Collection OM/484 - John Armour papers

John Armour was born on 29 July 1900 in Glasgow, to Andrew James Raeburn Armour and Annie Stevenson Armour, neé Inglis. His father was a lithographic artist, and the family, including John's two younger sisters, Janet and Jean, and younger brother, James, lived in the Partick area of the city.

In 1912, John was admitted to Allan Glen's School, where, in session 1917-1918, he came top of Form 6 to be named Dux of the School. Both he and his younger sister, Janet Foote Armour, then went on to study chemistry at the Royal Technical College of Glasgow (RTC). John qualified for the RTC's Associateship in Chemistry in 1923, gaining the degree of BSc in Chemistry from the University of Glasgow in the same year (at that time, the RTC was affiliated to the University of Glasgow and students aiming for a pure science or engineering degree could take classes at both institutions). Whilst studying, he also served as a District Cubmaster in the Boy Scouts Association, gaining his Akela Badge in 1923.

John Armour subsequently worked in industry, as a chemist in the Print Works at Graham's Trading Company, Braço de Prata, near Lisbon, Portugal. He then moved to England, where he was employed in the Research Department of the Calico Printers' Association in Manchester. He latterly lived in Bury, Lancashire, with his wife and son. He reportedly had a wicked, dry sense of intellectual humour; an interest in the use of forensic methods to solve crimes, and a love of dahlias, to which he devoted his garden.