Dr John Morton Boyd CBE

Order of the British Empire

The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...

 (31 January 1925 – 25 August 1998) was a Scottish

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 zoologist

Zoology

Zoology |zoölogy]]), is the branch of biology that relates to the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct...

, writer

Writer

A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....

 and conservationist

Conservation movement

The conservation movement, also known as nature conservation, is a political, environmental and a social movement that seeks to protect natural resources including animal, fungus and plant species as well as their habitat for the future....

. He was a pioneer of nature conservation in Scotland.

Boyd was born, and grew up, in Darvel

Darvel

Darvel is a small town in East Ayrshire, Scotland, located at the eastern end of the Irvine Valley and is sometimes referred to as "The Lang Toon" due to its quaint appearance on Ordnance Survey maps....

, Ayrshire

Ayrshire

Ayrshire is a registration county, and former administrative county in south-west Scotland, United Kingdom, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine. The town of Troon on the coast has hosted the British Open Golf Championship twice in the...

. He attended the University of Glasgow

University of Glasgow

The University of Glasgow is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ancient universities. Located in Glasgow, the university was founded in 1451 and is presently one of seventeen British higher education institutions ranked amongst the top 100 of the...

 where he began a course in engineering before switching to zoology. As an undergraduate he studied sand dune

Dune

In physical geography, a dune is a hill of sand built by wind. Dunes occur in different forms and sizes, formed by interaction with the wind. Most kinds of dunes are longer on the windward side where the sand is pushed up the dune and have a shorter "slip face" in the lee of the wind...

 snail

Snail

Snail is a common name applied to most of the members of the molluscan class Gastropoda that have coiled shells in the adult stage. When the word is used in its most general sense, it includes sea snails, land snails and freshwater snails. The word snail without any qualifier is however more often...

s on the island of Tiree

Tiree

-History:Tiree is known for the 1st century BC Dùn Mòr broch, for the prehistoric carved Ringing Stone and for the birds of the Ceann a' Mhara headland....

 in the Inner Hebrides

Inner Hebrides

The Inner Hebrides is an archipelago off the west coast of Scotland, to the south east of the Outer Hebrides. Together these two island chains form the Hebrides, which enjoy a mild oceanic climate. There are 36 inhabited islands and a further 43 uninhabited Inner Hebrides with an area greater than...

, subsequently undertaking a doctoral study

Doctorate

A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...

 on the earthworm

Earthworm

Earthworm is the common name for the largest members of Oligochaeta in the phylum Annelida. In classical systems they were placed in the order Opisthopora, on the basis of the male pores opening posterior to the female pores, even though the internal male segments are anterior to the female...

s of the machair and further ecological

Ecology

Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...

 research.

Boyd was influenced by the writings of Seton Gordon

Seton Gordon

Seton Gordon was a Scottish naturalist, photographer and folklorist.Gordon began exploring the Highlands of Scotland as a boy, particularly the Cairngorms. He later became a world famous naturalist, photographer and folklorist, describing the wildlife and scenery of Scotland. His books are still...

 and Frank Fraser Darling

Frank Fraser Darling

Sir Frank Fraser Darling was an English ecologist, ornithologist, farmer, conservationist and author, who is strongly associated with the highlands and islands of Scotland.-Early life:...

. He visited St Kilda

St Kilda, Scotland

St Kilda is an isolated archipelago west-northwest of North Uist in the North Atlantic Ocean. It contains the westernmost islands of the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. The largest island is Hirta, whose sea cliffs are the highest in the United Kingdom and three other islands , were also used for...

 and recognised the potential for research into its endemic fauna, including the Soay Sheep

Soay sheep

The Soay sheep is a primitive breed of domestic sheep descended from a population of feral sheep on the island of Soay in the St. Kilda Archipelago, about from the Western Isles of Scotland...

, the St Kilda Wren

Winter Wren

The Winter Wren is a very small North American bird and a member of the mainly New World wren family Troglodytidae. It was once lumped with Troglodytes pacificus of western North America and Troglodytes troglodytes of Eurasia under the name Winter Wren.It breeds in coniferous forests from British...

 and the St Kilda Fieldmouse

Wood mouse

The wood mouse is a common murid rodent from Europe and northwestern Africa. It is closely related to the yellow-necked mouse but differs in that it has no band of yellow fur around the neck, has slightly smaller ears, and is usually slightly smaller overall: around 90 mm in length...

. He was also involved in research on the Grey Seal

Grey Seal

The grey seal is found on both shores of the North Atlantic Ocean. It is a large seal of the family Phocidae or "true seals". It is the only species classified in the genus Halichoerus...

 on North Rona

North Rona

Rona is a remote Scottish island in the North Atlantic. Rona is often referred to as North Rona in order to distinguish it from South Rona . It has an area of and a maximum height of...

.

In 1971 Boyd became the Scottish Director of the Nature Conservancy

Nature Conservancy (UK)

The Nature Conservancy was a British government agency established by Royal Charter in 1949.The Nature Conservancy was superseded by the Nature Conservancy Council in 1973....

. He retired from the Conservancy in 1985, but continued to be active in conservation until his death.