Bryan Gunn - Early Life

Early Life

Gunn was born on 22 December 1963 in Thurso, Scotland, "ten miles from John o’Groats". His parents were James Gunn, a long-distance lorry driver, and Jessie Sinclair, a canteen worker at the Dounreay nuclear power plant; the pair had married despite being on opposite sides of a family feud stretching back to the 16th century. James was an amateur sportsman, playing football on the right wing for local team Invergordon F.C. and winning medals at highland games events.

The Gunn family home in Thurso was a farm, and the young Bryan would often pester the farmhands to play football with him. They would use a turnip if no ball was available. By the age of four he was keen on goalkeeping; he was fearless of injury and enjoyed diving on the ball. When Bryan was four-and-a-half, the family moved to Invergordon, 20 miles from Inverness. He attended Park Primary School in the town and joined the school football team. Future professional Bobby Geddes was favoured over him as first-choice goalkeeper for the team; Gunn played as an outfield player until Geddes moved on to secondary school.

Gunn attended secondary school at Invergordon Academy from 1975 to 1980, and gained O Levels in a variety of subjects, including English, maths, history and chemistry. He failed his French exam after taking it while "on the road" with Scotland under-15s. At the age of 13, he was invited to play for the under-15 Invergordon F.C. team by one of his school teachers, who managed the team. The team was beaten 9–0 in Gunn's debut, but his subsequent performances attracted the attention of national selectors, and he joined the Scotland under-15 squad around the same time he signed for Aberdeen at age 14.