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.

Sunday, 23 March 2008

Longeared Owl (Otus vulgaris) - (2) - England, 1923

Old nest of Magpie, Scotch Pine in dell, 40ft from ground.

This nest was built by magpies in the year 1912, when I obtained 4 eggs from it. The following year (1913) I obtained 3 eggs of the kestrel from it, and it has since been rebuilt by magpies, and twice used by longeared owls. In the year 1916 I found one dead young owl in the nest, with a freshly killed field mouse. It is now a two-storey structure. The magpie seems to be a home provider for many other birds, as I have also found both blackbird and great tit occupying their nests.

Markham Hills, Sundon, Bedfordshire, Chiltern Hills, April 22nd.
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