A warm welcome is extended to everyone to come to our series of 2021 illustrated talks held in Frampton on Severn which we hope will be of interest to local people.
The talks are on Friday evenings starting at 7.30pm in our Village Hall and are organised by Frampton on Severn Village Society. You need not be a member of the Society to attend and the cost is £3.50/per person including refreshments.
On June 4th Jackie Harris from the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust at Slimbridge gave a fascinating talk on Peter Scott – see below.
Upcoming items :13th August? VISIT to Jenner Museum OR Peter Scott house – Covid dependant, to be confirmed
- 24th Sept William Reddaway: A Ride Round England – one man, one horse, 2,700 miles and 30 Cathedrals.
- 26th Nov. Philip Taubenheim: Tales of a Country Auctioneer
For more info please contact Paul Bradly on 01452 742184 or at: paulbradly@hotmail.com.
Sir Peter Scott – His Life and Impact
On June 4th Jackie Harris from the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust at Slimbridge gave a fascinating talk on Peter Scott the person. Since joining Slimbridge as a Project Manager she had found that her work led her to discover more and more about the man himself and that he was much more than just the founder of Slimbridge but was, in fact, a colourful and multi-facetted character.
He was the son of Antarctic explorer Robert Scott who had expressed a desire for his son to be encouraged to take an interest in natural history which he did initially at Cambridge before changing direction to graduate in the History of Art. His wealthy background enabled him to follow many of his interests including art, wildlife and sport.
He had been a keen sailor at university and progressed to win a bronze medal at the 1936 Olympics. In later life he was also British Gliding champion having gained much of his experience at the gliding club based at Nympsfield. Other sports that he was heavily involved (and successful) in included ice skating and, surprisingly, wildfowling.
His interests in sport and nature were curtailed when war broke out and he progressed in the navy to command a squadron of gun boats protecting the English Channel from German E Boats. During this time he was credited with developing the Western Approaches Ship Camouflage which, it is believed, came from his understanding of reflection gained from extensive observation of wading birds and gave significant advantage to those protected by it. As always, Scott excelled in what he did and was mentioned in despatches twice as well as being awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.
After the war, Scott established the Severn Wildfowl Trust at Slimbridge and embarked on his well know journey of conservation starting with saving from extinction of the Hawaiin Goose through captive breeding.
His work went from strength to strength with the added bonus of regular publicising of his work via his own television programme ‘Look’. His lifelong work in wildlife is well documented and has been recognised worldwide with David Attenborough describing him as the Patron Saint of Conservation.
After the talk Jackie explained that with each meeting she had with local groups there were more snippets of information that she collected about the person which made him even more fascinating – being local, she collected even more from our members including, amongst others, the fact that he was President of Frampton Sailing Club.