| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Olympic Games | ||
| Men's Sailing | ||
| Bronze | 1936 Berlin | Monotype class |
Sir Peter Markham Scott, CH, CBE, DSC, FRS, FZS, (September 14, 1909 – August 29, 1989) was a British ornithologist, conservationist, painter, naval officer and sportsman.
Contents |
Scott was born in London, the only child of Antarctic explorer Robert Falcon Scott and sculptor Kathleen Bruce. He was only two years old when his father died. Robert Scott, in a last letter to his wife, advised her to "make the boy interested in natural history if you can; it is better than games."[1] He was named after Sir Clements Markham, mentor of Scott's polar expeditions, and his godfather was J. M. Barrie, creator of Peter Pan.
He was educated at Oundle School and Trinity College, Cambridge, initially reading Natural Sciences but graduating in the History of Art in 1931.
He inherited his artistic talent from his mother and had his first exhibition in London in 1933. His wealthy background allowed him to follow his interests in art, wildlife and many sports, including sailing and ice skating. In 1936 Berlin Games, he represented Great Britain and Northern Ireland at sailing in the Olympic Games, winning a bronze medal.
During World War II, Scott served in the Royal Navy, emulating his father. He served first in destroyers in the North Atlantic but later moved to commanding the First (and only) Squadron of Steam Gun Boats against German E-boats in the English Channel.[2] He is also partly credited with designing 'shadow camouflage', which disguised the look of ship superstructure. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for bravery.
He stood as a Conservative candidate unsuccessfully in the 1945 general election in Wembley North. In 1948, he founded the organisation with which he was ever afterwards closely associated, the Severn Wildfowl Trust (now the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust) with its headquarters at Slimbridge in Gloucestershire. In the years that followed, he led ornithological expeditions worldwide, and became a television personality, popularising the study of wildfowl and wetlands. His BBC natural history series, Look, ran from 1955 to 1981 and made him a household name. He wrote and illustrated several books on the subject, including his autobiography, The Eye of the Wind (1961). In the 1950s, he also appeared regularly on BBC radio's Children's Hour, in the series, "Nature Parliament".
He married Elizabeth Jane Howard in 1942. A daughter, Nicola, was born a year later. They divorced in 1951 and he married an assistant, Philippa Talbot-Ponsonby, while on an expedition to Iceland in search of the breeding grounds of the Pink-footed Goose. A daughter, Dafila, was born later in the same year. (Dafila is the old scientific name for a pintail). She, too, is now an artist, painting birds.[3]
Scott took up gliding in
1956 and became a British champion in 1963. He was chairman of the
British Gliding Association
(BGA) for two years from 1968 and was president of the Bristol
& Gloucestershire Gliding Club. He was responsible for
involving Prince Philip in
gliding; the Prince is still patron of the BGA.
Scott also continued with his love of sailing, skippering the 12 metre yacht Sovereign in the 1964 challenge for the America's Cup which was held by USA. Sovereign suffered a whitewash 4-0 defeat in a one-sided competition where the American boat was seen to be the faster design.
From 1973 to 1983, Scott was Chancellor of the University of Birmingham. He died in 1989 just before what would have been his 80th birthday.
He was the founder President of the Society of Wildlife Artists.
Scott tutored numerous artists including Paul Karslake FRSA.
He was one of the founders of the World Wide Fund for Nature (formerly called the World Wildlife Fund), and designed its panda logo. His pioneering work in conservation also contributed greatly to the shift in policy of the International Whaling Commission and signing of the Antarctic Treaty. The latter inspired by his visit to his father's base on Ross Island in Antarctica.
He is also remembered for giving the scientific name of Nessiteras rhombopteryx (based on a blurred underwater photograph of a supposed fin) to the Loch Ness Monster so that it could be registered as an endangered species[4]. The name was based on the Ancient Greek for "the wonder of Ness with the diamond shaped fin", but it was later pointed out to be an anagram of Monster hoax by Sir Peter S.
In 1962, he co-founded the Loch Ness Phenomena Investigation Bureau with the then Conservative MP David James, who had previously been Polar Advisor on the classic 1948 movie based on his late father's doomed polar expedition Scott of the Antarctic.
Scott was a long-time Vice-President of the British Naturalists' Association, whose Peter Scott Memorial Award was instituted after his death, to commemorate his achievements.
In June 2004, Scott and Sir David Attenborough were jointly profiled in the second of a three part BBC Two series, The Way We Went Wild, about television wildlife presenters and were described as being largely responsible for the way that the British and much of the world views wildlife.
Scott's life was also the subject of a BBC Four documentary called "Peter Scott - A Passion for Nature" produced in 2006 by Available Light Productions, Bristol.
Scott appears as a minor character in the novel The Plague Dogs by Richard Adams. His fictional alter ego assists in rescuing the protagonists from their final peril.
Scott is cited as a member of the eclectic (and fictional) "orchestra" in The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band's recording, The Intro and the Outro, where he is credited--appropriately--with playing a duck call.
| Academic offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by John Bannerman, Baron Bannerman of Kildonan |
Rector of the
University of Aberdeen 1960–1963 |
Succeeded by Baron Hunt |
| Preceded by Earl of Avon |
Chancellor of the University of
Birmingham 1973–1983 |
Succeeded by Alex Jarratt |
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men's Sailing | ||
| Bronze | 1936 Berlin | Monotype class |
Sir Peter Markham Scott, CH CBE DSC FRS FZS (14 September 1909 – 29 August 1989) was a British ornithologist, conservationist, painter, Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve officer and sportsman.
Scott was knighted in 1973 for his contribution to the conservation of wild animals. He had been a founder of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), a founder of several wetlands bird sactuaries in Britain, and an influence on international conservation.[1] He received the WWF Gold Medal, and the J.Paul Getty Prize for his work.
Contents |
Scott was born in London, the only child of Antarctic explorer Robert Falcon Scott (Scott of the Antarctic) and sculptor Kathleen Bruce. He was only two years old when his father died. Robert Scott, in a last letter to his wife, advised her to "make the boy interested in natural history if you can; it is better than games".[2]
He was educated at Oundle School and Trinity College, Cambridge, at first taking Natural Sciences but graduating in the History of Art in 1931. After graduating, he studied art in Germany and London.
He had his first exhibition in London in 1933, and sold his first paintings. In 1935 he published Morning Flight, illustrated by himself. As a young man, Scott was not wealthy, and the income from his paintings was the basis of his life. The paintings themselves sold well, but most of the income came from books and reproductions. The reproductions, which were printed by Ankermann of Bond Street, are still selling well. From this 'income stream' Scott was able to keep a family, and buy some of the land he wanted for wildfowl refuges.[3]
In the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games, he represented Great Britain at sailing, winning a bronze medal in the smallest class of boat, the O-Jolle or dinghy.
As war approached, in 1939, he joined the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve. In 1940 he was made 1st Lieutenant, rising to Lieutenant-Commander during the war. He fought in small vessels in the Channel.[4]
In 1948, he founded the organisation with which he was ever afterwards closely associated, the Severn Wildfowl Trust (now the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust) with its headquarters at Slimbridge in Gloucestershire.
In the years that followed, he became a television personality, popularising the study of wildfowl and wetlands. His BBC natural history series, Look, ran from 1955 to 1981 and made him a household name. From 1973 to 1983, Scott was Chancellor of the University of Birmingham.
He was the founder President of the Society of Wildlife Artists and President of the Nature in Art Trust[5] (a role in which Philippa succeeded him).[5]
   | Biography - Peter Scott - a remarkable life |
| | Biography at WWT site - Learn - Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) |
| | BBC WW2 Peoples War accessed 11th December 2007 - BBC - WW2 People's War - The Buccaneers/London Navy |
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