266 THE ESSEX NATURALIST
OBITUARY NOTICES
William Howard
William howard became a member of the Club in 1912, and was a
regular attendant at its meetings during the 42 years which passed
before his death, at the age of 77, on January 18th, 1954. During his
whole life he was a keen field botanist, and he delighted in introducing
schoolboys of his acquaintance to the plants which he loved so well.
He frequently showed interesting plants at the Club's meetings, and he
grew many wild flowers and ferns in his garden abutting on Lord's Bushes,
Buckhurst Hill.
Although he had the misfortune to be somewhat crippled by an illness
in middle life, he refused to be daunted by this, and was a delightful
companion at the field meetings which were so often enlivened by his
smiling face, his dry, quiet humour and the readiness with which he shared
his knowledge of the plants with others.
For many years he checked the lists of flowering plants recorded during
the field meetings of the Club and sent his comments on the more interesting
records to the Editor for inclusion in the reports of meetings. It was with
much appreciation that these beautifully-written contributions, which were
always accompanied by a typically courteous letter, were received by the
Editor.
He was elected to the Council of the Club in 1918, and it was soon after
this that he began the task of checking records of plants made by members
and entering them in the Club's interleaved copy of Druce's Comital Flora
of the British Isles. He made thousands of such entries during the years
which ensued.
William Howard, affectionately referred to as "Willie" amongst the
younger members, will long be remembered and sadly missed as one who
for so long epitomised all that was best in the social and scientific attributes
of a generation of loyal members of the Club.
C.B.P.
Sidney Waller
Sidney waller joined the Club in 1917 and soon became known to his
fellow members as an expert microscopist. He had for many years been
a keen student of geology, palaeontology and of fungi and mycetozoa, and
his retirement allowed him to devote more time to the making of microscope
preparations, at which he was very skilful. During his membership he
exhibited many beautifully-prepared microscope slides at the Club's
meetings. He made about 1,000 slides of Foraminiferae, and this collection
has been accepted by the British Museum.