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.

Thursday, 27 March 2008

Greenfinch (Ligurinus chloris) - (3) - England, 1927

Hawthorn and bramble. High hedge by roadside, between Gipsy Lane and Dog Kennel Hill, Leagrave - Sundon Road. The nest was 6ft high.

This nest was deserted and in ruins, and there were four eggs, one of which fell through the bottom of the nest when I touched it. Gipsy Lane is part of the old Roman road "The Icknield Way", which crosses the country from East to West, and is now just a grass grown way in many places, though in others it is incorporated in the modern roads. Along here today I found Greenfinch with 6 eggs much incubated, whitethroat nearly ready for eggs and thrush's nest which had met with disaster. Caught no butterflies, though there were some on the wing, mostly Whites. Herb Robert blooming in quantity in Gipsy Lane. Along roadside found greenfinch with 2 eggs, bullfinch with 2, linnet with 5 much incubated, and blackbird with 1. Saw cock redbacked shrike in usual haunts. Cuckoos, numerous and in full song. Went to Harpenden to tea at Mrs Greenham's in evening.

Leagrave, Sundon, Bedfordshire, May 15th.

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