A new book which charts a famous chase for an Ayrshire horse thief has been published — 11 years after the historic trek which inspired it.
John Nelson, 76, made national headlines in 2011 when he retraced the remarkable pursuit 200 years previously of a horse thief by his great-great-great-grandfather John Kerr.
Now John, who farms in Dumfries and Galloway with his son Andrew, has finally brought to print the tale about his ancestor’s epic journey.
The book — On the Trail of a Broken Shoe — describes his ride on horseback following the route to Appin taken by South Ayrshireman John Kerr in 1811.
He told Ayrshire Live: “Riding the route that my great-great-great-grandfather took was a wonderful experience.
“I have dedicated the book to the writer Mary Smith, who was a great inspiration to me.
“I went to see her before Christmas.
“As I was leaving she said: ‘I want a signed copy of your book before I die.
“I had been looking for a big publisher but decided then and there that I would just get Alba, in Dumfries, to print it. They did a great job.”
John Kerr’s legendary chase all the way from Ayrshire to Argyll ended with him apprehending two tinkers after a fight.
Weeks before he had given hospitality to the travellers – only for them to make off overnight with his favourite mare.
Both men were convicted and one was hanged at the Tolbooth in Ayr, apparently the last person in Scotland to be executed for horse stealing.
His accomplice was sentenced to penal transportation to Australia.
John’s book, subtitled Tales of Triumphs, Trials and Tribulations of a Galloway Family, also includes tales assembled through years of research into the lives of his forebears and local worthies.
Some are humorous, others tragic, with many wrapped up in the horrors of wars from Napoleon to Hirohito.
John said: “It’s a collection of local tales involving local people.
“My father was in Burma during the Second World War.
“I found in his desk a poem about another disastrous attempt to get by the Japanese lines.
“He could see this boy wounded and trying to drag himself away.
“But he could not help him because the Japanese machine guns were going.
“He wrote at the time ‘When I’m out of this, there’s one thing I will remember;
“‘How I looked through the glass and watched a comrade die.’”
John added: “In the First World War my grandfather John Nelson – he’s the fifth, I’m the seventh – was a cavalryman.
“He and three other local men went up to Dunkeld for their training.
“He and another man were posted to Salonika in Greece and they survived.
“The other two were sent out to France, where they were both killed.
“Such are the fortunes of war.”
John’s book also described how all Cogarth’s sheep and cattle, where he now farms, were destroyed during the foot and mouth outbreak in 2001.
He said: “Everything on the farm was killed bar the dog. But there are some funny stories in the book too.
“Writing it has been an experience,
“It was quite a challenge but I got there. I have spoken at 20 clubs round the country including rotaries, rurals and historical societies.
“I have four more speaking dates, the furthest away being Appin in Argyll.”
The book is on sale at Waterstones, Ayr and the Book Nook, High Street Stewarton.
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