A man who served as the drum major and chief technician with RAF Kinloss has died at the age of 87.
George MacPhail joined the air force as a youngster and was stationed in Singapore, Libya and Cyprus in the 1960s before finishing his career in Moray.
Mr MacPhail was originally from the Highlands and was brought up in Beauly by his foster mother Helen McGlynn, who was subsequently awarded an MBE for her services to fostering children.
After finishing his service with the RAF, he retired to Burghead where he taught youngsters to play the bagpipes.
He was also a lifelong supporter of the SNP and served as president of the local branch during his retirement.
He also took a keen interest in the Gaelic language and attended many social events in the nearby area.
One person who remembers him from his time serving with the RAF was Robert McChelry, who was in Cyprus during the same period. And the 80-year old shared some memories of his friend.
He said: “I was in the RAF in the 1960s and he was too.
“He was a grumpy old man back then – he had a way of his own.
“He was a very nice chap and a good friend.
“We served out in Cyprus together and he came to us from Libya to be pipe major, because our pipe major had moved onto another posting.
“The pipe major was key to the RAF and George settled quickly into the role.
“In 1968, Scotland were playing Cyprus at football and I had written to the Scottish Football Association and the Cyprus Football Association about the possibility of getting the band to play.
“I didn’t hear back from either, but we just chanced our luck and when got there, people said: ‘come right in’.
“We got inside the fence and we played and got a resounding cheer from the crowd and the military personnel.”
He met his wife Mollie in Devizes in Wiltshire and married her in the same town in 1970, spending his retirement with her until her death in 2006.
He spent much of his retirement with Joey O’Brien, who spoke of how they used to enjoy their time together.
He added: “George liked to play darts in the Station Hotel and, later on in the evenings, he would join myself and another friend Bernie in the Commercial Hotel and, later still, we would go to either of their houses and sing and discuss matters of great relevance, or so we thought so at the time.”
His efforts on behalf of the SNP were also praised by Moray MP Angus Robertson.
He said: “George was a weel-kent and well-liked member of the SNP.
“Over the years, he held various roles in the Burghead SNP branch and was president for a number of years.
“He was always proud to say he had been a member of the SNP since he was a boy.
“It is the efforts and enthusiasm of SNP members like George that have done so much to get the party to the position it is in today.
“He will be sadly missed.”
