[1][2][3] Vernon was born in Kintore, Aberdeenshire, the son of a doctor and educated at Strathallan School in Perthshire, Scotland.
[1] After Strathallan, Vernon completed his national service with the Royal Signals serving in Malta, Palestine and Cyprus.
[4] Whilst studying in Glasgow he became a member of the Scottish Covenant Association, a group which supported home rule for Scotland.
[5] Whilst studying at the University of Glasgow, Gavin Vernon, was approached by a fellow student, Ian Hamilton, to participate in a daring plan to remove the Stone of Scone from Westminster Abbey in London and take it to Scotland,[5] along with Kay Matheson and Alan Stuart.
[2] Vernon's name would become inextricably linked with the raid and amongst the devolution and nationalist movements in Scotland he gained iconic status.