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Marion Dawson

Test Validator
Validated By: Test Validator On Date: Mar. 16th 2023

Marion Rowatt Dawson (née Bilsland) is a British supercentenarian whose age has been validated by the European Supercentenarian Organisation (ESO). She is the oldest living person in Scotland and one of the 20 oldest people ever from the country.

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Biography

Dawson was born as Marion Rowatt Bilsland in Houston, Renfrewshire, Scotland, on 19 January 1913 as the youngest of five children born to Alexander and Jane (née Alexander) Bilsland. She married Robert Dawson in 1941 and had two children named Jean and Allan. She has memories of both World Wars, “watching fires from the hill.”

Dawson was vaccinated for COVID-19 on her 108th birthday in 2021 at her local kirk, which was being used as a temporary vaccination site. Up until the pandemic, she had never missed a single Sunday service but still attended online services during the lockdowns.

On 22 October 2021, aged 108, Dawson became the oldest resident of Scotland following the death of 109-year-old Lois Fraser. The following year, she moved into a care home in Bridge of Weir. She celebrated her 110th birthday with lots of friends and family members, as well as the staff of her care home. A lifelong teetotaler, she never drank alcohol, preferring lemonade.

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Recognition

Dawson was first reported in an obscure local magazine on her 105th birthday in 2018. She first gained notoriety on her 108th birthday, when her COVID-19 vaccination was heavily reported on, even by the BBC. Several Scottish newspapers also reported her 110th birthday.

Her age was verified by Rob Campbell and Andrew Holmes, and validated by the ESO on 16 March 2023.