William Alexander 'Sandy' Davidson

[667974_bluestar]

We are sad to announce the death of William Alexander 'Sandy' Davidson, aged 94, peacefully after a sudden and brief illness.

Formerly of Clyde Court and Duncan Avenue, Arbroath and originally from Kirkton of Glenisla.
Retired Merchant Navy captain and WWII veteran and much loved father to Gail and Neil, grandad to Alex, Eilidh and Peadar and husband to Nora (deceased).

Still relishing life to the very end.

Service at Parkgrove Crematorium, 11:30am, Thursday July 23.
Numbers restricted to 50.
Please RSVP to Neil on 07545 735402
if you would like to attend.
Published in The Scotsman on July 17, 2020

(Notified by Dick Young)

[Jim Blake]

Obituary Capt. William Alexander ‘Sandy’ Davidson (29 June 1926 – 12 July 2020)

Former Merchant Navy Captain and World War II veteran Capt. William Alexander ‘Sandy’ Davidson, of Duncan Avenue and Clyde Court, Arbroath has died aged 94.

A native of Kirkton of Glenisla, Sandy attended the village school and then Webster’s Seminary (now High School) in Kirriemuir – cycling the 13 miles down the glen to lodge near the school for the week.

In September 1939, aged 13, he recalled going to the grouse driving, only to be told war had been declared. Walking back home over the hills, he saw a convoy of buses coming up the glen, bringing dozens of evacuees from Dundee.

From an early age, Sandy wanted to go to sea – but as a country boy with no connections this was an almost impossible dream – except the local teacher Annie Galloway had a brother in the Merchant Navy who agreed to sponsor Sandy to the naval college in Dundee.

In 1943 he joined his first ship, the MV Larchbank, which went in convoy to the US then back across the Atlantic en route from Baltimore to Calcutta.

On the evening of September 9th, in the South Indian Ocean, the Larchbank was struck by a Japanese torpedo – and sank in less than three minutes.

46 men perished – including Captain William McCracken from Applecross. Sandy was one of 22 who survived – enduring 20 days in an open lifeboat before striking the shore in Sri Lanka (then Ceylon).

Undeterred, Sandy pursued his career at sea, achieving a Master Mariners certificate and taking his first command aged 36.

In a 40 year career he travelled most parts of the globe – and in 1956 his ship was trapped in the Great Bitter Lake – part of the Suez Canal – during the Suez crisis when Egypt nationalised the canal, and shells were flying overhead.

He commanded two vessels on their maiden voyages and by the 1970s was master of ACT1 – one of the first container ships, which revolutionised the industry and curtailed extended stays in port.

On a few occasions his family – wife Nora and children Gail and Neil – were able to join Sandy on voyages – in 1974 to Hamburg, Rotterdam and Zeebrugge and on ACT1 for Christmas one year around 1976.

Towards the end of his career he started carrying live mutton from Australia and New Zealand into the Persian Gulf.

Sandy retired in 1984.

In 1988, his son Neil rejoined the ACT1 as a crew member – working his passage from Genoa to Fremantle before working his way around Australia.

Sandy began to lose his sight through macular degeneration in 2009 and Nora died in 2011.

In 2013 he returned to Sri Lanka with his son to revisit the beach where he had landed – exactly 70 years before. (A story covered in the Courier here.

https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/news/lo ... -briefing/)

In 2014 he moved into a retirement home in his home town of Arbroath and despite his poor vision Sandy maintained an active social life, still visiting friends and family, and he could still be seen around the town visiting pubs and cafes. He also became an active member of Scottish War Blinded.

Pre-lockdown he would still take the train unaccompanied to visit his children in Edinburgh and Aberdeen and in June he moved to a care home in Aberdeen to be closer to his daughter Gail.

He celebrated his 94th birthday on June 29 with his grandchildren there. He passed away suddenly but peacefully on July 12, still relishing life to the end.

He is survived by his children Gail and Neil and grandchildren Alex, Eilidh and Peadar.

[haslamjones]

I first sailed with Captain Sandy Davidson in 1969 as an engineer cadet on the third voyage of ACT1 in 1969 (with double pay for weekends and overtime!). It was a challenging time for us in the engine room and I remember Sandy being very supportive of the demands made on us to keep the ship going and stay on schedule. This kind of experience was repeated when we sailed together on the maiden voyage of ACT4 upon the start of the PACE container service between the East Coast of the USA, Australia and New Zealand. He was also with me for the drydocking of ACT1 at Bremen Vegesacke in the winter of 1973, when I met his lovely family. Our paths crossed several times over the next twelve years, when I was a superintendent with Blue Star Line Technical Office, and he was very encouraging when I left to further my career elsewhere in 1986.
Sandy was a very professional seafarer and instilled confidence in his crew during difficult times. He upheld very high standards and was very quick to correct those that fell below his expectations - as I experienced on several occasions! I remember Sandy telling me about spending three weeks in an open lifeboat after the Larchbank was torpedoed during the war on his first trip to sea and the terrible things he experienced at such a young age in that boat. I think this was why he took such an interest in helping the careers of young seafarers like me. This was particularly true when he recommended my promotion to fourth engineer only two months after finishing my cadetship and he gave me tremendous support when I decided to go to University in 1973 and moved on later be a superintendent.
I am sure he will be sadly missed by his family, but I have very fond memories him and I am ever thankful for his supportive friendship .