Douglas Farquharson Glennie
(07/05/1922 to 17/08/1996)[dfg]
Douglas (Dougal) Farquharson Glennie. Elder son of Alexander Douglas Glennie and Lizzie Farquharson. Born Yeovil, Somerset, 7/5/1922 and died Durban, 17/08/1996). Dougal was educated at Reading School from 1931 to 1934 when, on the death of his father, he boarded at the Royal Commercial Traveller's School from April 1934 until December 1939. A good sportsman, he played with the First eleven at hockey, football and cricket and won several prizes for athletics at the annual Sports Day in 1939. He stayed at school for an 'extra year' (the normal leaving age was 16) but did not sit his 'Highers'.

He left school in July 1939, and in the autumn began as an 'engineering pupil' with Vickers, Crayford, making and designing guns. This was a 'reserved occupation', which prevented him from volunteering for any wartime military job except that of an RAF pilot, and poor eyesight put that out of question. He had to satisfy his military aspirations by joining an anti-aircraft unit of the Home Guard. He married Helen Sadler, of Bexleyheath, Kent, in April 1944. Dissatisfied with his prospects in post-war Britain, he and Helen emigrated to South Africa where he took up a post as an inspector of mining machinery in a gold mine at Benoni, on the Rand. He was unable to maintain his weight because of the very high temperatures experienced underground, and as this limited his sub-surface work to a maximum of 40 hours a month, his chances of promotion were severely reduced.

He and Helen then moved to Durban, where he obtained a post in charge of the manufacturing machinery of a plastics plant, later becoming site manager (?) for a number of his company's plants around South Africa. A keen sailor, be built his own ocean-going yacht 'Zingari', in the garden of his home, ably assisted by Helen. He also did a stint as commodore of the Durban Yacht Club.

Two children, Malcolm Rhoderick Farquharson, born in Bexley, 1945, and Lynne, born in South Africa 1950/51?