mr Vernon'. In early 2004 Vernon was diagnosed with cancer, and died from it in March 2004.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vernon, Gavin 1926 births 2004 deaths People from Kintore, Aberdeenshire People educated at Strathallan School Alumni of the University of Glasgow Scottish nationalists