"Evan, my grandfather, served in World War I in the London Rifle Brigade and was killed in action at Lesboeufs, France in 1916. He left an only son James who, as a pilot officer in Coastal Command Flying Boats 204 Squadron in World War II, was among the first of those to be awarded the George Medal for bravery (the George Medal like the George Cross was instituted in 1940 by King George VI). This he received for saving the lives of several injured members of the crew of his Sunderland flying boat after it had crashed into a mountainside in Iceland. Four crew members including the captain were seriously injured. James and other crew members managed to carry the wounded clear of the wrecked hull just before it caught fire; moments later the bombs it was carrying exploded.

"The captain's injury meant that James, as second pilot, took charge. He and a volunteer went to find help from the village below the mountain, walking for ten miles down through the lava desert that was the mountainside, their rubber flying boots torn to shreds.

"The alarm was raised and a rescue party of lorries and ambulances assembled, but was unable to cross the lava beds. The rescuers had to continue on foot and my father volunteered to lead the way; he then had to trek back to the village on foot yet again.

"Some months later my father was appointed to the General School of Air Reconnaissance where he played a major role in the invention and development of an important flying and navigation training aid which was subsequently adopted by many air forces and airlines. He was mentioned in despatches and in 1946 he was awarded the MBE."

"Through my father's marriage to Hermione de Vere Beauclerk, I can also boast a wonderfully Cavalier ancestry. My maternal grandfather was heir-in-line to the Dukedom of St Albans - Charles Beauclerk, Duke of St. Albans having been the first son of the liaison between Charles II and the actress Nell Gwyn, and one of fourteen acknowledged illegitimate children of Charles II - a notoriously flamboyant and colourful character.

"Nell Gwyn was said to be by far the most popular of all the king's mistresses - largely because of her ready wit but perhaps also because she was beautiful and never put on airs and graces, never forgot old friends, and remained faithful to her 'Charles III' (he was her third lover of that name) to the end.

"In 1965 I presented the details of, and evidence supporting, all these chapters in our family history to the Lord Lyon King of Arms in Edinburgh, seeking confirmation and registration. He permitted me to matriculate arms, quartering my Dewar arms 'of ancient user' (the Lord Lyon King of Arms believed these dated back to the early 1500s), as on the seventeenth-century tombstone, with those of the Beauclerks, Dukes of St. Albans, and the de Veres, Earls of Oxford, reflecting my mother's status of heraldic heiress. Thus my arms are a sort of pictorial genealogy, signifying both my maternal descent from Charles II and Nell Gwyn and my paternal descent from Dewar.

"In keeping with Scottish heraldry, it is interesting to note that my Dewar arms bear strong similarities to those of all other Dewar families in Scotland. However, we have been unable to establish any connection between them, despite undertaking considerable research.

"My strong interest in genealogy led to my specialisation in this field of study and I founded a heraldic and genealogical practice more than thirty years ago. Since then I have become increasingly involved in lecturing and writing, as the heraldry consultant to Christie's and numerous other similar activities which I undertake in addition to my main occupation as an accountant, management consultant, 'headhunter' and magistrate. From 1965 until 1992 I also served as a Lieutenant Commander in the Royal Navy Reserve, latterly in naval intelligence which I see as requiring many of the same investigative and presentational skills used in genealogy."

"More traditional roles include my membership of the Royal Company of Archers which acts as the Queen's personal bodyguard when she's in Scotland. We don marvellous green uniforms, wear feathers in our caps and bear bows and arrows. Although the Royal Company dates back to 1676, its role as the Royal Body Guard commenced in 1821. Its presence at the Royal Garden Party at Holyrood, at Investitures and at the Thistle Service adds a splash of colour and romanticism.

"I have also served as Falkland Pursuivant Extraordinary to the Lord Lyon King of Arms on numerous occasions since 1975, in connection with the Service of Installation of Knights and Dames of the Most Noble and Most Ancient Order of the Thistle. This ceremonial role involves leading in the procession of the Royal Household. In July this year I shall again be acting as Falkland, for the twelfth time, when the Queen is to invest the Princess Royal as a Dame of the Thistle in St. Giles' Cathedral.

"In addition I am a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Haberdashers which ranks eighth among the 'Great Twelve' Livery Companies of the City of London (there are a hundred or so in total), and dates back to pre-1468. My earliest traceable ancestors were members of not dissimilar guilds, so the family has perhaps now gone full circle. Today, though, most of the livery companies are much less involved in the trades from which they take their names, and more in the charities they support such as schools.

"Over the last year I have been particularly involved in researching and editing the new edition of Burke's Landed Gentry, in the exciting prospect of getting this on to the Internet. This is a marvellous initiative as it will enable us continually to update, correct and improve on the hundreds of family and thousands of individual entries making up the directory, creating a vast online research resource. It also means we shall be able to use colour liberally - the first time we have been able to do so. For instance, we shall be able to show each generation in a different colour, which will make it far easier to follow and be more 'user-friendly' than the traditional indentations. As far as we are aware, we shall be the first genealogical or reference resource to use colour in this way.

"Finally, where my own family is concerned, for many years I have owned the tiny Scottish island of Holm of Huip, by Stronsay, in the Orkney Islands. This once formed part of the dowry brought by Margaret, daughter of King Christian of Denmark, upon her marriage to King James III of Scotland in 1469. Both Margaret and James are my thirteen times great-grandparents on my mother's side, and both are buried at Cambuskenneth Abbey. So again perhaps the wheel has come full circle, but is this not what history is all about?"

In 1975 Peter Beauclerk-Dewar published his first book, The House of Nell Gwyn - the fortunes of the Beauclerk Family 1670-1974 (co-authored with Donald Adamson). He is also the author of The House of Dewar 1296-1991 and The Family History Record Book (1991), and editorial director of Burke's Landed Gentry The Kingdom in Scotland.

Sarah powell is a regular contributor to Burke's online magazine "Atavus"