28
William Cole (1844-1922) founder of Essex Field Club
Martello Tower. St. Osyth aged 79. The cause of death was certified as senile heart failure, dropsy
and paralysis of the lower limbs and sphincter. His occupation was stated as "Formerly Founder of
The Essex Field Club". His brother Henry registered the death on 29th June 1922. His will, dated
10th September 1920, bequeathed "all I possess to my dear brother Henry Alfred Cole". As no
executor was named, Letters of Administration with will attached were granted to his brother Henry
Cole on 4th January 1923. The gross value of his estate was £452.80.
In the summer of 1923 a grave-memorial to William Cole and his five brothers and sisters was
erected at St. Osyth Cemetery with proceeds from the "William Cole Pension Fund" (see text below).
A bronze plaque and framed portrait were also set up in the Stratford Museum in memory of its first
Curator. In April 1998 "The Cole Wild Flower Meadow" was established in St. Osyth Cemetery in
memory of William Cole on the joint initiative of the St. Osyth Historical Society and the Parish
Council.
Conclusions
William Cole's main claim to fame is that he founded the Essex Field Club in 1880. He devoted the
rest of his life as its chief officer, trying to further the aims and objectives of the Club, and for this we
are all greatly indebted to Cole. Contemporary accounts of Cole by people who knew him are
contradictory. Thompson's obituary of Cole was highly favourable and dismissed criticisms of his
character. However when Thompson wrote a short history of the Club's first 50 years, seven years,
later he was severely critical, directly and indirectly, of Cole's work as editor, secretary and curator
of the Essex Field Club. He also called into question Cole's character.
It is always easy to be critical of others, especially with the benefit of hindsight. Cole was a complex
character. He was a loner, obsessive, lacked impartiality and was vindictive. He worked tirelessly
for the Club, to the detriment of his own health and pocket. His main legacy must be the way he
edited and supplied copy for the Journal. Reading them a hundred years later they are detailed and
beautifully written in a simple language with great clarity and enthusiasm. Cole was a pioneer in
many fields. For example in the early 1900s he was recording voices using a horn phonograph and
wax cylinders. It is fascinating to conjecture that some of these may have survived, and that the
voice of our founder, William Cole, might be heard again after nearly one hundred years. His chief
claim to fame must be the way he founded he Club and managed to obtain support from eminent men
for his fledgling society.
Chronology
1844 Born Islington
1861 Started work aged 17 in shipbrokers office in Mark Lane
1865 Death of father
1865 Moved to Tottenham
1867 Moved to Islington
1867 Worked for a barrister as a shorthand writer. Moved to Stoke Newington
1872 Working as shorthand writer for a morning newspaper
1873 Elected member of Entomological Society
1877 Moved to Laurel Cottage, Buckhurst Hill
1879 Idea of forming Essex Field Club
1880 Founded Essex Field Club
1890 Appointed Science Organiser and Curator by Technical Instruction Committee of Essex County
Council
Essex Naturalist (New Series) 17 (2000)