Posted: 07/12/2023 11:25:22
It is with great sadness that we mark the passing of Hamish Hardie (1st December 2023) aged ninety-five.
A Scottish Olympian from the 1948 Games, Hamish Graeme Hardie was one of a crew of five in the six-meter open sailing event which took place just after the end of the war.
Although trained as a chemist at the University of St Andrews, his interests lay in the sea. As one of the Directors of the Clyde Maritime Trust Ltd, he was the man who purchased Tall Ship Glenlee from the Spanish Navy at an open auction in Spain in 1992. Under his guidance, the ship returned to the Clyde one year later under tow from Seville to become an icon of shipbuilding and the history of the river.
Working as part of the Ship’s Technical Committee, Hamish Hardie worked untiringly to preserve and restore the ship with masts and yards fully rigged at Yorkhill Quay and open to all. He held a strong commitment to training young people to maintain and restore the ship.
In 1999 this work in returning and restoring Glenlee was acknowledged with the award of an Honorary Doctorate by the University of Strathclyde and then, in 2011 an MBE for voluntary services to Maritime History.
Hamish’s combined efforts and interests were well illustrated when in 2012 he held the Olympic torch on the decks of Tall Ship Glenlee when it passed through Glasgow.
Elizabeth Allen, Vice Chair of the Tall Ship Glenlee Trust, said: “It is with the deepest of sadness we hear of the death of Hamish Hardie. Here at Tall Ship Glenlee we all owe a very great debt to Hamish for his long-standing endeavours and enthusiasm for the return, restoration, and preservation of this national historic ship.”
We send our heartfelt sympathies to Hamish's family and friends.