Proud Herioter, Adam Hanning, attended George Heriots between 1939 and 1950 and has recently been reminiscing with his family about his time at school.

He humbly accounts that he wasn't the most extraordinary pupil (in terms of academics or sports) but he does attribute his successful and ‘chearfull’ life to the values honed at school. Be Kind, Work Hard and Be Yourself. His daughter Sam feels he does himself an injustice when it comes to his 'smarts' and remarks that the vocabulary and spelling on display while completing his crosswords are second to none. 

 In 1955 Adam completed his National Service in the 1st Battalion Scots Guards based in Caterham.  He undertook royal duties as a guardsman outside Buckingham Palace stationed on Birdcage Walk in London.  His discharge summary describes a man with "a good sense of humour….who shows up well in adversity.  He is clean, honest, sober and very loyal".  

He can still recite his army number and often quotes the Scots Guards motto – ‘Nemo me Impune Lacessit – No one assails me with impunity’. 

Adam left the army in 1957 and worked as a salesman for McVitie and Price of biscuit fame. He then moved to Blue Strand a company that manufactured wire rope for the mining industry. 

In 1971 Adam moved with his wife and young family to New South Wales in Australia.  He travelled extensively across the mining areas of Australia and also spent some time in South Africa.  He made several lifelong friends there with whom he remains in contact to this day. 

In 1975 he moved back to Scotland and continued his work for the wire rope industry. He was based in Aberdeen, serving the oil and gas industry in the North Sea before a final move to Yorkshire in 1977 where he retired.

Adam is now 92 and recently moved to a care home near his daughters and grandson in Yorkshire.  He remains determined to make his 100th birthday in order to receive his telegram from the King – on present form there is no doubt that he will succeed in this!

Adam and his daughters would like to thank Sarah Jane for her kind assistance in arranging the loan of some very interesting archive material from his time at the school during the 1940s. This has sparked some happy memories for Adam, provided a focus for conversation and created a link with the school he was so proud to attend. 

We were thrilled to reconnect with Adam and rekindle special memories from his childhood at Heriot's. If anybody in the FP network (from the 1939 - 1950 era) would like to connect with Adam privately, with the support of his family, he would be delighted to hear from you. Please contact Sarah Jane through the Development Office email on dev@george-heriots.com to arrange.