‘Dedicated Naturalist’: The story behind the story

Today marks the beginning of Explore Your Archive, a campaign co-ordinated jointly by The National Archives and the Archives and Records Association that ‘aims to showcase the unique potential of archives to excite people, bring communities together, and tell amazing stories’.

From my volunteer work on the ‘Dedicated Naturalist’ Project, helping to decipher and digitise, record and publicise the life’s work of naturalist extraordinaire, Dr Mary Gillham, I know from personal experience how exciting it is to read diaries about everyday life in my native New Zealand in the 1950s and how our work with Mary’s archives is revealing the amazing stories of her adventurous life.

So, to celebrate the start of Explore Your Archive, here’s my story of Mary’s story behind the newspaper story.

This newspaper article about Mary appeared in Britain’s Daily Mail on Friday 22 November 1957.

Dr Mary spends a fuming week-end

An English woman botanist returned to Tauranga today from a week-end spent in one of the world’s loneliest spots – a fuming island-volcano.

She is Dr. Mary Gillham, whose parents live at Ealing, W. She left England a year ago to study the effects of salt spray and seabirds on the plant life of the world’s islands.

She accompanied 19 Maoris to White Island, the crater of a volcanic mountain rising from deep water 27 miles from the coast.

The Maoris go there once a year to collect mutton birds (sooty terns), a native delicacy.
...

In her New Zealand diary, Mary records her meeting with the reporter:

Wednesday 20 November 1957

The boat nosed in, without tying up, heaving clumsily, and I leapt the gap while the pilot handed the luggage aboard. And so once more to Tauranga where the sub editor of the ‘Bay of Plenty Times’ awaited me on the wharf but missed me, coming instead to the Masonic Hotel at breakfast time next a.m. He had, however, been forestalled by his editor, Lachi McDonald, 20 years on the staff of the Daily Mail and their Far East war correspondent. The chappy came in and interviewed me at length just as I was finishing a session with Ken Fraser in the Masonic Lounge. It seemed that my adventures were front page news as (a) landings were only effected on White Island 4-6 times a year and (b) the Motiti Maoris were very conservative and seldom received a pakeha in their midst.

This additional note has been written in the diary at a later date:

McDonald cabled Daily Mail, London with my story and on 21 November my parents were visited for a photo. They gave me and the tuataras, and on 22nd I hit the British headlines and it seemed my acquaintances throughout G.B. buzzed with interest. Particularly topical as there were 2 BBC broadcasts on White Island that same week. Upshot: Letter from F. Muller, Fleet St publishers, saying they would publish a book of my travels if I cared to write on my return!!

As it turned out, the book, A Naturalist in New Zealand, was not published until 1966 and then by Museum Press in London, with a co-edition by Reed Books in New Zealand. Mary was on her way to becoming famous!

For the full story about the Mary Gillham Archive Project, check out our website, and follow our progress on Facebook and on Twitter.

Walking with Mary: Cwm George woodland

At the start of May, SEWBReC, the South East Wales Biodiversity Records Centre, issued a challenge. As part of the Heritage Lottery Funded project ‘A Dedicated Naturalist’, it asked the people of South Wales to take a walk with Dr Mary Gillham at one of the many sites Mary visited often and surveyed most thoroughly, Cwm George woodland at Dinas Powys. ‘Will you find as much as Mary? Has the species composition changed drastically? Can you add new species to the list?’, were the challenges they raised.

Always up for a challenge that involves a walk in a beautiful woodland, my friends and I went exploring. We were a great team: Emma, our fungi specialist (and her son, Callum, budding naturalist); Liam, our insect aficionado; Calum, the best plant-spotter I know; Cliff, our expert ears and bird whisperer; and me, knowing little about anything much but recording and photographing for posterity.

Emma soon disappeared into the deepest darkest areas of the woodland, emerging every now and then with a ‘Look what I found’. Liam scooped up beauties in his net and popped some into plastic tubes for closer examination – all got re-released unharmed. Calum pointed out wildflowers and nibbled at edibles, urging us to try a bit of this or that, and Cliff walked quietly ahead, listening acutely and watching intently. Little Callum beamed from ear to ear as he also caught specimens in his mini net, and, like the hoverflies that were prolific on the expanses of flowering Ramsons, I hovered here and there, trying to keep up with all that was happening.

Though we explored very little of its woodlands and meadows, Cwm George was glorious, and most generous with its offerings. And, though certainly not as extensive as Mary’s, we were very pleased with our final species list of 99 different types of insects, fungi, wildflowers, trees and birds.

Insects: Brimstone butterfly (Gonepteryx rhamni), Orange-tip butterfly (Anthocharis cardamines), Small white butterfly (Pieris rapae), Peacock butterfly (Aglais io), Common carder bee Queen (Bombus pascuorum), Red-tailed bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius), Buff-tailed bumblebee Queen (Bombus terrestris), Tawny Mining Bee female (Andrena fulva), Ashy mining bee female (Andrena cineraria) (above, centre), Dark-edged bee fly (Bombylius major), Orange ladybird (Halyzia 16-guttata), Harlequin ladybird (Harmonia axyridis), Hoverfly (Helophilus pendulus), Hoverfly (Rhingia campestris), Hoverfly (Eristalis pertinax), Nomad bee male (Nomada lathburiana), Bee Fly (Bombyliidae), unidentified Weevil, Oak marble gall, another type of oak gall, Hoverfly (Syrphus ribesii), Ramsons Hoverfly (Portevinia maculata), Beetle (Cantharis pellucida) (above, left), Beetle (Sphaeridium scarabaeoides) (above, right).

Fungi: King Alfred's cakes Daldinia concentrica), Unidentified woodwort, Artist's bracket (Ganoderma applanatum), Jelly ear (Auricularia auricula-judae), Beech mast ascomycetes, Candle snuff (Xylaria hypoxylon), Dead Moll's fingers (Xylaria longipes), Red elfcup (Sarcoscypha sp.), Glistening inkcap (Coprinella micaceus), Turkey tail (Trametes versicolour) (above), Arum rust (Puccinia sessilis), Bramble rust (Kuehneola uredinis).

Wildflowers: Yellow Archangel (Lamium galeobdolon), Red Campion (Silene dioica), Hedge Woundwort (Stachys sylvatica), Self-heal (Prunella vulgaris), Herb Paris (Paris quadrifolia) (above, left), Herb Robert (Geranium robertianum), Bluebell (Hyacinthoides non-scripta) (above, right), Common Hogweed (Heracleum sphondylium), Old Man's Beard (Clematis vitalba), Dog's Mercury (Mercurialis perennis), Common dog violet (Viola riviniana), Wood Anemone (Anemone nemorosa), Primrose (Primula vulgaris), Lords and Ladies (Arum maculatum), Wild garlic (Allium ursinum), Creeping buttercup (Ranunculus repens), Meadow Cranesbill (Geranium pratense), Herb Bennett (Geum urbanum), Honeysuckle (Lonicera periclymenum), Jack-by-the-hedge (Alliaria petiolata), Opposite-leaved golden saxifrage (Chrysosplenium oppositifolium), Common sorrel (Rumex acetosa), Forget-me-not (Myositis sp.), Wild strawberry (Fragaria vesca), Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale agg.), Ribwort plantain (Plantago lanceolata), Lesser celandine (Ficaria verna), Cow parsley (Anthriscus sylvestris), Cuckoo flower (Cardamine pratensis), Cleavers (Sticky Willy) (Galium aparine), Ground ivy (Hedera helix), Common vetch (Victa sativa), Wood spurge (Euphorbia amygdaloides), Bramble (Rubus fruiticosus agg.), Garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata).

Trees: Beech (Fagus sylvatica) (above), Oak (Quercus robur), Hazel (Corylus avellana), Sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus), Ash (Fraxinus excelsior), Willow (Salix sp.), Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna), Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa), Elder (Sambucus nigra), Wild cherry (Prunus avium), Field maple (Acer campestre).

Birds: Buzzard (Buteo buteo), Blackbird (Turdus merula), Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla), Blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus), Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula), Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs), Coal tit (Periparus ater), Dunnock (Prunella modularis), Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis), Great tit (Parus major), Green woodpecker (Picus viridis), Greenfinch (Chloris chloris), Robin (Erithacus rubecula), Song thrush (Turdus philomelos), Stock dove (Columba oenas), Woodpigeon (Columba palumbus), Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes).

Walking with Mary: Coed Ty Rhiw woods

This was the first of what we hope will be many ‘Walks with Mary’, retracing the footsteps of Dr Mary Gillham, revisiting places Mary knew and loved, observed and recorded.

Down on the ground to get the shot.
Project volunteer Chris takes his photography seriously!

Ours was a very informal walk, a fungi foray by members of the Glamorgan Fungi Club that turned into more of a nature ramble. It was organised by Calum Macintosh, who knew Mary from the days he worked at Forest Farm Nature Reserve and found the site for our walk when reviewing Mary’s slides (now being posted to Flickr). Also along for the walk were Cliff Woodhead, who was the voluntary warden of nearby Coed-y-Bedw Nature Reserve for over 20 years and a friend of Mary’s; Emma, Chris and Annie, three current volunteers on the ‘Dedicated Naturalist’ Project; and Barbara Brown, OPAL Community Scientist in South Wales.

In the Mary Gillham archives we have a trip report Mary wrote after visiting what she called the cemetery woodland in October 1992. The local council, which referred to the area as ‘Ancient Semi Natural Woodland’ in a letter to the Glamorgan Wildlife Trust, had applied to enter the area into a woodland grant scheme and were seeking the Trust’s observations about the application. The Trust in turn sought Mary’s views, so she completed a survey of the area. Though she had a couple of reservations and some alternative suggestions for parts of the wood, Mary was generally in favour of the plan.

Her report notes ‘a sunny clearing full of dancing mayflies’ and another area with a ‘flock of mixed long-tailed, coal and great tits, at least 50 strong’, and she lists an impressive 73 species of trees and plants but names only 4 species of fungi.

Like Mary we found ‘a veritable honeycomb of footpaths’ but, as fungi were our main focus, our species list isn’t anywhere near as impressive or as extensive as hers, though we did find more fungi. Here’s our list:

Turkey tail (Trametes verscolour) and Cobalt crust (Terana caerulea)

Fungi: Birch polypore (Piptoporus betulinus); Tripe Fungus (Auricularia mesenterica); Blushing bracket (Daedaleopsis confragosa); Birch woodwart (Hypoxylon multiforme); Cobalt crust (Terana caerulea); False puffball (Reticularia lycoperdon); Metatrichia floriformis – a slime mould; Lycogala sp. – another slime mould; Candlesnuff (Xylaria hypoxylon); Winter Polypore (Polyporus brumalis); Turkey tail (Trametes versicolour); Eyelash fungus (Scutellinia scutellata); Honey fungus bootlaces (Armillaria mellea rhizomorphs); Glistening inkcap (Coprinellus micaceus); Green Elfcup (Chlorociboria aeruginascens); King Alfred's Cakes (Daldinia concentrica); Artist's Conk (Ganoderma applanatum); Gluecrust (Hymenochaete corrugata); Beechmast Candlesnuff (Xylaria carpophila); Purple jellydisc (Ascocoryne sp.); a bracket (Trametes ochracea).

Pill millipede (Glomeris marginata) and White-legged snake millipede (Tachypodoiulus niger)

Insects: Pill millipede (Glomeris marginata); White-legged snake millipede (Tachypodoiulus niger); Millipede (Polydesmus complanatus); Common shiny woodlouse (Oniscus asellus); Garden bumblebee queen (Bombus hortorum); Buff-tailed bumblebee (Bombus terrestris); Gymnochaeta viridis (fly); Tapered Drone Fly (Eristalis pertinax); Large Bee-fly (Bombylius major); Peacock butterfly (Aglais io); Carrion beetle (Phosphuga atrata); Black snail beetle (Silpha atrata); Mayfly (Heptageniidae sp.); Devil’s horse coach beetle (Ocypus olens); Bark beetle (Glischrochilus sp.).

Garden bumblebee (Bombus hortorum) and Buff-tailed bumblebee (Bombus terrestris)

Wildflowers: Bluebell (Hyacinthoides non-scripta); Germander speedwell (Veronica Chamaedrys); Lesser celandine (Ranunculus ficaria); Primrose (Primula vulgaris); Common dog-violet (Viola riviniana); Wild garlic (Allium ursinum); Wild strawberry (Fragaria vesca); Wood anemone (Anemone nemorosa); Cuckoo flower (or Lady’s Smock) (Cardamine pratensis); Meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria).

Birds: Nuthatch (Sitta europaea); Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes); Jay (Garrulus glandarius); Buzzard (Buteo buteo); Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla); Robin (Erithacus rubecula); Great tit (Parus major); Blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus); Blackbird (Turdus merula); Wood pigeon (Columba palumbus); Mistle thrush (Turdus viscivorus).

Wherever I turn, there’s Mary

Dr Mary Gillham was an extraordinary naturalist. When she died in 2013, at the grand age of 91, she left her massive archive of biological sightings and information, slides and diaries to SEWBReC, the South East Wales Biodiversity Records Centre. With the help of a two-year Heritage Lottery grant, SEWBReC has begun the ‘Dedicated Naturalist’ Project to decipher, digitise and record Mary’s material, and to ensure her incredible achievements are known and recognised.

Since I first heard about Mary Gillham at a SEWBReC biological recorders’ training course on 15 February 2016, she seems to pop up wherever I go.

That's Al in the centre of this photo, wearing the black beanie

The Thursday after the course I went and chatted to Al Reeve, the project officer, about volunteering on the project, and I started my first day’s volunteer work on the 23rd. But, even before I got started, Mary began appearing in my life. I mentioned the voluntary work in an email to a friend and he replied:

Dr.Mary was a lovely character, amazingly knowledgeable. When I first started working at Forest Farm, she gave me a lot of advice about the area around the farmhouse; and about what species were rare in the general area (so what we might want to plant/seed "out and about"). Would pop in and chat to volunteers from time to time about matters wildlifery. Top woman, ever so helpful.

On my first day I was reading Mary’s diary of her time in New Zealand and almost immediately came across the name of an author I had worked with during my publishing career in Auckland. I contacted her to see what she could remember of Mary and this was her response:

… I do remember she did pretty well out of Massey and New Zealand. She got herself appointed warden (Matron we said then) at Moginie – free board and lodging – but she didn’t mean to be there too much – she was away on the Cook St islands as much as possible researching the effects of seabirds on coastal vegetation or something.

Coltsfoot re-wilding the paths at Cardiff Bay

When I’m out walking I seem to find myself involuntarily walking in Mary’s footsteps. On a glorious spring day in mid March I went for a wander around Cardiff Bay and found myself thinking Mary would be delighted to see that wildflowers are re-wilding the man-made paths of gravels and concrete where her records show wildflowers once grew in abundance. On Good Friday I was walking the Taff Trail, the section from the Castle Street bridge down to the bay, and couldn’t help but check if the plants I had been transcribing from Mary’s records the previous Tuesday were still growing there. (They weren’t.)

Danish scurvygrass dominates the Taff embankment - not one Mary recorded

Last Saturday I went on a foray with my friends from the Glamorgan Fungi Club and there she was again. One of the women is a member of the Cardiff Naturalists Club (as was Mary) and was involved in sorting out all the unsold copies of Mary’s numerous publications after she passed away.

Mary Gillham in her later years

Our fungi club leader also told me that his mate Brian had been telling him stories about Mary recently over a pint or two at their local pub. It seems Brian had sometimes acted as Mary’s scribe when they were out walking and frequently got told off for not paying attention or not writing quickly enough.

And just yesterday I got this email from a local friend:

Mary Gillham is a name from the past!

When we moved to Cardiff I took courses at what was then the extra-mural department of the university, particularly picking out those with field courses. It seemed a good way to get to know the area - and it was. Geology was the best, led by John Perkins, who was also head of department. His field trips were in the summer, but he also led an informal group of walkers (the Hummocky Drifters) in the winter "so that they could get fit for the formal summer trips" ... and the winter rambles were free!

I can't claim to have known Mary, but she did come on some of John's field trips, because they often went to locations where the botany was good, too. I remember one occasion when John chided Mary, when the botany talks took up precious time meant for geology. But it was all good natured, as everyone enjoyed a wide range of interests and the social atmosphere was as important as the subject.

Mary, if you’re listening, I think this is just the beginning of a long journey together!

You can follow our progress with this project on Facebook and on Twitter. A website will follow soon.