From farmer to friend of Lord Nelson: Man's book documents the story of Moray's John Scott
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A BOOK which documents a Moray man’s rise from the humble home of a tenant farmer to become the friend and confidant of one of Britain’s most significant historical figures has been launched.
The limited-edition book tells the story of John Scott, born in 1764 at Floods Farm, Spey Bay, whose career in the Royal Navy resulted in his close friendship with Lord Nelson.
He rose from a humble start to become a purser on a series of increasingly important ships, also serving for limited periods as secretary for three different admirals before becoming Lord Nelson’s public secretary.
He died on the deck of HMS Victory during the early stages of the Battle of Trafalgar. He was held in such esteem that, although a non-commissioned officer, his family were awarded a service pension after his death.
The story of the unsung hero was revealed at an event at Gordon Castle, where his family had been tenant farmers.
The book’s author John Maynard, a member of the Nelson Society, was encouraged to write the book by members of the Forres Heritage Trust after he had delivered a talk on the subject at the Forres Tolbooth in May 2023.
John’s interest in the character was born some 20 years ago with a possible family connection.
He said: “Twenty years ago, my late wife Beryl and I thought it might be fun to see whether or not there was any truth that her mother’s family was connected with John Scott.
"We discovered he was born on the Gordon Estate, so in 2009 we came to Scotland and visited the Heritage Centre in Elgin.
"It was here, by chance, that we met a gentleman called Ron MacGregor, a former Elgin postmaster who was on a mission to tell the story of this unsung Scottish hero.
"We exchanged addresses and phone numbers and over the next four years shared the results of our research. This is how it all started.”
John added: “By 2013 we had had pretty much got Scott’s story together and came back to Elgin for a celebratory supper with Ron.
"Sadly, that was only the second time we met Ron and he died not long after.
"I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Ron for the way this project has enriched my life, but I also share his conviction that the story of this unsung Scottish hero should be told here in Moray where he was born, so this book has been written very much with him in mind.”
Talking about the book, John explained: “John’s story is remarkable. What had become clear to me was that Scott was hugely gifted, highly-intelligent and with remarkable personal charm.
"He was a significant person who deserves to be taken seriously within the Nelson story.
"It was only last May, when a small group from the Nelson Society, visited Forres that I first told John Scott’s story with all the passion I could muster and from that, I was encouraged to publish his story.”
The publication of the book has been funded by the Gordon and Ena Baxter Foundation.
George Alexander, chairman of the Forres Heritage Trust said: “This is a fantastic piece of research and the Heritage Trust is delighted to have played a small part in the book being published.
"This is the story of a man who rose from nothing to being the right hand man of Lord Nelson, who is one of our country’s most esteemed historical figures.
"The book documents the friendship between John Scott and Horatio Nelson and contains numerous letters, one from Lord Nelson to John Scott and others from Scott to his wife and another between John and the laird of Gordon Castle Estate at the time.”
