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Lieutenant Colonel M B Scott
Late Scots Guards
by Major General D M Naylor, CB MBE DL
formerly Scots Guards


To those who knew him well, Mike Scott or ‘Bwana’ as he was affectionately known to all, was both a very able, resolute field soldier and someone who understood and was immensely proud of his regiment’s special position as Household troops.  He may have spent most of his service on operations or training but, when required, he equally did his ceremonial duty, as his command of the regiment’s marching party on the occasion of the late Sir Winston Churchill’s state funeral in January 1965 amply demonstrated. He was widely respected as a person, a man of many parts although few were privileged to know every side of him.

Mike, who died on 24th January, was born in June 1933. His father, an officer in the Royals, served throughout World War Two, doubtless depriving Mike of that parental guidance so important to a son in his early years. Following school at Ludgrove and Eton, he determined to join the Scots Guards to do his National Service. An aversion to horses deterred him from following his father into the Cavalry while his Uncle John had served in the regiment. After the Brigade Squad at Caterham and a short spell at Eaton Hall, he decided to take a regular commission and went to Sandhurst. In 1953 he reported to the 2nd Battalion in Germany to command his first platoon.

The future pattern of Mike’s life as a soldier soon began to emerge. After two years in Germany, he and Iain Ferguson, a friend and contemporary, both applied for secondment to the King’s African Rifles in East Africa. Their applications approved, they set sail for Kenya to embark upon a life which must have indulged Mike’s wildest dreams. Not only was soldiering with the askaris of the KAR in post Mau Mau Kenya challenging and fun but Mike immediately took to the country, a land of vast open spaces, thick jungle, big skies and abundant wildlife. His time with the KAR also allowed him unrivalled opportunities to hunt and shoot which he did in abundance. More importantly, it was at Timau in the shadow of Mount Kenya that Mike met Jilly Horsley whom he subsequently married in June 1958. 

When his secondment ended Mike joined the 1st Battalion in Germany, followed by a spell of public duties from Gravesend. In 1962 the 2nd Battalion was posted to East Africa and Mike later joined to command Left Flank. His knowledge of Kenya and the opportunities the colony offered were beneficial to his fellow guardsmen and he loved being back in a country which he had found so absorbing only a few years previously. Three years later he was again posted overseas, this time to the 1st Battalion serving in Malaysia in 28th Commonwealth Brigade during ‘Confrontation’ with Indonesia. Once more his knowledge of jungle operations proved invaluable and he relished leading Left Flank on a four month operational tour at Serudong Ulu, deep in the Sabah jungle.

Mike’s expertise as a trainer of soldiers and his reputation as someone who knew his tactical theory, was shared more widely when he served with the Royal Marines at Lympstone in Devon from 1967. He quickly won their respect for his professionalism being awarded their coveted Green Beret, recognition that anything they could do, he could do just as well. Thereafter there followed a spell as second in command to John Acland at Windsor and command of S Company in Belize on a six month tour in  early 1971 before two training appointments, commanding the Mortar Wing at Netheravon and as Training Officer at the Guards Depot, with Mike finally retiring in 1978, after twenty-seven years service to the Crown. It was the end of a military career which had given him enormous personal satisfaction while helping to develop the potential of countless soldiers who, but for his understanding and encouragement, might never have achieved what they did.

Mike and Jilly’s growing family had followed him to Kenya and Malaysia and on return to Britain settled first at Warfield and later at Blagden House in Hampshire. Mike, a true sportsman, loved his shooting and fishing, excelling at both and encouraging others. He involved himself picking up at the Barton Stacey shoot with a team of spaniels and terriers and every year he would either go to Russia or Iceland to fish for salmon, often taking various friends with him

The Scott family was always a happy one. Jilly, Mike’s ebullient wife of fifty-six years and his four daughters made a wonderful team radiating energy and joie de vivre which helped to offset Mike’s more introverted personality. There were countless parties at Blagden when it seemed that the Scotts were entertaining most of the Household Division and much of the local area. Their generosity was legion and the role played by Jilly as a catalyst, bringing together friends and those who might otherwise be forgotten, was quite remarkable.

In 2008 Mike suffered a stroke from which he never fully recovered. He died in January this year in Winchester after a short spell in hospital. He is survived by Jilly, four daughters and nine grand children.

In many ways, Mike belonged in a different era to that in which he lived. He loved Africa, regimental soldiering, and the sporting opportunities which came his way. He had enormous respect for his guardsmen and in turn was enjoyed and appreciated by a wide circle of friends. Taciturn and never given to overt demonstrations of great enthusiasm nor always understood by everybody, there was a warm side to his nature and a sense of humour which treasured the ridiculous. Above all he was generous, not only in his friendships but, unpretentious and unnoticed, in the way he supported others and in particular his regiment. Mike was a unique Scots Guardsman and will long be remembered for his contribution, quietly made to the lives of others.   
   



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