Hilltop Global Associates

Scotland has two flags - the Saltire or St. Andrew's cross (white on blue) and the Lion Rampant (yellow and red).

The Scottish flag is the cross of St. Andrew, also known as the Saltire. It is said to be one of the oldest national flags of any country, dating back at least to the 12th century. Tradition suggests that St. Andrew (an apostle of Jesus) was put to death by the Romans in Greece. The Apostle Andrew petitioned the Romans not to crucify him on the same shape of cross as Christ, and this was granted.

The "Lion Rampant", or Royal Flag of Scotland should, strictly speaking, only be used by royalty. However, it is widely used as a second national flag.

"No people so few in number have scored so deep a mark in the world’s history as the Scots have done."
J.A. Froude (1818-1894), English Historian

John Lowe’s Story - The Early Years
“I grew up in Loanhead, Midlothian, a coal-mining village, in impoverished post-war Scotland. I was named after my maternal grandfather, John Aitken Lowe, a Deputy in the coalmines, who had died some years before I was born.

At Lasswade High School, I studied the Classics and languages including Esperanto. During this time, I delivered newspapers, worked in a butcher’s shop, and helped the farmers in the fields. Like a much more famous Scot, Sir Sean Connery, I delivered fresh bottled milk each morning for St. Cuthbert’s Cooperative Society. At sixteen, I worked Saturdays in an Edinburgh department store.

I was active in the Boy Scouts, and in the Civil Defense Corps, a leftover from WWII. When I was 14 years old, I was lucky enough to visit The Netherlands on a Boy Scout exchange visit. At 16, I represented my high school at an International Youth Camp.

After High School, I spent the most boring year of my life as a Tax Collector with the Inland Revenue Service in Edinburgh. Then, I sought adventure by working underground as a Hard-Rock Tunneller on the Loch Awe hydroelectric project in Argyll, Scotland. Infected by wanderlust, I spent a cold winter in Copenhagen, Denmark as a Ship Chandler. I tried to work my passage back home as a Galley Boy on tramp steamer but the ship was damaged in the Baltic ice, and the British Government repatriated me as a “Distressed British Seaman”.

Although the draft had just ended, I volunteered for the British Army as an Officer Cadet. I passed through Royal Artillery basic training in Shropshire, England, became an Instructor, and was promoted up the NCO ranks. Later, I was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Royal Corps of Signals. In this period, I attended various military colleges and courses, and participated in NATO exercises in Germany. In total, I served two years on active military service, and seven years with the Reserves.

After the British Army, I spent a stint as a Bus Driver for the handicapped with the City of London, and then moved to Darlington, County Durham in northern England as an Airline Ground Agent. Great title and uniform but little money! To earn more money, I worked as Production Controller with a metal fabrication company. At this time, Chrysler and Cummins had just formed a joint venture to build diesel engines at a brand-new manufacturing facility in Darlington. The new company hired me as a Personnel Trainee and started me on my Human Resources career. I gained various promotions and within a few years became Personnel Manager for the two-plant manufacturing complex.

For three years, I studied Industrial Management and related subjects at a Darlington technical college. Later, these courses and military studies were evaluated as equivalent to a B.Sc. in Industrial Management for US visa purposes.

In 1970, Cummins Engine Company promoted and transferred me to its Columbus, Indiana head office.”

Note: Regarding the name, John Aitken King Lowe. Aitken is a sept of Clan Gordon, King belongs to the MacGregors, and Lowe is linked to the MacLaren clan. I always preferred the story of the wild MacGregors.

Globalscot Appointment
Jack McConnell, MSP, First Minister of the Scottish Parliament, appointed John A.K. Lowe as a Founding Member of “globalscot”, Scotland’s global business network in 2003. This high honor is bestowed upon influential individuals who have an affiliation with Scotland and are active in international business in North America and around the world.

Globalscot Network
Globalscot is an international network of almost 800 influential individuals in business, government, and academia worldwide, who have an affiliation for Scotland and are active in international business. Globalscot invests in developing global relationships, and accessing world-class business knowledge, expertise, and communications among Scots and friends of Scotland in international business. To find out more, please visit www.globalscot.com

The Scottish Executive, the devolved government for Scotland, was established in 1999 following the first elections to the new Scottish Parliament. Please visit www.scotland.gov.uk

Scottish Enterprise is the government agency responsible for economic development in Scotland. Please visit www.scottish-enterprise.com

Scottish Development International is run jointly by the Scottish Executive and Scottish Enterprise. It is responsible for developing Scottish business overseas and attracting investment, companies and individuals to Scotland. To find out more, please visit www.scottishdevelopmentinternational.com

“It has been my lot to have found myself in many distant lands. I have never been in one without finding a Scotchman, and I never found a Scotchman who was not at the head of the poll”.
Benjamin Disraeli, (1804-1881). British Prime Minister

Note: The quotations of Froude and Disraeli are from Mark of the Scots: Their Astonishing Contributions to History, Science, Democracy, Literature, and the Arts by Duncan A. Bruce

Recommended reading. How the Scots Invented the Modern World: The True Story of how Western Europe’s Poorest Nation Created Our World & Everything in It by Arthur Herman.

Flag images provided courtesy of Webmaster Toolsite.

| | | | |

| | | |