Sir John Hay of Park, Bt., joins 1745 Battle Heritage Trust

Sir John's ancestor Sir Thomas stood and fought with Colonel Gardiner in 1745

The Trustees are delighted to announce that Sir John Hay of Park, Bt., has agreed to join the Committee of High Patronage for the Trust. Its membership is open to descendants and Representers of all the Hanoverian officers and Clan Chiefs who were on the field at Prestonpans on September 21st 1745.

Sir Thomas Hay of Park, 3rd Baronet, about 30 years of age, rode out for George II at the instigation of his near neighbour Field Marshal The Earl of Stair, C in C Scotland, to take command of a company of the Galloway Militia just prior to the Battle of Prestonpans. Sir Thomas with 16 other soldiers remained to fight alongside Colonel Gardiner after Sir John Cope and the others fled. He was badly wounded and taken prisoner to Edinburgh with his 16 year old servant Charles Adair. He was treated well by the Jacobites and recovered, married Jean Blair of Dunskey in 1747 and begat at least ten children.

So the Hay's of Park, unlike so many Scots families at that time, survived the 1745 and raised another generation to inherit their estates. But tragically most of Sir Thomas' children died young, leaving only one daughter as sole heiress. She later married a cousin of Field Marshal Lord Stair [a friend of Colonel Gardiner by several accounts].

Sir John has spent a great deal of time over the past 30 years seeking to get as near to a correct version of the role his ancestor played as possible. He has argued that it had been wildly romanticised. We are truly grateful that as he joins our High Patrons he has provided us with the most comprehensive analysis of Sir Thomas' role available and much determining documentation.