Aubyn Bernard Rochfort Trevor-Battye, MA, MBOU, FLS,

FRGS The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

, FZS (17 July 1855 – 19/20 December 1922) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

traveller, naturalist and writer. He was born at

Hever, Kent Hever village is a village and civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. The parish is located on the River Eden, a tributary of the River Medway, east of Edenbridge. It is by in extent, and in area. The parish includes the ...

, where his father, the Reverend William Wilberforce Battye, was rector. His mother was daughter of Edmund Wakefield Meade-Waldo, resident of

Hever Castle Hever Castle ( ) is located in the village of Hever, Kent, near Edenbridge, south-east of London, England. It began as a country house, built in the 13th century. From 1462 to 1539, it was the seat of the Boleyn (originally 'Bullen') family. ...

.Martin H. Evans, ‘Battye, Aubyn Bernard Rochfort Trevor- (1855–1922)’,

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

, online edn, Oxford University Press, Oct 2006 The Rev. W.W. Battye was a descendant of Sir John Trevor (1626-1672) and inherited Trevor estates in 1883. Upon his death in 1890 his surviving family took the heraldic arms of Trevor and the surname Trevor-Battye. After graduating from

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

, in 1887, Aubyn Trevor-Battye travelled widely in North America and Europe, studying

ornithology Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the "methodological study and consequent knowledge of birds with all that relates to them." Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and th ...

, shooting game and fishing. In 1894 he made an expedition to the Russian island of

Kolguyev Kolguyev Island (russian: о́стров Колгу́ев) is an island in Nenets Autonomous Okrug of Russia, located in the south-eastern Barents Sea (west of the Pechora Sea) to the north-east of the Kanin Peninsula. Origin of the name There ...

in the

Barents Sea The Barents Sea ( , also ; no, Barentshavet, ; russian: Баренцево море, Barentsevo More) is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean, located off the northern coasts of Norway and Russia and divided between Norwegian and Russian territo ...

to study its natural history, especially the birds, and the topography (Trevor-Battye 1895). He and his assistant had to make a long unplanned return through northern Russia as winter closed in, an adventure that brought Trevor-Battye to prominence on his return to Britain (Trevor-Battye 1898). He was then invited to join

William Martin Conway William Martin Conway, 1st Baron Conway of Allington (12 April 1856 – 19 April 1937), known between 1895 and 1931 as Sir Martin Conway, was an English art critic, politician, cartographer and mountaineer, who made expeditions in Europe as wel ...

's expedition to

Spitsbergen Spitsbergen (; formerly known as West Spitsbergen; Norwegian: ''Vest Spitsbergen'' or ''Vestspitsbergen'' , also sometimes spelled Spitzbergen) is the largest and the only permanently populated island of the Svalbard archipelago in northern Norw ...

in 1896, as their zoologist. During a period devoted to writing and editing he married Margaret Amy Graham on 1 May 1901. He later resumed his travels and studies of natural history. He travelled extensively in Europe, often on collecting expeditions or visiting zoological gardens. He made two visits to southern Africa (1905 and 1910), and explored

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...

in 1908 and a second time, probably 1909 (Trevor-Battye 1913). In 1914 he travelled in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

and

Sikkim Sikkim (; ) is a state in Northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Province No. 1 of Nepal in the west and West Bengal in the south. Sikkim is also close to the Siligur ...

in company with

Henry John Elwes Henry John Elwes, FRS (16 May 1846 – 26 November 1922) was a British botanist, entomologist, author, lepidopterist, collector and traveller who became renowned for collecting specimens of lilies during trips to the Himalaya and Korea. He wa ...

. After the 1914-1918 War he resumed his writing and editing, but due to deteriorating health he moved to the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...

. He died there, at

Las Palmas Las Palmas (, ; ), officially Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, is a Spain, Spanish city and capital of Gran Canaria, in the Canary Islands, on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital (jointly with Santa Cruz de Tenerife), the most populous city in th ...

, on the 19th or 20 December 1922, aged 67. He published four books of his own and a chapter in the Spitsbergen report (Trevor-Battye 1897) and over 20 papers in learned journals, mainly about ornithology. He was Editor to the Natural History section of the ''Victoria History of the Counties of England'' series (c. 1899-1902) and he edited some writings of his friend Lord Lilford (Trevor-Battye 1903). Other publications included short stories and popular articles and he edited many other articles.

Biographies

* * Horder, M (1974) "Trevor-Battye: a Victorian in the Arctic". ''The Cornhill Magazine'', no 1079: 228-237. * * Evans, M.H. (2005) "Aubyn B.R. Trevor-Battye, 1855-1922". Unpublished annotated biography, typescript copies at the Royal Geographical Society, Christ Church (Oxford) and the Scott Polar Research Institute. * Oxford Dictionary of National Biography: "Battye, Aubyn Bernard Rochfort Trevor-" * Obituary: "First explorer of Kolguev. Death of Mr Trevor-Battye". ''The Times'' Dec 22, 1922, p. 12. * Obituary: "Aubyn Trevor-Battye". ''Geographical Journal'' 61 (3), 229-230, March 1923. * Obituary: "Aubyn Bernard Rochfort Trevor-Battye". ''Ibis'' 332-334, 1923. * Obituary: "Aubyn Bernard Rochfort Trevor-Battye". ''The Avicultural Magazine'' 4th ser, 1 p. 9, 1923.

References

* Trevor-Battye, Aubyn (1894) ''Pictures in prose'', Longmans Green, London * Trevor-Battye, Aubyn (1895) ''Ice-bound on Kolguev'', Constable, London * Trevor-Battye, Aubyn (1897) "Report upon Ekman Bay and Dickson Bay", in: ''The first crossing of Spitsbergen'' by Sir

, Dent, London * Trevor-Battye, Aubyn (1898) ''A northern highway of the Tsar'', Constable, London * Trevor-Battye, Aubyn (ed.) (1903) ''Lord Lilford on birds'', Hutchinson, London * Trevor-Battye, Aubyn (1913) ''Camping in Crete'', Witherby, London {{DEFAULTSORT:Trevor-Battye, Aubyn 1855 births 1922 deaths Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford English Anglicans English writers Fellows of the Linnean Society of London Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society Fellows of the Zoological Society of London English naturalists People from Hever, Kent Contributors to the Victoria County History