D-Day veteran given honorary degree at Aberdeen University at 100 years old

A D-Day veteran, who turned 100 years old earlier this year, has been given an honorary degree by the University of Aberdeen.

Centenarian Jim Glennie celebrated his 100th birthday in August, having met King Charles earlier this year during his visit to the Gordon Highlanders museum in Aberdeen.

The King praised Mr Glennie, who still volunteers at the museum, as a “great example to us all”.

As an 18-year-old private, he was part of the invasion force which landed at Sword Beach on D-Day.

The University of Aberdeen has honoured one of Scotland’s last surviving D-Day veterans with an honorary degree. University of Aberdeen

He was later wounded in action and taken prisoner, spending the remainder of the war in Stalag IV-B.

He and other soldiers made their own way back to Allied lines when their German guards deserted them as the Russians approached from the east.

When Mr Glennie returned to Turriff in Aberdeenshire after the war, he became a welder.

France awarded him the Legion d’Honneur, and earlier this year, he was awarded the British Empire Medal in the King’s Honours list.

He is the last living Gordon Highlander who fought in the Second World War.

On Tuesday, he was accompanied by his son James and daughter Juliet at the ceremony.

He laid a wreath at the University’s War Memorial to honour the sacrifices made by those who have died in conflict.

His son said: “Today has been amazing for dad and the whole family. When we found out he was getting an honorary degree, the surprise was way up there.

“He doesn’t seem to recognise that people think a lot of him. He’s very down to earth, and he doesn’t really think he’s done anything extraordinary. But this is very special.

“He’s a Turriff loon, as he would say, who happened to land where people were trying to shoot him. He lost friends, but he managed to last a few weeks before he eventually got shot. He comes from a tough generation.

“Initially, as a child, he didn’t really speak about his experiences. I would see the marks on his arms and ask him about them, but he’d just say, ‘it’s something that happened in a war,’ and he wouldn’t really expand on it.

“But when the Gordon Highlanders Museum opened, he started talking about things and would tell stories about what he went through. He’s got good friends at the museum, and he’s the oldest one there now, but that has really kept him going.”

Professor Sir Iain Torrance KCVO, pro-chancellor of the University, said: “The University of Aberdeen is delighted to present Jim Glennie with an honorary degree.

“Mr Glennie’s heroic actions during the Second World War and his commitment to educating later generations about his own lived experience and the sacrifices of others, embody our values as a University and highlight the importance of Remembrance.

“It is a privilege to welcome him to our University of Aberdeen family.”