Garth Christian was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

nature writer, editor, teacher and conservationist.

Life

He was born in a Derbyshire vicarage which had been occupied by his father and grandfather for almost 50 years, and was a member of the same family as

Fletcher Christian Fletcher Christian (25 September 1764 – 20 September 1793) was master's mate on board HMS ''Bounty'' during Lieutenant William Bligh's voyage to Tahiti during 1787–1789 for breadfruit plants. In the mutiny on the ''Bounty'', Christian se ...

. At the age of 18, he began contributing to

the Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

's ''Miscellany'' column. After becoming a full-time freelance writer, he wrote for newspapers and magazines including the Birmingham Post,

Birmingham Evening Mail The ''Birmingham Mail'' (branded the ''Black Country Mail'' in the Black Country) is a tabloid newspaper based in Birmingham, England but distributed around Birmingham, the Black Country, and Solihull and parts of Warwickshire, Worcestershire a ...

Nottingham Guardian The ''Nottingham Guardian'' was a newspaper in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England that ran from 10 October 1905 to 5 September 1953. It was a continuation of the ''Nottingham Daily Guardian '' which had run from 1861 to 1905. In 1953 it merged ...

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

, Country Life and

New Scientist ''New Scientist'' is a magazine covering all aspects of science and technology. Based in London, it publishes weekly English-language editions in the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia. An editorially separate organisation publish ...

. From 1950, he was editor of The Plough. He wrote a number of books on conservation and ornithology,Copac one of which, ''Down the Long Wind'', had a jacket illustrated by

Peter Scott Sir Peter Markham Scott, (14 September 1909 – 29 August 1989) was a British ornithologist, conservationist, painter, naval officer, broadcaster and sportsman. The only child of Antarctic explorer Robert Falcon Scott, he took an interest i ...

. As a

school governor In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, school governors are the overseers of a school. In state schools, they have three main functions: *Giving the school a clear vision, ethos and strategic direction *Holding the headteacher to account for the ...

, he took the unusual step of becoming an honorary (unpaid) teacher of biology, one afternoon a week.

Positions

* Nature conservator,

Chailey Common Chailey Common is a 169 hectare (417.4 acre) biological site of Special Scientific Interest in the East Sussex. It is close to the village of North Chailey to the west of Newick. The site was notified in 1985 under the Wildlife and Co ...

* Council member, Sussex Archaeological Society * Council member, Sussex Naturalists' Trust * County Secondary School governor

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * *

References

Year of birth missing Year of death missing English nature writers English ornithologists People from Derbyshire School governors {{UK-nonfiction-writer-stub