BY JAMIE FOSTER
A new biography of Sir Peter Scott by Chris Moore has been published in partnership with the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT). Called Peter Scott and the Birth of Modern Conservation, Moore’s book charts the remarkable life of one of Britain’s greatest conservationists.
Scott was born in London at 174, Buckingham Palace Road, 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.” He was named after Sir Clements Markham, mentor of Scott’s polar expeditions, and a godfather along with J. M. Barrie, creator of Peter Pan.
Peter Scott was a remarkable man who led an extraordinary life, courageously escaping the shadow of a great father. Writer, artist, broadcaster, conservationist, sportsman; in any one of his chosen fields he would have been remembered as someone who made a difference. That he excelled in all of these is perhaps the main reason why his life remains an inspiration to others more than thirty years after his death. To his chosen fields, Peter brought a restless energy, boundless enthusiasm, integrity and determination to succeed.
This new biography charts his life, from the young boy who grew up in the shadow of the tragic death of his famous father to the co-founder of the World Wildlife Fund and a major international figure in wildlife conservation. Along the way he became a passionate wildfowler, an internationally renowned artist, wartime hero, British national glider champion and popular broadcaster who was heavily involved in the development of natural history programmes at the BBC.
Scott was an accomplished sportsman, winning a bronze medal at the 1936 Olympic Games for sailing, becoming the British gliding champion in 1963 and a national championship standard ice-skater.
As an inventor he designed the trapeze that racing crews use to hang from a sailing boat, the rocket net which catches birds and the camouflage used by British World War Two warships for which he received the CBE.
He was an accomplished artist who had his first exhibition in London at the age of 24. His best-known painting: ‘Taking to Wing’ was printed 350,000 times as a picture and on Christmas cards and table mats.
He was one of the first people to recognise the power of television in bringing wildlife into people’s homes and presented the BBC’s first ever natural history programme live from his Slimbridge home in 1953. He went on to become a popular television personality commentating on the Queen’s coronation and wedding. Sir David Attenborough cites Sir Peter’s pioneering TV career as his inspiration and calls him his ‘hero’ and the ‘patron saint of conservation’. Peter Scott counted David Attenborough as a close friend. He was a pioneering conservationist and was pivotal in work to secure agreements for an international moratorium on whaling in 1982 and the signing of the Antarctic Treaty. The Red Data List, that is still used today to record and categorise the conservation status of all known species, was his brain child. He became the first person to be knighted for services to conservation in 1973.
Scott was even responsible for creating WWF’s famous panda logo, as well as the WWT swan logo.
The book draws in part upon previously unpublished letters and papers discovered in his home during preparations to open it to the public, and casts a new light on some of the events that helped change a passionate hunter of wild geese into the most fervent champion for their survival.
With environment issues so prominent and the threat of mass extinction of wildlife across the globe, Peter’s story is a vivid reminder of the challenges we face and of what we stand to lose.
Chris Moore’s book can be acquired here.
