Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Duncan Lyon of Kemnay: Survivor of Cyprus fire tragedy dies aged 86

Duncan Lyon.
Duncan Lyon.

Duncan Lyon, who survived a disaster that claimed the lives of 13 fellow Gordon Highlanders, has died aged 86.

He was serving with the regiment in Cyprus in 1956 when a forest fire in the Troodos mountains killed 22 British soldiers.

Duncan, a lance corporal on National Service, only survived a fireball that swept the forest when he was pulled to safety after being thrown from an exploding lorry.

Among the Gordon Highlanders killed was Harry Gerrard, one of Duncan’s neighbours from Kemnay.

Burns

Duncan, who suffered 70% burns to his back, returned to the north-east and farmed into his 80s but he never forgot his lost comrades.

He would place a remembrance notice in The Press and Journal each year, honouring the memory of the dead.

Duncan’s son, Alan, said that like many of his generation he did not speak much about the tragedy but he was sure it had a profound impact on him.

Duncan Lyon and an Evening Express report of the Cyprus tragedy.

In an interview with The Press and Journal in 2016 to mark the 60th anniversary of the disaster, Duncan said: “I was in the lorry when the fire broke out. It landed in flames, exploded and we were all scattered.

“I only survived because I landed on the top of a bank and someone pulled my leg and I fell to safety.

“The man who pulled me out died shortly afterwards. I came back to hospital in Aldershot and I was there for a fortnight.”

Honoured

At his funeral, the Gordon Highlanders were represented by Major Granville Irvine-Fortescue and his coffin was draped with the Gordon Highlanders’ flag, with his medals on top.

Duncan Lyon was born and educated around Kemnay. He was the only son and one of five children of Duncan and Hilda Lyon.

When he was a youngster the family moved to farm at Leschangie, just outside Kemnay.

Top recruit

After leaving school, Duncan worked with his father on the farm and, at the age of 18 was called up for National Service with the Gordon Highlanders and passed out as the top recruit from the barracks at Bridge of Don.

After his return to civilian life, Duncan worked on farms around Kemnay and near Laurencekirk.

He had met his future wife, Ethel, in Kemnay before he joined the army and the couple married in August 1959. They went on to have two of a family: Alan and Yvonne.

Ethel and Duncan Lyon.

Duncan returned to Leschangie in 1974 where he established a thriving agricultural contracting business employing about a dozen people.

When his father died in 1983, Duncan took over the farm.

At Leschangie, he was also known for his herd of Charolais cattle.

Active

Duncan was working with his tractor, baling and ploughing until about four years ago when he went into the care of the Grove nursing home in Kemnay.

He is survived by Ethel, Alan and Yvonne, and grandchildren Teresa, Gareth and Gavin.

You can read the family’s announcement here.

A video showing the aftermath of the Cyprus forest fire can be seen here.

Conversation