Major General Seymour Monro CBE on his appointment as Lord Lieutenant and lifelong connections to Moray
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"A force for good" is how the new Lord Lieutenant of Moray describes the post.
"When the time is right my team want to go to Dr Gray's and to other parts of the NHS," says Seymour Monro.
"We want thank everyone in person for the job they do despite the problems being thrown up by coronavirus and by the general lack of resources.
"The doctors, nurses, anaesthetists, the cleaners – they all deserve praise, as do the emergency services.
"This wretched virus is going to delay things a little, but that's the plan."
The role of Lord Lieutenant in Moray is to organise Royal visits, hand out awards and generally act as the Queen's representative at functions and events.
It's a task that Seymour has recently taken over from Grenville Johnston, his good friend for the past 40 years.
"Grenville is the sort of guy who, if someone has a problem, drops everything and goes to help them.
"His are very big boots to fill, but I'm my own man.
"I hope to be a light hand on the tiller and to bring about a gentle evolution."
Seymour lists child poverty, food banks and mental health as areas where he particularly wants to try to make a difference in Moray.
The 69-year-old says: "I know I've been very lucky in life and have had many advantages.
"But I don't want people to think of me as stuck-up. I'm not.
"My military career brought into contact with a lot of different types of people.
"I've seen a few things."
Graduating from the Sandhurst military academy with the Sword of Honour – the award for the most promising cadet – he joined the Queen's Own Highlanders
His following 35-year career saw him rise to the rank of Major General and also included seven tours of Northern Ireland, the first Gulf War and Bosnia.
After meeting his wife Angela, who's from the west coast of Scotland, in 1981 the couple bought a cottage in Rafford.
They chose Moray for a reason.
Seymour was born in Edinburgh and grew up in Dumfriesshire, where his father was an MP.
However, he spent a sizeable chuck of his childhood in Moray.
Up to the age of 12, Seymour would stay a month every summer at his uncle's house near the Benromach distillery.
Even after the house was sold, the family continued to holiday up here.
He said: "My brother Hughie and me learned to swim and to sail at Findhorn and to play golf on the courses at Forres and Lossiemouth.
"Being in the military involved a lot of moving around, especially between Germany and Northern Ireland.
"Angela and myself were looking for a base somewhere in Scotland and Moray is in my blood."
The couple have six grandchildren thanks to their three sons.
The oldest son, Harry, works for JP Morgan and lives in London
Alexander (Ander) teaches in Canada and played international rugby.
The youngest, Robert (Bert), also lives in London and is the CEO of a gold mining company Cora Gold.
The couple moved in 2001 to their present home at the Manse in Dallas, which was uninhabited at the time.
Since leaving the military Seymour has thrown himself into a wide variety of good causes far too numerous to list here.
He organised the military tattoos at Fort George and is the president of both Forres Pipe Band and Forres in Bloom.
As the president of the Leanchoil Trust he is also working to find a future for the cottage hospital in Forres.
His philanthropic interests also stretch to the other side of the world.
Sir Thomas Brisbane was both the Governor General of New South Wales as well as an accomplished astronomer.
As his oldest living relative, Seymour has become the President of the Brisbane Observatory Trust.
Now, come this May, he hopes to have a Vice Lord Lieutenant in place as well as a contingent of 13 deputies.
He said: "I might be the captain at the moment but the Lord Lieutenancy is a team effort.
"Because it's apolitical I think it's easier to do good.
"When you turn up somewhere people aren't suspicious.
"There are no ulterior motives, no political agendas, no spin.
"We can do things simply because we think they are the right things to be doing.
"We can try to create a good atmosphere and a spirit of cooperation.
"Given everything that's happening I think we all need to begin to work together more rather than bicker."
