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George Scales, War Hero and Generous Friend of RDFRS
by Richard Dawkins
George Scales, War Hero and Generous Friend of RDFRS
George Scales, a gallant former naval officer and highly successful farmer and businessman, has become, in his mid eighties, one of RDFRS's most generous benefactors. He has no urge towards self-glorification and would be content for his generosity to be quietly appreciated rather than ostentatiously publicized. I have of course expressed my gratitude to him privately. The opportunity to do so publicly, and in a way I am assured by one of his closest friends he would not mind, arises because he has unfortunately fallen into ill-health. His eyesight has deteriorated so that he can hardly see, and his back is collapsing so that he can hardly walk. He is going to have an operation, but before they could do that to an 86-year-old man they had to fit a heart pacemaker. This has just been done, and George is now awaiting the operation, and badly in need of cheering up.
To give something of the flavour of this remarkable man, the following note has been kindly supplied at my request by Ian Baird, a close friend of George and the author of his biography.
Above is a picture of George being presented with the Croix de Guerre by the French Naval Attaché, 63 years after the award was announced. The fact that he didn't bother to put on a suit for the occasion is endearingly typical. In all sorts of ways, George Scales is a one-off. He gives a whole new meaning to phrases like 'Stands no nonsense from anybody' and 'Bulldog courage'. Where others stand and wait, George charges in with direct action – a direct action that is always fully in the spirit of the law even if it remains only just inside the letter. I have never met anybody quite like him. I am proud to be associated with this indomitable old fighter.
I thought his operation might provide an opportunity for some of our readers who have the welfare of RDFRS at heart to send him some such brief message as "Get well soon George and thanks for your generosity to the cause of reason, secularism and science." George doesn't do e-mail, and rather than publicise his home address (which I'm sure he would hate) I thought the sensible thing would be to invite people to write in to this thread. Later, I'll print out the whole thread and send it to him.
Richard
George Scales, a gallant former naval officer and highly successful farmer and businessman, has become, in his mid eighties, one of RDFRS's most generous benefactors. He has no urge towards self-glorification and would be content for his generosity to be quietly appreciated rather than ostentatiously publicized. I have of course expressed my gratitude to him privately. The opportunity to do so publicly, and in a way I am assured by one of his closest friends he would not mind, arises because he has unfortunately fallen into ill-health. His eyesight has deteriorated so that he can hardly see, and his back is collapsing so that he can hardly walk. He is going to have an operation, but before they could do that to an 86-year-old man they had to fit a heart pacemaker. This has just been done, and George is now awaiting the operation, and badly in need of cheering up.
To give something of the flavour of this remarkable man, the following note has been kindly supplied at my request by Ian Baird, a close friend of George and the author of his biography.
"After a disastrous school career, George joined the navy as a rating, and was soon captain of a ship which took part in the Normandy Landings in June 1944. On one of his trips when he was taking tons of ammunition to the beaches, the unloading squad of forklift vehicles failed to arrive, so George and his crew ran the stuff down onto the beach by hand. It took nine hours and was carried out under constant German strafing for the last four hours of the run; had anything hit the growing pile of ammunition, they would all have gone up. For this action, he was awarded the Croix de Guerre (with silver star) by the French Government, an award which was delayed - by sixty-three years, finally arriving on December 6 last year. Since the war, he has been a farmer, although he prefers to think of himself as a businessman whose business happens to be farming. In the mid 1990s he moved into thatching-straw, where he now commands a major share of the market in the East of England, and where the change has enabled him to remain very profitable at a time when 'standard' farms are finding it much harder to do well. He has been a regular correspondent in the letters columns of The Times and of several farming journals. He is a man of strong principles, and one of the strongest is his belief that while religion holds sway, much goes wrong – hence his enthusiastic support for RDFRS."
Above is a picture of George being presented with the Croix de Guerre by the French Naval Attaché, 63 years after the award was announced. The fact that he didn't bother to put on a suit for the occasion is endearingly typical. In all sorts of ways, George Scales is a one-off. He gives a whole new meaning to phrases like 'Stands no nonsense from anybody' and 'Bulldog courage'. Where others stand and wait, George charges in with direct action – a direct action that is always fully in the spirit of the law even if it remains only just inside the letter. I have never met anybody quite like him. I am proud to be associated with this indomitable old fighter.
I thought his operation might provide an opportunity for some of our readers who have the welfare of RDFRS at heart to send him some such brief message as "Get well soon George and thanks for your generosity to the cause of reason, secularism and science." George doesn't do e-mail, and rather than publicise his home address (which I'm sure he would hate) I thought the sensible thing would be to invite people to write in to this thread. Later, I'll print out the whole thread and send it to him.
Richard
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Posted: Monday, January 14, 2008 | PermalinkComments 1 - 50 of 229 | | View Alternate Comment Thread
Reload Comments | Back to Top | Page Numbers2. Comment #111332 by gcdavis on January 14, 2008 at 11:42 am
Good on you George. I hope your op goes well and that you are up and about soon. Best wishes from a fellow East Anglian. Other Comments by gcdavis
3. Comment #111334 by jmrunning3 on January 14, 2008 at 11:45 am
What a wonderful, wonderful person! Good luck with your operation, and get better...fast!!Other Comments by jmrunning3
4. Comment #111335 by Darwin's badger on January 14, 2008 at 11:47 am
Best wishes, George - I hope that the operation is a complete success and that you're up jitterbugging as soon as possible. Thanks for your contributions to the RDFRS. Other Comments by Darwin's badger
5. Comment #111336 by Edouard Pernod on January 14, 2008 at 11:47 am
George is clearly a fighter with a strong will, and that bodes well for a successful operation and recovery. My grandfather, who is close to George's age, has type 1 diabetes, a pacemaker, has aortic fibrillation which requires medication, osteoporosis, neuropathy in his left leg, and survived a horrendous car accident in which he lost his wife, and most of the bones on the right side of his body were broken. He spent nearly two years in the hospital and nearly succumbed to MRSA. In spite of those enormous hurdles to overcome, today he can walk short distances on his own, and is mentally 100% there, and is almost fully recovered from the accident.
Clearly a strong will combined with skilled doctors can achieve some pretty amazing things! I hope George's operation goes well, and am grateful for his generous support of this very important cause.
Other Comments by Edouard Pernod
6. Comment #111337 by GBile on January 14, 2008 at 11:49 am
Dear Mr. Scales,Prof. Dawkins often compares us to a herd of cats, but I am sure we are all united in our wishes that your operation will go well and that you will recover swiftly.
The foundation is doing great things. Supporters are greatly thanked. But of course, the sooner it is no longer needed, that is when the world is flooded with reason, the better.
Regards, GBile
Other Comments by GBile
7. Comment #111338 by jaytee_555 on January 14, 2008 at 11:49 am
Good luck, George,I hope things go well for you.
(...but if I find out it's you who has been providing all the straw for the 'straw-men' arguments we have to put up with, I'm gonna be very disappointed.)
Kindest regards to an old soldier
Jaytee_555
Other Comments by jaytee_555
8. Comment #111339 by Matt7895 on January 14, 2008 at 11:50 am
I have nothing but respect for our war veterans. I have great admiration for what they did in defense of our culture and its values. I wish George all the best, and hope the operation goes ok. Happy New Year to you George, let's hope 2008 brings you good health. Other Comments by Matt7895
9. Comment #111341 by Orion on January 14, 2008 at 11:58 am
Wishing you all the best George. If I have a fifth of the life you've had (so far), then I'll be very happy. But given what you'd achieved by the age I am now, I've a lot of catching up to do!Andrew
Other Comments by Orion
10. Comment #111342 by kaiserkriss on January 14, 2008 at 12:01 pm
George, As the offspring of one of your former enemies, even though my Dad was too young to serve during the war, I DO respect your contributions to mankind, your country and to reason.Having lived in the UK and gone through the British school system, I STILL have many good friends from my youth in Blighty to this day, even though I now reside in the colonies.
Many of my school mates parents served in WW2, so I'm quite familiar with the courage and agonies displayed by members of the armed forces, together with the physical and emotional scars this service left on them.
To YOU brave man, I wish you a speedy recovery from your upcoming appointment with the repair shop and hope to hear that everything went well and to your satisfaction. jcw
Other Comments by kaiserkriss
11. Comment #111344 by Epinephrine on January 14, 2008 at 12:03 pm
Good luck with your surgery, and a speedy recovery! Other Comments by Epinephrine
12. Comment #111346 by ChrisMcL on January 14, 2008 at 12:07 pm
To a war hero and a hero for science and reason, George I wish you a long and peaceful life. Other Comments by ChrisMcL
13. Comment #111349 by Paula Kirby on January 14, 2008 at 12:13 pm
Dear GeorgeHow lovely to read about you on RichardDawkins.net. It's great to know we have the support of someone like you. Like everyone else here, I wish you all the very, very best for your forthcoming surgery and a full and speedy recovery.
I shall look out for your future letters to The Times with great interest. The more of us there are sticking up for common sense and reason, the better!
Paula xxx
Other Comments by Paula Kirby
14. Comment #111350 by AllanW on January 14, 2008 at 12:15 pm
My respects to you George for all your lifes' achievements. Here's hoping you have many more years to add to them. Best wishes for the op. and thanks for your support of the RDFRS. Other Comments by AllanW
15. Comment #111353 by jamesspills on January 14, 2008 at 12:22 pm
Dear Mr. Scales,Thank you immensely for your service throughout your life. Here is to a successful surgery and a speedy recovery.
Onward and upward,
James Mills
Other Comments by jamesspills
16. Comment #111356 by BicycleRepairMan on January 14, 2008 at 12:28 pm
A true hero, Lets just strike that one about atheists and foxholes once and for all. Thank you so much for your part of the effort against fascism, George Scales. We who live our free, worry-free lives here in Europe are in eternal debt to you and all the people who fought for our freedom when it was necessary to do so.
Get well soon.
And Thank Goodness!
http://www.richarddawkins.net/article,280,THANK-GOODNESS,Daniel-C-Dennett--Edgeorg
Other Comments by BicycleRepairMan
17. Comment #111357 by Jin on January 14, 2008 at 12:29 pm
Thank you, Mr. Scales for supporting the cause of reason with an exemplary resolution. Your accomplishments are admirable as is your unyielding will. I can only hope that your operation is without complications. Other Comments by Jin
18. Comment #111359 by Elles on January 14, 2008 at 12:30 pm
War heroes are just awesome.Get well soon!
Other Comments by Elles
19. Comment #111361 by c4chaos on January 14, 2008 at 12:32 pm
get well soon George. thank you for your help in opening our collective burka.here's to the Mother of All Burkas!
~C
Other Comments by c4chaos
20. Comment #111362 by robotaholic on January 14, 2008 at 12:32 pm
Thank you sir for your donations toward reason and science. There is definitely no better cause. We hope you fly through the comming procedures and are back to being as good as new very quickly! Other Comments by robotaholic
21. Comment #111363 by Steve Zara on January 14, 2008 at 12:33 pm
Wishing you all the very best. You gave so much earlier in life to ensure that we could live free from the tryanny of Nazism. Now you help the fight against the dogma that comes from religion.This may sound cliched, but you are the Best of British.
Regards
Steve Zara
Other Comments by Steve Zara
22. Comment #111365 by Goldy on January 14, 2008 at 12:38 pm
Thank you sirOther Comments by Goldy
23. Comment #111366 by Philip1978 on January 14, 2008 at 12:38 pm
Dear Mr Scales,I too wish you the most speedy recovery and would like to thank you for your contributions to the RDFRS. If I had not found this site or heard of Richard Dawkins I would never have had a more renewed enthusiasm for knowledge and for life in general.
Better than that RDFRS has managed to offer much help and encouragement to people to aid their recuperation from their battles with religious dogma and I am glad that people like you are contributing to help making things better.
Wishing you all the very best,
Philip Priestley
Other Comments by Philip1978
24. Comment #111370 by Melissa on January 14, 2008 at 12:47 pm
Dear George Scales, I hope your operation goes well and you have a super speedy recovery!Thank you for supporting the RDFRS... you're a hero in many ways!
Other Comments by Melissa
25. Comment #111371 by Dr Technical on January 14, 2008 at 12:50 pm
George, you have reminded me of the meaning of the word "awe".All the very best in your recovery and thank you for your great contributions to the well being of humanity.
Other Comments by Dr Technical
26. Comment #111374 by eirik on January 14, 2008 at 12:52 pm
Dear sir,Congratulations on finally receiving your Croix de Guerre, and kudos to you for spending much of your time and hard-earned money on the cause for reason and science. I wish you all the best with your upcoming surgery and all future endeavours!
Sincerely,
Eirik Paulsen
Other Comments by eirik
27. Comment #111375 by Dunc-uk on January 14, 2008 at 1:03 pm
From reading the wonderful write-up that Richard has given you it seems clear that you have lead a rich, fulfilling and varied life. Long may it continue! It is wonderful that you have chosen to donate so much from your own earnings for the cause of reason and science. All the best, everyone here at RichardDawkins.net is wishing you a swift recovery! Other Comments by Dunc-uk
28. Comment #111378 by Louis Perry on January 14, 2008 at 1:24 pm
Mr. Scales,My best wishes for your speedy recovery.
Thank you so much for your generosity to RDFRS. In supporting the cause of reason, secularism and science, you support us all
I'm glad to know the names of my heros!
Other Comments by Louis Perry
29. Comment #111379 by oriole on January 14, 2008 at 1:24 pm
Dear Mr. Scales,People like you, who have the physical and moral courage to fight fanaticism and unreason with all the combined might of their bodies and minds, at the risk of their lives and at the risk of public reproach, in youth and in old age, are what keep our civilization advancing and give all of us who care about reason and rationality hope.
Get well soon; you are sorely needed.
Other Comments by oriole
30. Comment #111382 by Donald on January 14, 2008 at 1:41 pm
What a heart-warming story!Best wishes to you George, and congratulations.
I am glad to see such inspirational stories coming from atheists - it is such a welcome change from the "praise be to god" variety.
Other Comments by Donald
31. Comment #111383 by konquererz on January 14, 2008 at 1:42 pm
Dear Mr. Scales,You are a fine example of what is good about this world. You are a hero to us all and show us what true courage is all about. You are a shining light in a world darkened by religious superstition and nonsense. My best wishes to and I hope that this surgery sees you well and makes life better for you.
Regards from America,
K
Other Comments by konquererz
32. Comment #111384 by phatbat on January 14, 2008 at 1:45 pm
Dear George,To hear of your courage at the Normandy Landings has filled me with admiration for you and your comrades on that vital mission.
All the very best for your operation and i wish you a speedy recovery from all the supporters of reason and science and a very big thank you for your donation.
Steve M
Other Comments by phatbat
33. Comment #111385 by julianstirling on January 14, 2008 at 1:46 pm
Get well soon!Other Comments by julianstirling
34. Comment #111386 by Radesq on January 14, 2008 at 1:49 pm
Best wishes to you Mr. Scales for all you have done and all that you may yet do for freedom and reason! Please get well soon! Other Comments by Radesq
35. Comment #111387 by fun2bfree on January 14, 2008 at 1:50 pm
Wishing you a speedy recovery. The world is a better place with people like you still in it.Other Comments by fun2bfree
36. Comment #111389 by happyatheist on January 14, 2008 at 1:54 pm
I feel inspired.Get well soon, George. :)
Other Comments by happyatheist
37. Comment #111390 by Quetzalcoatl on January 14, 2008 at 1:54 pm
Mr Scales, your bold and selfless actions during the war exemplify the best attributes that humanity possesses.
Best wishes to you, and long may you continue to be an example to us all.
Other Comments by Quetzalcoatl
38. Comment #111394 by perkyjay on January 14, 2008 at 2:01 pm
Best wishes for a speedy recovery George from a Yorkshireman who's lived in Canada for more than50 years, but hasn't lost his accent !
John Perkins
Other Comments by perkyjay
39. Comment #111395 by Hume is our politiks on January 14, 2008 at 2:02 pm
Dear George,I feel nothing but the deepest respect and admiration for your actions in the war and most recently in your support for the foundation. What a wonderful role model you are for all of us. Hope you get well soon!
All the best from accross the pond,
Texas..
Other Comments by Hume is our politiks
40. Comment #111396 by Barbara on January 14, 2008 at 2:04 pm
Dear George,Thank you so much for your generosity to RDFRS. It is a wonderful cause and people like you deserve recognition.
Good luck with your operation. With medical science doing truly amazing things these days, chances are you'll be up and back at 'em very soon.
Best to you,
Barbara
Maryland, USA
Other Comments by Barbara
41. Comment #111397 by the great teapot on January 14, 2008 at 2:05 pm
Good job you committed those health and safety infringements in France George. In the Uk today you would be looking at a serious fine for breaching health and safety regulations, and you wouldn't have had to wait 63 years for it's arrival.All the best and thanks for everything, if I ever need a roof thatching your my man. Good luck and a speedy recovery.
John ( the great teapot isn't my real name),
Other Comments by the great teapot
42. Comment #111399 by Tim Friede on January 14, 2008 at 2:09 pm
Good luck George, hope all goes well!Tim Friede.
Other Comments by Tim Friede
43. Comment #111401 by JEck on January 14, 2008 at 2:12 pm
Hope all is well George!!! Your donations are appreciated on this side of the pond as well. You friend from America. Josh.Other Comments by JEck
44. Comment #111402 by nick2710 on January 14, 2008 at 2:12 pm
George, reading this article has finaly made me create an account on richarddawkins.net just because i wanted say you sound like a great guy and an inspiration to us all, i hope that your operation goes well and that you live a much deserved long and happy life,nick
Other Comments by nick2710
45. Comment #111403 by seals on January 14, 2008 at 2:16 pm
Good luck George! What memories of the war you must have. Many thanks for all you have done - I hope all goes smoothly and for a quick recovery. Other Comments by seals
46. Comment #111404 by Peking Man on January 14, 2008 at 2:16 pm
You sound like a very special sort of man George. Thank you for being on the side of science, rationality and reason; alas the world needs as much help like that as it can get right now. If I were able to shake you by the hand, I certainly would like to.
Other Comments by Peking Man
47. Comment #111405 by Damien White on January 14, 2008 at 2:19 pm
Mr Scales,From all the way down here in Australia, thank you for your support, and I wish you the best of health and a very speedy recovery!
Damien White
Other Comments by Damien White
48. Comment #111406 by Enlightenme.. on January 14, 2008 at 2:19 pm
Thank-you, and your comrades, for our freedom, our liberty, our very existence.And thank-you again for your support of RDFRS.
I wish you a speedy recovery and a Dennett-style second wind Sir.
--Steve Murray.
Ex RAF Marham & sometime crop-damager on gliding landouts. :o , oh and thankyou for the stubble-fires!
Other Comments by Enlightenme..
49. Comment #111408 by BMMcArdle on January 14, 2008 at 2:20 pm
Thank goodness you're on our side! Best of luck.Brian
Other Comments by BMMcArdle
50. Comment #111409 by lemmink on January 14, 2008 at 2:23 pm
So inspirational, I hope you get well soon! :)Other Comments by lemmink
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1. Comment #111329 by NAIANF87 on January 14, 2008 at 11:36 am
:)Other Comments by NAIANF87