His son Andrew, who chose not to enter the family business and instead emigrated to the USA in 1965, penned the following tribute to his father.

James (Jim) Henderson McGhie was born in 1914 at 53 Radnor Street. His father Andrew and grandfather James were independent builders in the Clydebank area who built and factored the red sandstone tenements on the south side of Radnor Street around 1906 and 1907.

The three-story tenements were unique in that they had indoor toilets and were much sought after as a result.

Jim was also involved in building — and running — the Wedderlea Hall on Graham Avenue, opposite the La Scala picture house.

From his late teens, he doubled as a bouncer at the hall when folk became unruly and was present for both nights of the Blitz, suffering an injury trying to douse the fire on the roof of the hall.

In addition to many single homes in the area and work as general building contractors, Jim and his brother - also Andrew - built the Boulevard Service Station in the 1940s.

All in all he lead a quiet, normal life in Clydebank except for his stint in the army from 1942 to 1946 with the Royal Army Service Corps, attached to the 1st American Army in North Africa as a driver and dispatch rider.

Sailing across the Mediterranean Sea on the Strathallan passenger liner when it was torpedoed, Jim and many others had to jump about 20 to 30 feet down on to mattresses on HMS Tiger as it sailed alongside.

Back home, Jim was a member of Radnor Park Parish Church and an avid golfer, just making it into first class.

His wife Margaret, well known in the 1930s and ‘40s for tap dancing, passed away in 1999.

Until his death, Jim lived in his flat with help from social services and Morag McCarron in particular, who was his primary care giver for the last five to six years.

He is survived by his son Andrew. A former pupil at Clydebank High School, the 73-year-old gained a PhD in Physical Chemistry at Glasgow University.

He is the associate director of the Laboratory for Research on the Structure of Matter at the University of Pennsylvania and lives in the USA with wife Anne and children Alistair and Alison.