Ronnie Scott, Anglo-Argentine who volunteered for the Fleet Air Arm in 1942 and flew Spitfires
As soon as he could, in mid-1942, Scott volunteered as a British Latin American Volunteer or BLAV, one of a few thousand from Argentina. Much of the remainder of the year was spent in travel by sea with a contingent of 32 Argentine volunteers via the United States to Britain.
Arriving in Liverpool in April 1943, as a BLAV he was marked down for the Army, and he had to talk his way into the Fleet Air Arm, which was his only specific ambition other than a general determination to fight Hitler.
Joining No 53 Course, Scott was sent to Canada to learn to fly and, on return to Britain, he was commissioned as sub-lieutenant RNVR (Air). He first joined 794 Naval Air Squadron, part of No.1 Naval Air Firing Unit, where he flew target tugs, but then joined 761 Naval Air Squadron at the Naval Air Fighter School.
On November 17 1944 he flew his first solo in a Spitfire. He told the Argentine historian, Claudio Meunier, who wrote his biography: 'I took off with the canopy open … it was 55 unforgettable minutes ... when accelerating, the nose went down and you could see ahead perfectly.
'Adrenaline took over my body. Flying a Spitfire was touching the sky with your hands, it was the most exciting plane I could have flown up to that moment.
'I tried a tight turn, and I was surprised. My god! This was something else, the body was crushed against the seat and the aircraft took you wherever you wanted. Impressed. She was alive, it was incomparable.'
Later, Scott also flew the Sea Hurricane and the Seafire, navalised versions of aircraft made famous in the Battle of Britain.
Modestly he claimed to have had a 'comfortable war' as a flying instructor rather than in combat. Nevertheless, he came close to death, once when he suffered an engine failure and crashed into the sea off the southwest coast and also in London during the flying bomb blitz.
Scott was demobilised in 1946, and enlisted in the Argentine Navy as a reserve officer. After working in a textile company, he joined the national airline Aeroposta Argentina as a commercial pilot along with other wartime pilots, flying the Dakota DC-3 on the routes over Patagonia.
When Aerolíneas Argentinas was founded in 1950, he flew the Douglas DC-4, the de Havilland Comet 4, and finished his flying career in the Boeing 737. He was a founder of the Air Line Pilots Association, and he retired in 1978 with more than 23,000 flying hours as a commercial pilot.
During the Falklands War he admired the skills of the aviators of both the Argentine Air Force and his successors in the Fleet Air Arm.
Ronald David Scott was born on October 20 1917 in Buenos Aires, the son of a Scots veteran of the Boer War and an English nurse. Argentina was then one of the largest economies in the world, with around 60,000 Anglo-Argentines in Buenos Aires, served by a branch of Harrods in the Calle Florida and a Hurlingham's sports club. His father was one of the first referees of Argentine rugby.
Young Scott was educated at Belgrano day school and Hurlingham's Oates Sollege (which merged with St George's in 1935). One of his earliest memories was the British Industries Exhibition in Buenos Aires and the visit of the aircraft carrier HMS Eagle, when Edward, Prince of Wales, playing polo at the Hurlingham, asked him to fetch a glass of tonic. After the prince and the 14-year-old fell into conversation, Edward asked his private secretary to arrange for the boy to visit Eagle, which inspired him to want to fly in the Royal Navy.
Prewar, Scott had started a typical Anglo-Argentine career as a junior clerk in Swift meatpackers. When war broke out, he raised money for the Spitfire Fund in the Argentine, and once he could place his widowed, ailing mother in a hospice, in May 1942, he volunteered for service in Britain.
Scott was an active sportsman, favouring rugby and cricket but also finding time for hockey, bowls, badminton and cycling. In quieter moments he played bridge.
He was always cheerful, very respectful and had many friends. A mainstay of veterans' organisations, he never missed a Poppy Day. In March 2021, he became a screen star, when the documentary Buena Onda ('Good Vibes') was made about him during the pandemic.
In 2018 the Argentine Navy made him doyen of their naval aviation arm; in 2021 he was made a life member of the Fleet Air Arm Officer's Association; and in 2022 was granted the Condecoración de la Armada Argentina.
He died at the British-American Benevolent Society retirement home, in the Buenos Aires suburb of Villa Devoto, where he was born.
The secret of old age, he said, was: 'Keep moving, and a daily glass of tinto.'
Scott married Marion Groyne in 1950. She predeceased him in 2014, and he is survived by their two sons.
Ronnie Scott, born October 20 1917, died April 17 2025
Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBS News
3 days ago
- CBS News
Berkeley activist uses Disability Pride Month to promote disability quilt project
Every July, Pride Disability Month gives Maya Morya Selkie Scott another reason to celebrate and cover herself in sequins, color, and a lot of fabulous glam. "I am a living, breathing, dancing, rainbow," said Scott. But for Scott, who uses an electric wheelchair to get around town, her colorful outfits are part of her daily routine that serves a dual purpose in life. "I am hyper visible whether I want to be or not, and I really chose to amplify joy, humor, curiosity, and creativity," she said. "But there is a strategy as well. I have almost been hit multiple times on the street, and part of the reason why I dress this way is so I can stay safe while in public." Being visible herself and making sure people living with disabilities are also visible has become her life mission as an activist and artist in residence for the Center for Independent Living in Berkeley. "Disabled people have been part of humanity since the beginning of time, and it hasn't been by accepting the lie of our invisibility, it has been by coming together, by doing civil disobedience, dancing in the streets, creating music and dance and art," said Scott. Her most recent project involves creating a quilt she calls the "Disability Justice Community Stories Quilt Project," which allows people to create and design their own panels to voice their own stories. "I was very impacted by being able to honor our ancestors in the AIDS Memorial Quilt," she said. "We hope the Disability Justice Quilt will carry the same power through a collective creation." It is a quilt that has already woven its way across the country, including parades and protests in the Bay Area, and this past April in Washington D.C., giving a national voice to educate people and politicians about disability rights. Many of those rights were established 35 years ago, when the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law on July 26, 1990. The ADA prohibits discrimination based on disability in various areas, including employment, transportation, and public accommodations. Even before the ADA became law, the CIL in Berkeley became a haven and home for people with disabilities more than 50 years ago. Dr. Victor Pineda, who now serves as executive director, says the quilt is more than a piece of art; it's an artifact with a purpose. "I think when you interact with the quilt, you understand how our lives are woven together. You understand how we are stitching a better experience, how we can make our communities more resilient, and how we each have a role to play," said Pineda. For the past year, people have come together each month to create and design panels for the growing quilt to tell stories about family, love and struggle, justice and victories. So far, 20 panels have been made. "When people see the quilt, I want people to feel energy, emotion, rage, grief, and joy. And most deeply, I want people to feel love, connection, and hope," said Scott. Hope that will change the fabric of how their community is seen, one stitch at a time.
Forbes
4 days ago
- Forbes
Rethinking College: How More Valuable Degrees Are Closing America's Talent Gap
Faith Lockhart recalls her time as a neuroscience major at Agnes Scott College in Georgia. 'Instead ... More of teaching you to merely be a lab assistant, they teach you how to be a scientist,' she said. By Jamie Merisotis Critics of higher education have a point: Average inflation-adjusted tuition has gone down, but remains too high. Degrees pay off, but too many grads struggle finding good jobs. The system needs an overhaul if it's going to prepare America for our increasingly tech-driven workforce. Just within the next six years, 42 percent of jobs will require a bachelor's degree, according to Georgetown University's Center on Education and the Workforce. More broadly, 72 percent of jobs in the US will require learning or training beyond high school. At this moment, only 55 percent of adults have a post-high school degree or credential, a talent shortage rapidly reaching crisis proportions. 'Even if every unemployed worker were to fill an open job within their respective industry, there would still be millions of unfilled job positions, highlighting the widespread labor shortage,' the US Chamber of Commerce reported in April. Degrees That Work Education and training beyond high school is the answer, and forward-looking colleges and universities have recognized that they need to adapt to provide greater value. They're not abandoning commitments to general education in critical thinking, problem solving, and communication. But many are working to offer better connections to careers while focusing on lower costs, better advising, and immersive learning. Schools with noteworthy approaches can be found in every part of the country and include Fayetteville State University in North Carolina, a historically Black institution near Fort Bragg, the nation's largest Army base. Veterans make up a third of the student body and have included Jeremy Ricketts, who served combat tours with the Army in Kosovo, Iraq, and Kuwait. Ricketts, in his 40s, felt out of place at another school because of his age. But Fayetteville State works to attract and retain military veterans, and the older and more conservative Ricketts told Lumina Foundation that he feels at home. 'It's a university that allows people from all different ethnic backgrounds and different experiences to just speak up, where nobody belittles each other for their beliefs,' he said. 'It's like, 'Hey, you like Democrats, I like Republicans. Cool; let's go get something to eat.'' Working Together The notion of helping students feel accepted is also part of the approach at Agnes Scott College, a private, all-women's school in metro Atlanta with a thousand students and a focus on career preparation, leadership, and hands-on learning. Dax Vandevoorde of New Jersey was a standout math student and president of her high school's prestigious robotics team—and one of only three women on the 50-member team. 'I was so tired of being the female engineer,' she said. Along with STEM courses, Agnes Scott offers traditional liberal arts with real-world business experience and leadership Up With Employers These examples fit a pattern of progress in which schools realize they need to make career preparation a core element of bachelor's degrees. The National Skills Coalition found that 84 percent of business leaders believe it's essential for schools to work with employers to develop work-based learning opportunities. Employer engagement, as it's called, takes many forms, including: All of this means that thousands of students at forward-looking colleges and universities are benefiting from alliances with employers and economic development agencies. As the need for talent drives the demand for advanced learning, smart moves at colleges and universities are helping boost the value of their degrees. These partners are building new technologies, new career pathways—and new and better bachelor's degrees at a time when all of us need them for the country's future.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
Deadly creature catches Aussie snorkeller ‘by surprise' in popular rock pool
It was the distinctive blue lines on the octopus that drew Scott's attention - a clear warning sign from the creature to not get any closer. Video transcript This small and deadly creature in a rock pool caught one Aussie snorkeler by surprise. It was the distinctive blue lines on the octopus that drew Scott's attention, a clear warning sign from the creature to not get any closer. The blue-lined octopus, a species of the more commonly known blue-ringed octopus, carries enough venom to kill 26 adults within minutes. However, they're usually very timid and their bite is small, often only occurring if the creature is picked up. Due to their size and timid nature, few snorkelers are lucky enough to come across blue-lined octopuses in the wild. Scott said, they're very little creatures that are hard to spot at the best of times. That's why it was pretty cool to see. It caught me by surprise to see this little guy just cruising past, it was just amazing.
