Gavin Vernon

Gavin Harold Russell Vernon (11 August 1926 – 19 March 2004) was a Scottish engineer who along with his accomplices, removed the Stone of Scone from Westminster Abbey in London on Christmas Day 1950 and took the Stone to Scotland.

Background Vernon was born in Kintore, Aberdeenshire, the son of a doctor and educated at Strathallan School in Perthshire, Scotland. Whilst studying in Glasgow he became a member of the Scottish Covenant Association, a group which supported home rule for Scotland.

Removal of the Stone of Scone

Whilst studying at the University of Glasgow, Gavin Vernon, was approached by a fellow student, Ian Hamilton, to participate in a daring plan to remove the Stone of Scone from Westminster Abbey in London and take it to Scotland, The heist was a success and set off one of the biggest manhunts in British history.

The incident created considerable publicity in the United Kingdom and beyond.

Later life In 1960 Vernon married Anne Fraser with whom he had one son in addition to her two sons from a previous marriage. Vernon worked on several engineering projects around the world in Vancouver, Czechoslovakia, the Netherlands, London, Saudi Arabia and Aberdeen before finally settling in West Vancouver. In early 2004 Vernon was diagnosed with cancer, and died from it in March 2004.