{{Short description|Scottish engineer and nationalist}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2017}} {{Use British English|date=February 2017}} '''Gavin Harold Russell Vernon''' (11 August 1926 – 19 March 2004) was a Scottish engineer who along with his accomplices, removed the Stone of Scone from Westminster Abbey in London on Christmas Day 1950 and took the Stone to Scotland.<ref name="telegraph">{{cite web |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1457731/Gavin-Vernon.html |title=Gavin Vernon |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |date=26 March 2004 |accessdate=4 January 2013}}</ref><ref name="scotsman1">{{cite web |url=http://www.scotsman.com/news/defining-our-destiny-1-519098 |title=Defining our destiny |newspaper=The Scotsman |date=29 March 2004 |accessdate=4 January 2013}}</ref><ref name="ottowa">{{cite news |title=Prankster struck blow for Scottish nationalism |newspaper=Ottawa Citizen |date=26 March 2004 |id = {{ProQuest|240781406}}}}</ref>
==Background== Vernon was born in Kintore, Aberdeenshire, the son of a doctor and educated at Strathallan School in Perthshire, Scotland.<ref name="telegraph" /> After Strathallan, Vernon completed his national service with the Royal Signals serving in Malta, Palestine and Cyprus.<ref name="telegraph" /> He then attended the University of Glasgow where he studied electrical engineering.<ref name="times">{{cite news |title=Gavin Vernon |newspaper=The Times |date=2 April 2004 |id = {{ProQuest|319077062}}}}</ref> Whilst studying in Glasgow he became a member of the Scottish Covenant Association, a group which supported home rule for Scotland.<ref name="herald">{{cite web |url=http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/spl/aberdeen/gavin-vernon-engineer-who-helped-return-the-stone-of-destiny-to-scotland-1.89326 |title=Gavin Vernon Engineer who helped return the Stone of Destiny to Scotland |newspaper=The Herald (Glasgow) |date=1 April 2004 |accessdate=4 January 2013}}</ref>
==Removal of the Stone of Scone== {{Main|Removal of the Stone of Scone in 1950}}
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,<ref name="herald" /> along with Kay Matheson and Alan Stuart.<ref>{{Cite web|title=1951: ‘We were the ones who stole the Stone of Destiny’|url=https://www.heraldscotland.com/opinion/17733258.1951-we-ones-stole-stone-destiny/|access-date=2021-09-22|website=HeraldScotland|language=en}}</ref> The heist was a success and set off one of the biggest manhunts in British history.<ref name="globe" /> The border between Scotland and England was closed for the first time in over four hundred years.<ref name="herald" /> All but one of the group, Ian Hamilton, admitted to their role in the raid.<ref name="telegraph" /> The authorities decided not to prosecute the students for fear it would politicise the incident.<ref name="scotsman2">{{cite web |url=http://www.scotsman.com/news/scottish-news/top-stories/first-stone-raider-meets-his-final-destiny-1-519088 |title=First Stone raider meets his final destiny |newspaper=The Scotsman |date=29 March 2004 |accessdate=1 January 2013}}</ref>
The incident created considerable publicity in the United Kingdom and beyond.<ref name="telegraph" /><ref name="herald" /> The four students became household names both at the time and to later generations.<ref name="scotsman1" /> Vernon's name would become inextricably linked with the raid and amongst the devolution and nationalist movements in Scotland he gained iconic status.<ref name="scotsman2" /> For the rest of his life he would be remembered for his role in the events of Christmas Day 1950.<ref name="scotsman1" /> In 2008 the incident was made into a film called ''Stone of Destiny'', where Vernon was played by Stephen McCole.<ref name="scotsman3">{{cite web |url=http://www.scotsman.com/news/film-review-stone-of-destiny-1-1438029 |title=Film review: Stone of Destiny |newspaper=The Scotsman |date=3 October 2008 |accessdate=1 January 2013}}</ref>
==Later life== In 1960 Vernon married Anne Fraser with whom he had one son in addition to her two sons from a previous marriage.<ref name="telegraph" /> In 1963 he emigrated with his family to Canada and initially found work on a potash mining project in Saskatchewan.<ref name="globe">{{cite news |title=Gavin Vernon |newspaper=The Globe and Mail |date=29 June 2004 |id = {{ProQuest|383840101}}}}</ref> Vernon worked on several engineering projects around the world in Vancouver, Czechoslovakia, the Netherlands, London, Saudi Arabia and Aberdeen before finally settling in West Vancouver.<ref name="herald" /><ref name="globe" /> In Vancouver he became a consulting engineer and contributed to the establishment of The Western Canada Group of Chartered Engineers.<ref name="herald" /><ref name="globe" />
When the Stone of Scone was officially returned to Scotland in 1996 Gavin Vernon attended the ceremony in Edinburgh.<ref name="telegraph" /> 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'.<ref name="gazette">{{cite news |title=Took part in Stone of Scone theft |newspaper=The Gazette (Montreal) |date=26 March 2004 |id = {{ProQuest|434031593}}}}</ref> In early 2004 Vernon was diagnosed with cancer, and died from it in March 2004.<ref name="herald" />
==References== {{reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Vernon, Gavin}} Category:1926 births Category:2004 deaths Category:People from Kintore, Aberdeenshire Category:People educated at Strathallan School Category:Alumni of the University of Glasgow Category:Scottish nationalists