Peter Taylor (1926-2011)
Another passing …
My good friend Peter Taylor, who was perhaps the longest serving member of the Amateur Entomologists’ Society (he joined the AES in 1946), died peacefully in his sleep at his home in Kirdford, West Sussex on 20th October 2011, he was 85.
Peter was born in Luton, Bedfordshire. On leaving school, he undertook a five-year apprenticeship as a mechanist and turner in the toolroom of Commer Cars, Luton, taking evening classes to gain a National Certificate in Mechanical Engineering. His spare time was spent plant and butterfly hunting on the Bedfordshire downs and elsewhere as an active member of the AES and of the Botanical Society of the British Isles (BSBI). His knowledge of the British flora was encyclopaedic, a rarity nowadays amongst Kew botanists. He made a considerable and beautifully prepared herbarium of British Plants, now at Kew, as well as a fine collection of butterflies from his extensive breeding programmes.
Peter joined Kew, starting as a Temporary Assistant in the Herbarium in 1948. His eye for a plant, craftsmanship and attention to detail made him a stalwart of the Tropical African Section. As an Experimental Officer Peter Taylor was delegated to largely curatorial and technical duties and soon gained a remarkable knowledge, particularly of the herbaceous plants of the region. In late 1955 he married Shirley Patten, a scientific assistant in the Kew Herbarium. Shortly afterwards, he undertook an eleven-month expedition to East Africa with Edgar Milne-Redhead, spending six months during the rainy season in the Songea District of Tanganyika (now Tanzania). They worked very long hours, carefully arranging plants in presses late into the night and up again at dawn mostly seven days a week.
It was not until Sir George Taylor left Kew that he was given long-overdue promotion to Principal Scientific Officer in 1972. George’s nose had been put out, so it was said, because he kept being congratulated on Peter’s work on
Utricularia. Unfortunately he had been passed over to head the Fern Section and was assigned the Orchids, which he ran from 1972 until 1984. He published a popular book and many articles on orchids. He discharged his duties conscientiously but was glad when younger members of the section could take over this specialist group and he could devote more time to the
Utricularia. He made visits to Australia and America and examined vast numbers of specimens with visits and loans. He was awarded the Kew Medal in 1990 for his services to the Royal Botanic Gardens. He continued several years after his retirement in 1986 to hone his outstanding monographic revision of the genus, each of the 214 species illustrated with his own fine drawings. The appearance of his definitive monograph of Utricularia coincided with his retirement from Kew in 1986.
Peter fitted well into the tradition of great British naturalists. He was a fine entomologist and had an encyclopaedic knowledge of British Lepidoptera and other groups. He was a great friend of the respected entomologist Peter Cribb and a regular companion on bug-hunting trips from 1956 onwards. They enjoyed each other’s company and shared a wacky sense of humour.
In retirement he settled in the West Sussex Weald where he purchased two woods that he restored to good condition through coppicing and cutting rides. In the course of the restoration, he made several new insect and plant records for the Vice-county. He was particularly pleased that the Purple Emperor
(Apatura iris) bred in one of his woods thanks to his careful management of it. Peter was an outstandingly good cabinetmaker and specialised in making harpsichords and clavichords to the most exacting standards of craftsmanship. His instruments have graced concert platforms, played by Margaret Hunt, the wife of his former colleague and old friend David Hunt.
He will be sadly missed ...
- Peter Geoffrey Taylor (1926-2011)
Even if it does nothing for teachers pensions at least the strike action had provided benefit for the local wildlife.
. I don't think I'll be able to manage to get out much before the "big one" on New years Day. Oh well I can add it to my list of "missed this year" along with Snow Bunting, Shore Lark, Lapland Bunting and Twite - all species that have been down at Cristchurch Harbour that I haven't gotten to see.
