Biographical Details

My grandfather was born on 17th February 1891 at Sayell's Farm in Sundon, Bedfordshire. My memories of him stem from the latter part of his life, when he lived in Dunstable, where he died in 1975. He came from a Sundon family - my great-grandfather ran the village Post Office at Sayell's Farm until he died. Grandpa Frank had one brother, Harold, who died in 1923.

He married my Grandma Margaret ('Maggie') on 24th January 1917. I don't remember Grandma Margaret at all as she died when I was a baby. Shortly after marrying Maggie, my grandfather joined the Royal Engineers. He was posted to France and Belgium on the 10th March to fight on the Western Front towards the end of the First World War. He still managed to keep up his interest in natural history, collecting eggs and going on many nature rambles during his time in the Department Pas-de-Calais. We still have many of his rambling diaries complete with many pressed flowers and other memorabilia from his time as a soldier. On being de-mobbed on 11th November 1919, he returned to his home stomping ground and spent the majority of his working life at E.W. Hudson & Co Engineering Works in Luton.

Despite his career in Engineering, Grandpa Frank was an academic at heart. The notes for each clutch of eggs include a wealth of information about the plant life and moths and butterflies that he encountered while collecting. In addition to his encyclopaedic natural knowledge, he also quoted Shakespeare at will and had a fondness for Brer Rabbit! He wrote incessantly: nature notes, diaries, articles ... for himself and for others, it wasn't important. He was an extremely talented artist, his drawings accurate to the smallest detail, skills all of his grandchildren have inherited to varying degrees. I can only hope that this is some small way to commemorate those skills.

Monday, 24 March 2008

Green Woodpecker (Gecinus viridis) - (3) - England, 1925

Ash tree in hedgerow of elder, hawthorn, crab, hazel etc. About 12ft from ground.

This tree had been broken off some long time before, and the nesting hole was almost at the top where the break occurred. Hole was about 15 inches deep, and was commenced the end of April or beginning of May. Appears to be at least two pairs of birds round here. Tree 10 to 12 inches in diameter at nest. To get these eggs I measured the depth of the hole with a piece of wire, and then bored into the bottom of the nest with a brace and bit an inch in diameter, when I was able to roll out the eggs onto my hand with a piece of wire. I then plugged up the hole with a piece of wood, hoping the birds would use it again.

Coombes, Sundon, Bedfordshire, Chiltern Hills, May 24th.
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