John Scott (9 November 1923 – 11 November 2008) was a British television weatherman who appeared for the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: Television TV stations/networks/channels ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network and company, including: **ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network in the United Kingd ...

and

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

during a 20-year broadcasting career.

Early life

He attended Spennymoor Grammar School in

Spennymoor Spennymoor is a town and civil parish in County Durham, England. It is south of the River Wear and is south of Durham. The civil parish includes the villages of Kirk Merrington, Middlestone Moor, Byers Green and Tudhoe. In 2011 the paris ...

. He went to Nottingham Technical College (which eventually became

Nottingham Trent University Nottingham Trent University (NTU) is a public research university located in Nottingham, England. Its origins date back to 1843 with the establishment of the Nottingham School of Design, Nottingham Government School of Design, which still opera ...

), leaving in 1941. In 1941, aged 17, Scott joined the

Met Office The Met Office, until November 2000 officially the Meteorological Office, is the United Kingdom's national weather and climate service. It is an executive agency and trading fund of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and ...

, later joining the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

and serving in

Sullom Voe Sullom Voe is an eight-mile-long voe or inlet off Yell Sound in the Shetland Islands. It divides the Northmavine peninsula from the remainder of Mainland (the two are connected by an isthmus at the head of the voe known as Mavis Grind). It i ...

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

and

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

during and after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In the 1950s and 1960s he worked at RAF Watnall (now called the

Nottingham Weather Centre The Nottingham Weather Centre (also referred to Nottingham Watnall) is a functioning observation and weather station located in Watnall, Nottinghamshire in England. The weather station is located from the city centre of Nottingham, and is the clo ...

), and in

Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

, and at

RAF Uxbridge RAF Uxbridge was a Royal Air Force (RAF) station in Uxbridge, within the London Borough of Hillingdon, occupying a site that originally belonged to the Hillingdon House estate. The British Government purchased the estate in 1915, three years b ...

Broadcasting

Jack Scott made his television debut in May 1969 as the BBC's twentieth weather forecaster; he stayed with them until his retirement in 1983. As Scott was employed by the

Civil Service The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

rather than the

, when he left the BBC and the

in 1983 aged 60, he was able to draw a Civil Service pension.'The Times' obituary 14 November 2008 He went on to work for the

company

Thames Television Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a franchise holder for a region of the British ITV television network serving London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until the night of 31 December 1992. Thames Television broa ...

(1983 – 1988) and was a presenter of

's magazine programme for the over 60s, ''Years Ahead'', from 1988 to 1989. He also made regular appearances on ''

Pebble Mill at One ''Pebble Mill at One'' was a British television magazine programme that was broadcast live on weekdays at one o'clock on BBC1, from 2 October 1972 to 23 May 1986, and again from 14 October 1991 to 29 March 1996. It was transmitted from the Peb ...

'' discussing weather-related topics and presented a series called ''Under the Weather''. Described by the

as a "pioneer", Scott introduced the famous magnetic symbols to viewers in 1975, which could sometimes slip or fall off during broadcasts. He also helped lay the foundations of the computerised system of forecasting used today. Mark Byford, the BBC's Deputy Director-General, praised Scott's "wonderful gift of authority and knowledge matched by a warm and accessible style."

Personal life

Scott was married to Marrion (who died in 2000) and had two sons, David (who survived him) and Jonathan, who died in a climbing accident in the Himalayas. Jack was a member o
Burnham Beeches Golf Club
in

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...

. He lived in

Iver Heath Iver is a civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England. In addition to the central clustered village, the parish includes the residential neighbourhoods of Iver Heath and Richings Park and the hamlets of Shreding Green and Thorney. Geography, tr ...

, in the former

South Bucks South Bucks was one of four local government districts in the non-metropolitan county of Buckinghamshire, in South East England. The district was formed on 1 April 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, by the amalgamation of the area of Beac ...

district.''Buckinghamshire Examiner'' Friday 14 January 1994, page 10 He died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

aged 85 on 11 November 2008.

References

External links

''Telegraph'' obituary

Scott
on the

website
BBC obituaries
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, Jack 1923 births 2008 deaths Alumni of Nottingham Trent University Royal Air Force personnel of World War II BBC weather forecasters English meteorologists English television presenters People from South Bucks District People from Spennymoor Deaths from cancer in England People educated at Spennymoor Grammar School