Davie Taylor (79) collecting his special one-off award from SGA Chairman Alex Hogg at Moy Country Fair
A former gamekeeper who worked every day for almost a month at the age of nearly 80 to help extinguish Scotland’s biggest ever wildfire has been honoured.
Davie Taylor now 79, of Logie, helped fight the Dava wildfire with colleagues last year when it was at its height and had burned 85 per cent of Dunphail on the southern edge of Dava Moor.
Thereafter, following three days of round-the-clock firefighting, he then spent the next 22 days digging out and dousing burning peat hotspots using five-gallon drums of water sourced from a burn, spades, axes and chainsaws, until the fire was finally out.
With the Cairngorms wildfire of recent weeks having been resourced with millions of pounds of technical firefighting equipment, included extended use of water bombing helicopters, the personal feats of Mr Taylor last year were described as ‘remarkable’.
Years earlier Mr Taylor had broken his back whilst working but his stubborn determination to see Dunphail safe, over 25 gruelling days, outweighed his own personal considerations.
Surrounded by family at Moy Country Fair in Inverness-shire, Mr Taylor today received a specially inaugurated award by the Scottish Gamekeepers Association (SGA) for his efforts and care.
The crafted decanter for outstanding services to Conservation and Community was presented by SGA Chairman Alex Hogg, MBE, on the same day former MSP and Rural Cabinet Secretary, Fergus Ewing, received the Ronnie Rose Award.
Former Rural Secretary, MSP Fergus Ewing and Davie Taylor receive their awards at Moy Country Fair from SGA Chairman Alex Hogg, MBE.
Mr Ewing, who lost his seat at the 2026 Holyrood election after serving Badenoch and Strathspey for 26 years was honoured for his unstinting advocacy for good gamekeeping and land management during a distinguished Holyrood career.
Gamekeeper and friend Davie Thomson, who attended the award ceremony, said Mr Taylor had shown the essence of selfless service at Dava.
“This is a guy who had broken his back a few years ago. He just stuck at it, day after day, at nearly 80 years old. He wasn’t going to leave peat burning there.
“Summer wildfires burn down into peat and Davie was digging out the peat and cutting out tree roots that send the fire down into the peat.
“He was filling up five-gallon drums, sticking them on the Argo and driving to wherever the hostpots were, pouring it down to get the edges out.
“Once the water was used up, it was back to the burn and filling up again. It’s heavy work, that, day after day.”
The aftermath of the Dava_Carrbridge wildfire in 2025
Mr Taylor spoke of his shock at receiving the award.
He said modestly: “It is just something you do. There’s no point just putting water on peat fires, if you are not digging the smouldering peat out, all you are doing is creating steam.”
Mr Ewing expressed his own admiration for Mr Taylor’s contribution to the community and warned his former SNP Government colleagues that new legislation regarding the licensing of muirburn will exacerbate wildfires.
He cautioned: “Estates where muirburn is not practiced, where firebreaks and paths are not kept clear; where unmanaged heather and vegetation can grow even to shoulder height – these so-called ‘rewilded’ estates- thus become a gigantic rural tinderbox.
“This law (muirburn licensing) which will directly cause and exacerbate these hazards is potentially lethal and I call on Scottish Government to drop it.”
The charred Dava Moor landscape in the immediate aftermath of the wildfire. Picture: Travis Bremner.
Mr Ewing said he was delighted to receive his award, adding: “Gamekeepers are the beating heart of rural Scotland.
“Over the past 26 years in Holyrood, I have sought always to make the case for gamekeeping and field sports. I have the greatest respect for the work you do.”
Also receiving an award from the SGA Fishing Group for Wild Salmon Conservation was River Dee River Operations Manager Edwin Third who has been a pivotal figure in award-winning initiatives to restore riparian habitats such as the ‘Save the Spring’ campaign.
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