William James Adair Nelson (1907-1993), the elder son of H. Adair Nelson who was the original manager of His Majesty's Theatre, Aberdeen, was educated at Aberdeen Grammar School (1914-24). On leaving school he was apprenticed to chartered accountants Williamson & Dunn, qualifying with distinction in 1930 when he took up a series of appointments with London accounting firms, followed by five years in Colombo working for Ford, Rhodes & Thornton. He served in the Royal Artillery in the Middle East during WWII. In 1946 he was appointed Finance Inspector to the Ministry of Food in Colwyn Bay, later becoming Finance Officer to the National Coal Board. In 1948 he was appointed Treasurer and Assistant Secretary at Aberdeen University where he remained until his retirement in 1975.
During his five years in Sri Lanka he developed an interest in castles and artillery fortifications and after his retirement he wrote Dutch Forts of Sri Lanka published in 1984. He then went on to study Fort Jesus at Mombasa and his book of the same name was published posthumously in 1994. Nelson was an active member of the Fortress Study Group for which he wrote many articles.
Thomas John Newbold was born in Macclesfield in 1807. He joined the Madras Light Infantry in 1828. Arriving in India in that year, he undertook further study and passed an examination in Hindustani in 1830, and in Persian in 1831. From 1830 to 1835 Newbold was Quartermaster and interpreter to his regiment. He moved to Malacca in 1832, where he actively pursued an interest in the region collecting manuscripts and artefacts. Arriving at the Presidency with a detachment of his corps in August 1835, he was approved as aide-de-camp to Brigadier-General E.W. Wilson and commanded the ceded districts, an appointment he held until 1840. He was appointed Deputy Assistant Quartermaster-General for the Division in 1838, and Deputy Assistant Adjutant-General and Postmaster to the Field Force in the ceded districts in 1839.
Newbold left India on leave of absence early in 1840, and visited Gebel Nákas in the peninsula of Mount Sinai in June of that year. He was elected a member of the Royal Asiatic Society in 1841 and a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1842. Newbold was promoted to the rank of Captain on 12 April 1842, and recalled to India in the following May. Arriving at Madras, he was appointed Assistant to the Commission at Kurnool. He was Assistant to the Agent to the Governor of Fort St. George at Kurnool and Bunganahilly from 1843 to 1848, when he was appointed Assistant to the Resident at Hyderabad. He was permitted to go to Egypt for two years in June 1845. He died at Mahabuleshwar on 29 May 1850.