Pte. George Young Brydon
British Army 5th Battalion Black Watch
from:Dunbar, East Lothian
It has been more than 70 years since George Brydon left the safety of Newhaven behind and headed across the Channel to join the Allied Forces fighting in France. But despite the years which have elapsed since the Second World War, it was only a matter of months ago that the 90-year olds family discovered the true extent of his bravery.
Now the war veteran, who lives in Dunbar with his wife Elma, 88, is to be recognised at the highest level in the form of the Legion of Honour Medal, the highest of all French orders. It is thanks to Angus Brydon, one of George's four children, that the truth of his heroics finally emerged after he took it upon himself to delve into the history books. While he and his siblings did hear the odd story as children, the 58-year-old said they had never been able to piece it all together properly until now. He said: "It's been quite amazing putting the stories he used to tell us when we were kids together. It's been good research as I've always been interested in that but it's also been good for his history [as] he doesn't remember that much. He has flashes of memory. So it's been fantastic to collate them together."
George joined the army aged just 18 and was drafted into the 5th Battalion of the Black Watch. Just a few days later he was on his way to Normandy, with his first assignment being to search out German snipers in the town of Caen. Following a defeat of the Germans at Falaise, the battalion then pushed forward to liberate Barneville sur Seine. The Germans had already departed from the town so the Allies moved on to free the small French hamlet of Mauny following reports the Chateau was occupied by the 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjudend.
However, things didn't go smoothly, with heavy shelling from the Germans seeing six members of the Black Watch losing their lives. George survived but suffered serious injuries and was evacuated back to the UK at the beginning of September. He was hospitalised for nearly a year and underwent several gruelling operations as a result. In the years that followed George resettled in Edinburgh, working for many years at the Granton depot of ink manufacturers A B Fleming.
