The son of a solicitor, Bertie Scott was educated at St. Paul’s School, London, and Trinity Hall, Cambridge. At University he was an excellent boxer and won the bantamweight contest in the Varsity Match three years in succession 1902-04. During that period he was also cox to the 1903 and 1904 Boat Race winning crews, and in 1906 he also coxed Cambridge to victory over Harvard. Scott later joined the Leander Club and in 1909 and 1910 was their cox in the Grand Challenge Cup at Henley. He was also a fine sculler, and in 1907 won the junior title at the Molesey Regatta. A naval architect, Scott served with the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR) in both World Wars I and II, and attained the rank of lieutenant commander.