Hubert Massey Whittell

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(24 March 1883 – 7 February 1954) was a British army officer, and later an Australian farmer and

ornithologist 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 ...

who compiled a history and

bibliography Bibliography (from and ), as a discipline, is traditionally the academic study of books as physical, cultural objects; in this sense, it is also known as bibliology (from ). English author and bibliographer John Carter describes ''bibliography ...

of ornithology in Australia from its origins until the mid-20th century.

Early days

Whittell was born at Stratford in Essex, England, now part of

Greater London Greater may refer to: *Greatness, the state of being great *Greater than, in inequality (mathematics), inequality *Greater (film), ''Greater'' (film), a 2016 American film *Greater (flamingo), the oldest flamingo on record *Greater (song), "Greate ...

. His father, an engineer and

naval architect This is the top category for all articles related to architecture and its practitioners. {{Commons category, Architecture occupations Design occupations Architecture, Occupations ...

was the

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

representative of Lloyd's of London, and Whittell grew up in both

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 ...

and England, as well as attending school for a year in Germany in 1894. In 1899 he began studying medicine at Edinburgh University. In 1899, Whittell donated to Edinburgh Museum a specimen of an

Atlantic puffin The Atlantic puffin ('), also known as the common puffin, is a species of seabird in the auk family. It is the only puffin native to the Atlantic Ocean; two related species, the tufted puffin and the horned puffin is found in the northeastern ...

(''Fratercula arctica'') taken in

County Mayo County Mayo (; ga, Contae Mhaigh Eo, meaning "Plain of the Taxus baccata, yew trees") is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Conn ...

, Ireland. His address was then given as 53, Merchiston Crescent, Edinburgh. In August 1901, he made an ornithological expedition to

Orkney Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...

and collected a specimen of a red-necked phalarope (''Phalaropus hyperboreus'') from

Stromness Stromness (, non, Straumnes; nrn, Stromnes) is the second-most populous town in Orkney, Scotland. It is in the southwestern part of Mainland Orkney. It is a burgh with a parish around the outside with the town of Stromness as its capital. E ...

. However, in 1903 he gave up his medical studies to pursue a career in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

.Serventy (1954).Kloot (1990).

Military career

In September 1904, after service with the 2nd Battalion the Royal Guernsey Light Infantry ( Channel Islands Militia), Whittell passed a competitive examination and in December was gazetted a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

in the 1st Battalion the Royal Sussex Regiment, with which he was posted to India in 1905. In November 1907 he was promoted

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

, and transferred to the

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

, joining the

56th Punjabi Rifles The 56th Punjabi Rifles (Frontier Force) was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. It was raised in 1849 as the 2nd Regiment of Punjab Infantry. It was designated as the 56th Punjabi Rifles (Frontier Force) in 1906 and became 2nd Batta ...

, being promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in 1913. He studied

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

Pushtu and

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

, collected old Indian coins, went

big game hunting Big-game hunting is the hunting of large game animals for meat, commercially valuable by-products (such as horns/ antlers, furs, tusks, bones, body fat/oil, or special organs and contents), trophy/taxidermy, or simply just for recreation ( ...

and published papers on local history. He married Sydney Margaret O'Hara Hodgkins in 1911 in Bombay. Following the outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

he served in France, Belgium and Egypt for the duration of the war, after which he returned to India to serve in the Third Anglo-Afghan War in 1919. He was twice

mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

and was promoted to major. In June 1921, while serving with the Supplies and Transport Corps of the Indian Army, he was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(Military Division). In 1926 he retired from the Indian Army and emigrated to Australia.

Ornithology

Whittell settled with his family at

Bridgetown, Western Australia Bridgetown is a town in the South West (Western Australia), South West region of Western Australia, approximately south of Perth on the Blackwood River at the intersection of South Western Highway with Brockman Highway to Nannup, Western Austra ...

, south of

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, where he bought an

orchard An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit- or nut-producing trees which are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of larg ...

and a

dairy farm Dairy farming is a class of agriculture for long-term production of milk, which is processed (either on the farm or at a dairy plant, either of which may be called a dairy) for eventual sale of a dairy product. Dairy farming has a history that ...

which he managed successfully, becoming a prosperous member of the local farming community. By 1929 he had revived a lifelong interest in birds and was ornithologically active, joining the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union (RAOU) that year. He started building up a bird egg and skin collection, as well as establishing an ornithological library. He also made several collecting trips in the south-west and south-east of Western Australia. In 1939 Whittell became Convener of the RAOU's Checklist Committee, serving also as President of the Union 1941–1943. A keen conservationist, from 1946 he served on the State Fauna Protection Advisory Committee. In 1943 he began a collaboration with Dominic Serventy on a regional handbook, the ''

Birds of Western Australia This is a list of the wild birds found in Western Australia. The list includes introduced species, common vagrants, recently extinct species, extirpated species, some very rare vagrants (seen once) and species only present in captivity. 629 spec ...

'', the first edition of which was published in 1948. From the mid-1930s he had been working on a comprehensive history and bibliography of Australian ornithology, ''

The Literature of Australian Birds ''The Literature of Australian Birds'' is a book published in 1954 by Paterson Brokensha in Perth, Western Australia. Its full title is ''The Literature of Australian Birds: A History and a Bibliography of Australian Ornithology''. It was autho ...

'', a monumental 900-page volume published in 1954 not long after his death. Whittell was described by his friend and collaborator Dom Serventy as follows:

”Physically he was a slight man, of restless disposition, and his physiognomy, with the keen face and the alert prominent blue-grey eyes, reminded one strikingly of some of the profile portraits of
Frederick the Great Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the Sil ...
. Personally he was of the highest integrity and he despised any adventitious aid to advancement, such as joining the 'right' social organisations or currying favour with persons supposed to have influence. He found it difficult to suffer fools gladly and this, combined with a somewhat choleric temperament at times, alienated some of his acquaintances. Others were never quite at their ease in his presence, never knowing whether to take his quips, uttered in a clipped English accent, as real reproaches or humorous chaffing. However, when acquaintance passed to friendship his ripe observations from an intelligent and well-stocked mind, on people, places and things, combined with his essential good nature and fair dealing, made him an agreeable and congenial companion.”

Whittell was awarded Life Memberships of the

St John Ambulance Association St John Ambulance is the name of a number of affiliated organisations in different countries which teach and provide first aid and emergency medical services, and are primarily staffed by volunteers. The associations are overseen by the internat ...

, the Returned Sailors' and Soldiers' Imperial League of Australia, and the Western Australian Naturalists' Club. He died in 1954 following long and painful complications from surgery carried out more than a year previously in December 1952. He was survived by his wife, a daughter, two sons and three grandchildren.

Publications

As well as numerous papers in ''

The Emu ''Emu'', subtitled ''Austral Ornithology'', is the peer-reviewed scientific journal of BirdLife Australia (formerly the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union). The journal was established in 1901 and is the oldest ornithological journal publis ...

'' and other journals, notes and popular articles, book-length works authored or coauthored by Whittell include: * * *

References

Notes

Cited texts

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Whittell, Hubert Massey 1883 births 1954 deaths Indian Army personnel of World War I Royal Guernsey Light Infantry soldiers Military personnel from Essex British military personnel of the Third Anglo-Afghan War Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Royal Sussex Regiment officers British Indian Army officers Officers of the Order of the British Empire Australian ornithologists 20th-century Australian non-fiction writers Australian nature writers English emigrants to Australia 20th-century Australian zoologists