George McBain

  Research Notes:

Jean Cameron wrote:
Did I ever tell you about my grandfather, John Donald McBain, son of Susan Riach, wonderful sea captain and once given an award for the
speediest run between Scotland and Buenos Aires in a double topsail schooner, sometime in the early 1900s, being before the Panama Canal
opened when ships had to round Cape Horn to reach the Pacific.

But when the committee arrived to present whatever it was, he couldn't be found. Had gone drinking with some of his buddies.

My father did go round Cape Horn with Grandad, but only once - a martinet on board. So when they returned to Scotland after what used to be a two year trip, my father went as an apprentice in a Glasgow dockyard and ended up as Chief Engineer with the RFA but he always wished he'd become a Captain.

  Noted events in his life were:

• source. Jean Cameron (nee McBain) who notes:
If you look it up on the Google, you will find my father mentioned; but he wasn't "Acting Chief Engineer" - the C Eng was taken ill just before sailing from Swansea, and I remember my father getting into uniform (four gold rings with purple velvet in between, he looked very good) and rushing off to catch a train to Wales to take over. He said that the engineroom was filthy (I remember his as being always spotless) and that was why there was a fire. He saved the Admiralty a lot of money but got no thanks.
My father had only joined the ship as she sailed, the previous chief engineer had been taken ill - the engineroom was in a dirty state, he said to us later, and fire broke out as she sailed down the Bristol Channel. He was the only person who stayed on board, the captain and all the others took to the lifeboats, and he stopped the predatory tugs from taking possession. Saved the Admiralty a fortune but got no recognition for it.

• connection. Jean Cameron (nee McBain) is my third cousin once removed in the following way:

Jean Cameron (nee McBain)
Her father was George McBain (1890)
His father was John McBain (c1850)
His father was James McBain (c1820) who married Susan Riach (1823)
Her father was James Riach (1784) & he also had Ellen Riach (1816) who married George Nicol (1810)
He had John Nicol (1844)
He had Helen Nicol (1889) who married G. A. Davies (1894)
They had Colin Davies (1925)
He had me - Robyn Bray (nee Davies) (1950)

George married Helen Mair, daughter of Captain George Mair and Mary Sutherland, on 27 Jan 1920 in Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland UK. (Helen Mair was born on 4 Sep 1895 in Portknockie, Banffshire, Scotland UK and died in Nov 1968 in Wirral District, Cheshire England.)