300
THE ESSEX NATURALIST
REPORT OF COUNCIL FOR 1950-51
Twelve years have passed since the Club lost by death the patronage
of H.R.H. the Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, who for more than sixty
years had been its patron. During the past year an approach was made to
H.R.H. the Duke of Gloucester who, following the Duke of Connaught,
has in due course become Ranger of Epping Forest. Your Council is pleased
to report that His Royal Highness has graciously consented to become
Patron of the Club in the terms of the following letter :
York House,
St. James Palace.
19 September 1950.
Dear Sir,
The Duke of Gloucester desires me to thank the President and
Officers of the Essex Field Club for their formal invitation dated August
14th last.
His Royal Highness, as Ranger of Epping Forest, will be very pleased
to accept the position of Patron of the Essex Field Club in succession
to the late Duke of Connaught who held this office for so many years.
His Royal Highness well remembers his interesting visit to the Epping
Forest Museum at Chingford in 1949.
Yours very truly,
Godfrey Thomas.
It will be remembered that at the last Annual General Meeting the Rules
of the Club were altered so as to enable the affiliation of kindred societies.
Following this step we have welcomed the association with us of The Students'
Field Club of the Essex Institute of Agriculture, The Students' Field Club of
the South West Essex Technical College, and The North-East Essex Educat-
ional Fellowship Natural History Group.
Also during the year the Club has itself effected corporate membership
with the Council for the Promotion of Field Studies.
It is with great regret that the Council has received the resignation of
Miss Elsie Greaves from the office of Assistant Secretary and Assistant
Librarian after many years of devoted services. Apart from all her other good
work on the Club's behalf a fine permanent record of her activities will be
preserved in the Pictorial Survey of Essex on which she spent so much time
and care.
Last year it was our sad duty to report the deaths of Miss Edith M. Lister
and Miss Gulielma Lister. Since then the Club has received the generous
bequests of these ladies of a collection of birds and of paintings of flowers
from the latter and the sum of £300 from the former.
An innovation was introduced last summer by the publication of a
Bulletin giving information concerning the current affairs of the Club and also
announcing the meetings for the forthcoming Winter Session.
Our Honorary Curator, Mr. E. E. Syms, has continued his good work
at the Stratford Museum. The war damage repairs have been completed
and the scaffolding removed. The repair work has hindered the use of the
Museum by school classes but four such classes paid visits during the year.
Some rearrangement of the cases has been made to allow room for special
displays to illustrate the B.B.C. programmes for schools. It is hoped
that this innovation will lead to a greater appreciation of the educational
possibilities of the Museum. The room in the basement which has been in use
as a classroom by the College has again become available for museum use.
Mr. Bernard Ward, the Hon. Curator of the Epping Forest Museum,
reports that the work of maintaining, repairing, and arranging the exhibits at