Captain Andrew Robertson Mackie, a veteran of the Second World War and former Captain of Tay Division RNR, has died aged 92.
Involved in the Battle of the Atlantic, Arctic convoys and the D-Day landings, he was born in Forfar the eldest of three brothers.
Their father was a policeman who transferred from Angus to Dundee, and Mr Mackie was educated at Morgan Academy. He was a keen member of the Boys’ Brigade at Mains Church near his home in Claverhouse Road.
Mr Mackie left school to work in a solicitor’s office with a view to pursuing law as a profession but when war broke out he joined the Royal Navy.
After initial training he was thrown into the thick of battle on escort duties, criss-crossing the Atlantic in the corvette HMS Pimpernel. Following promotion he served as a young officer on ships large and small.
He saw active service in the Mediterranean and in the perilous Arctic convoys which were under constant threat of attack by German U-boats and aircraft.
Shortly before his death he received news that he would be eligible for the Arctic Star medal, which his family will now claim on his behalf.
After the war, Mr Mackie was selected to stay in service and became 1st Lieutenant of HMS St Angelo the Naval Headquarters in Valletta, Malta.
In 1952, he was promoted to lieutenant with Tay Division RNR based onboard HMS Unicorn. He served for many years with the division’s minesweeper HMS Montrose and a promotion to Lieutenant Commander followed in 1958.
Mr Mackie was awarded Volunteer Reserve Decoration in September 1963 and then appointed Executive Officer Tay Division RNR as a Commander in 1965.
In 1970, he was promoted to captain and appointed Commanding Officer Tay Division RNR.
He later took command of HMS Camperdown, the new shore headquarters for the division. He was awarded Clasp to the Voluntary Reserve Decoration in 1973 before retiring in 1975.
With his ongoing interest in the sea, he joined the Royal Tay Yacht Club and was made a life member.
Mr Mackie’s civilian career saw him hold a senior management position with Michelin before becoming marketing director for Wm R Stewart & Sons (Hacklemakers) in Dundee.
He became a Fellow of the Institute of Directors in 1980 and an elected member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing. He and wife Audrey, who had a son and two daughters, lived at Easthaven and then Broughty Ferry. Mrs Mackie died in 2003.
Mr Mackie is survived by brother Bruce, his three children, seven grandchildren and a great grand-daughter.