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Scots good enough to lick

17 April 2017

Brian Cox explores the connections between Scotland and Russia in his two-part series for BBC Scotland. One of the stories he tells is that of Scottish socialist leader John Maclean.

Official stamp of approval

John Maclean was a fierce opponent of World War One. He was arrested and imprisoned multiple times for sedition – encouraging people to rebel.

During his spell in Peterhead jail he went on hunger strike and was force-fed by the prison authorities, which took a severe toll on his health.

After the Russian Revolution he was appointed as the Soviet Consul to Scotland. Although Maclean never actually set foot in the USSR, its government produced a stamp bearing his likeness.

But he’s not the only Scot to have had this honour bestowed upon them by a foreign government.

Mac in the USSR

John Maclean on a Soviet stamp

The Scottish socialist leader was honoured in a stamp

Serbian war heroes

Scots WW1 medical staff: Serbia

Five Scottish women who provided medical care in Serbia during World War One were commemorated in a series of stamps released in 2015.

Doctors Elsie Inglis, Elizabeth Ross, Katherine Mahail OBE, Isabel Emslie Galloway Hutton and Evelina Haverfield were recognised along with their English colleague, Captain Flora Sandes.

South American revolutionary

Thomas Cochrane: Chile

Thomas Cochrane trained in the Royal Navy but fell from grace after being falsely accused of fraud and took his skills abroad.

Cochrane went on to command the Chilean, Brazilian and Greek navies, helping these countries fight for independence.

He eventually received a royal pardon and returned to the Royal Navy.

His exploits are said to have inspired the famous literary character Horatio Hornblower.

Social reformer in New Zealand

Elizabeth Grace Neill: New Zealand

Elizabeth Grace Neill grew up in Argyll in a wealthy family. She ignored the expectations put up women of her class in the Victorian era and sought to develop her own career. She trained as a nurse and moved first to Australia, then New Zealand, where she worked to improve the conditions of the poor, particularly women.

Fantastical writing

Robert Louis Stevenson: Samoa

Robert Louis Stevenson abandoned engineering to pursue a career in writing at 21 and went on to pen classics of Scottish literature, like Kidnapped and The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.

But he suffered from ill health and sought out warmer climates, eventually settling in Samoa.

Stamp for the phone

Alexander Graham Bell: Liberia

Alexander Graham Bell emigrated from Scotland to Canada and then on to America.

He studied the mechanics of human speech and went on to play a major role in developing telephone technology.

Bell has featured on stamps around the world in recognition for his work.

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