18 Profile of a Naturalist Geoffrey Arthur Pyman MBE (1920-1999)
Founding father of the Essex Wildlife Trust
If any of the many wildlife and conservation organisations in which Geoff played a part can claim
him as their own, then it must be the Essex Wildlife Trust (originally the Essex Naturalists' Trust). In
1958 he chaired its Formation Committee, and following its foundation in 1959 he went onto serve
the Trust in numerous capacities - as Chairman (1959-60, 1961-66), Vice-chairman for 12 years,
Chairman of the Reserves Management Committee for 14 years, Editor of the journal for 10 years,
and remained a valued member of Council to the very end. One has only to read Watching over
Essex - 40 years of the Essex Wildlife Trust (Crookes 1999) to appreciate the crucial role Geoff
played in the success of the EWT.
During his retirement years, EWT business occupied a substantial portion of his time. There can be
few of us who have not received his stentorian welcome at Fingringhoe Wick, or on the Danbury
Ridge, or down the telephone. And always with a sense of anticipation for the gems of interest - a
new moth for one of his beloved reserves, a rediscovered plant, a new opportunity to further the
cause of conservation - that were surely bound to follow.
Personal Recollections
I first met Geoff in 1984. As a brand new employee of the then Nature Conservancy Council, he was
one of the Essex contacts my fellow officers insisted I make at the earliest opportunity. At our first
meeting, I admit to some feelings of trepidation - his record of achievement and knowledge preceded
him. But straightaway I was at ease, when the talk turned away from the earnest issues of the time to
the wildlife we were seeking to protect - I knew I had met someone who saw the world as I see it - as
an all-round naturalist.
Over the next fifteen years, I had reason to meet with Geoff on numerous occasions, on each of
which he displayed more of the qualities which made him such an important player in the wildlife
and conservation of Essex. One early morning on Woodham Walter Common, we tried to relocate a
singing Golden Oriole he had heard the day before, but without success. Yet he persisted, carrying
me along with his enthusiasm. Then despondency turning to delight as he outlined his plans to
reintroduce Pearl-bordcrcd Fritillary on Little Baddow Heath, where violets had responded so well
to his heathland restoration. The new plants, like Golden-rod, springing up year on year as the heath
re-establ ished - each one individually logged and duly submitted to the recorders' network. The joy
at initial signs of success with the fritillaries, mirroring his earlier successes with Heath Fritillaries at
Thrift Wood; and the willingness to learn from mistakes when eventually it failed. The understanding
he showed when I told him that Waterhall Meadows would not stand up to scrutiny as a Site of
Special Scientific Interest - Geoff, ever the politician, well appreciated the constraints his conservation
partners operated under. And all the same, his willingness to show me the damselflies which made it
such a special place to him. His unfailing sense of direction, leading me through Pheasanthouse
Wood to a tiny bog (I've never been able to find it since!) and his demonstration of its mysterious
schwingmoor properties. His almost photographic memory for detail - the increase in orchid numbers
on Hitchcock's Meadows following the installation of fences to keep Rabbits at bay. His vision, of a
return to the day when we could persuade the public to accept large-scale tree felling to re-establ ish
the open panoramas of his living memory. And in our final meeting, at his last Essex Lepidoptera
Panel, taking the time to show me his treasured copy of the Birds of Israel, a magnificent volume
which clearly struck a chord with his wartime experiences.
Essex Naturalist (New Series) 17 (2000)