George Robertson

George Robertson was born in China in 1900, but on the death of his father, Reverend Charles Robertson in 1904, the family returned to Scotland. George would eventually be educated at the famous Hutcheson’s Grammar School in Glasgow, and at 16 was a school backstroke swimming champion. He then went to Glasgow University from where he graduated with a medical degree. He then went into general practice in the notorious Gorbals slum area of the city for 47 years. In 1970 Robertson was the subject of a book entitled “Gorbals Doctor” in corroboration with Scottish author Roderick Grant. In 1943, Robertson returned to Glasgow University to obtain his Master’s Degree. His work on the “Rejection of Dyspepsia” was published in the Lancet in 1953.

A former Scottish 200 yards breaststroke champion, Robertson swam in the 200 and 400 metres breaststroke at the 1920 Antwerpen Olympics, but failed to make the final of either. He also contested the 100 metres backstroke and, again, failed to progress to the final.