| Jimmy Sinclair | |
 Sinclair on his 107th birthday in 2019 | |
| Birth: | 18 August 1912 Fife, Scotland, UK |
| Death: | 27 May 2020 Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scotland, UK |
| Age: | 107 years, 283 days |
| Country: |  UK
|
| Centenarian | |
James "Jimmy" Sinclair (18 August 1912 – 27 May 2020) was a British centenarian who was the oldest living man in Scotland at the time of his death. He was also the oldest living veteran in Scotland, having served in the "Desert Rats" during the Second World War.
Biography[]
Sinclair was born in Fife, Scotland, UK on 18 August 1912. During World War II, he served in the 7th Armoured Division, nicknamed the "Desert Rats". He fought in a number of notable battles, including the Siege of Tobrok, Monte Cassino, and El Alamein.
After the war, Sinclair struck up a friendship with Manfred Rommel, the son of German general Erwin Rommel whom he had fought against. They spent several years corresponding with each other until Rommel's death in 2013. Sinclair also met Prince Charles and his wife Camilla on several occasions.
He became the oldest known living man in Scotland following the death of 111 year-old Alf Smith on 4 August 2019. He was the last surviving Scottish soldier who served in the 7th Armoured Division alongside Field Marshall Montgomery.
Sinclair died in Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scotland on 27 May 2020 at the age of 107 years, 283 days. His death occurred one day before that of Bob Weighton, the UK's oldest living man at the time. After his death, Chic Kennedy became the oldest man in Scotland.
References[]
- Oldest Desert Rat to celebrate 100th birthday Deadline News, 16 August 2012
- Last surviving Desert Rat gives backing to independence campaign The Courier, 28 June 2013
- War veteran, 102, 'disappointed' after lifelong dream of independence dashed ITV, 19 September 2014
- Desert Rat raises a dram on his 105th birthday The Courier, 19 August 2017
- Fife veteran Jimmy Sinclair celebrates 106th birthday Fife Today, 22 August 2018
- Jimmy Sinclair is Scotland's oldest man at 107 Fife Today, 19 August 2019
- Fife legend Jimmy Sinclair's portrait in new exhibition to mark VE Day 75 years on Fife Today, 5 May 2020
- Scotland's oldest veteran and World War II hero Jimmy Sinclair dies aged 107 The Daily Record, 28 May 2020
| Scotland's Oldest Living Man Titleholders (V • E) |
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Andrew Amos • Alexander MacPhail • James Mathison • William Kirkpatrick • Thomas Maxwell • Robert Spence • William Green • Samuel Brown • James Webster • William Laidlaw • John Macrae • Thomas Senior • Peter Melville • Gavin Allan • John Young • Angus MacLeod • James Watt • Donald Maclellan • Robert Grieve • Henry Reid • John Macaskill • William Laing • George Wilkie • Donald MacInnes • James Matches • James Balnaves • James Morrison • Joseph McVinnie • Francis Mathison • John MacGregor • John Dykes • John Neill • James Ogilvie • Alexander Pirie • George Ferguson • William Mair • Jock Smith • Alexander Mackay • Tom Petrie • George McLaren • Henry Kempton • Andrew Main • Gilbert Campbell • John McNally • William Burns • Lachlan MacQueen • Gilbert Watson • Angus Orr • William Eeles • John Glendinning • Robert McBride • John Barr • John Morton • Andrew Drummond • Peter Cummings • James Hardy • David Henderson • Ernest Clucas • Ewen Ross • Sandy Gall • Alfred Anderson • James Wotherspoon • Bob Taggart • Sam Latter • John Hodge • Leo Tavelli • David Campbell • James Hagan • Frank Saunders • Tom MacIver • Alf Smith • Jimmy Sinclair • Chic Kennedy • Walter Sharp • George Pollard • David Crawford • Hugh Munro Kerr |