John Burns

John Burns was 98 and had said he would retire in the weeks before his death. He had continued delivering legal documents around the Court of Session for TC Young Wilson Terris, which he joined at the age of 14.

Mr Burns missed the Guinness World Record for the longest career in the same company only because he had served in the Second World War, breaking his period of continuous employment.

A grandfather of five from Meadowbank in Edinburgh, he died shortly after celebrating his birthday.

His daughter-in-law Nancy Burns, a nurse, said: “He lived for his job and was often seen running for the bus in the morning.”

Mr Burns began working at the firm in 1936 and only took time off to join the RAF and work as a radio operator in West Africa, where he listened for German submarines.

Following the death of his wife, Catherine, 12 years ago, he walked 20 miles of the West Highland Way to raise funds for research into motor neurone disease.

His son David, 59, said: “Dad found the funny side in everything and when life got bad he would shrug his shoulders and say, ‘You’ve got to get on with it’.”

In 2016 he saw his beloved Hibernian lift the Scottish Cup for the first time in his life. David said: “He was ecstatic. That was after saying he would never live to see it.”

Grant Knight, a partner at TC Young, said: “John was an inspiration to everyone who met him in his 84-year loyal service. Perhaps as he is no longer here to object to the fuss, he can get his well-deserved and posthumous recognition for the world’s longest-serving employee.”