PERSONAL VIEW —- FRED WILLIAMS
(Mr. E.F. Williams is our Recorder for Butterflies and
Moths, and a former president of the Club. At his sixteenth
century,authentically restored Navestockside house I was
priviledged to record the following chat about his interests
and views on natural history. — Editor)
W.R.M. Tour work, I believe, before your retirement was
that of a Lloyds Underwriter, so your interest in Natural
History is something completely separate? Was it any specific
or significant event that gave you this interest?
E.F.W. I can answer that best by saying that in 1906 my
family moved to Shenfield from London, and from then on I
spent most of my spare time either yachting or going on
Natural History rambles with my father who was interested
in both pursuits. He had been a naturalist from his boyhood,
interested particularly in birds, butterflies and moths, and
he was also terribly interested in yachting. Now, both
these interests really run together in a way because of the
saltings. So all my life I've known saltings, and
especially the Essex saltings. But also my father had a
library of books which helped me enormously to foster this
interest. So natural history just came naturally to me.
W.R.M. Most of us in the Field Club associate you with
Skippers Island, Did you view its purchase as a means for
you to escape from the City at weekends, or was it bought
essentially to turn eventually into a nature sanctuary?
E.F.W. I've always thought of the countryside as a
potential nature sanctuary ever since I was a small boy. And
it's always worried me when I've seen building going on which
reduced the habitat areas for all sorts of species, of
animals and plants. I had nothing specific in mind when I
bought Skippers Island, just that it was a delightful spot,
removed from man's activities, and that is really why I
bought it. At that time the idea of nature sanctuaries
wasn't quite so much in people's minds as it is now. But
the germ has been with me all my life. I'm a conservationist
at heart, although I've never thought about it like that.
Page 4