Roll of Honour

Bert Lesslie

Our comrade Albert "Bert" Lesslie left this world for the big DZ in the sky on 3 November 2014 aged 77.

Bert served in 2 Troop of 300 Sqn from the late fifties until 1967. At this time he lived in Broomhouse in West Edinburgh, which was a fertile breeding ground for Para Reservists: Jimmy Lowder, Vic Murray, John Stenton, Graham Young, Mick Walker, Jimmy Dunn and Bert himself all lived within half a mile of the local primary school.

He became a Corporal in the Troop and attended camps and exercises in Germany, Cyprus, Aden and Canada. At the Aden camp he put his civvy skills as a shuttering joiner to good use on the construction of a bridge on the Aden-Dalah road in the Radfan.

It was however the Canada exercise that made the most impression on Bert and began his love affair with that country. When 300 Sqn was downsized to a Troop in 1967 Bert left for Canada with his family and began work at his trade. He later established his own successful company employing men who, on his own admission, were as daft as he had been in his youth.

Bert was forced to cancel a trip home in August of last year on medical advice as he had developed an aneurysm. Complications set in and heart and artery problems followed. He was put in an induced coma for a quadruple by-pass but regrettably did not come out of it and died in Hospital in Toronto.

Unfortunately Bert's first marriage did not survive his Canadian adventure and ended in divorce. Happily he found another partner and is survived by this lady, Gwen, his wife of 26 years. RIP mate.