The late Simon and Peggy Templer were 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, ...
couple who lived in
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
, where they dedicated their later lives to rescuing mistreated
chimpanzees used by photographers on beach resorts. Spain had become a focus of the trade in chimpanzees for the tourist industry, and these apes would be severely abused. Simon and his wife Peggy took on the role of persuading the Spanish authorities (Guardia Civil) to confiscate the chimps and provide them a more safe environment.
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Early years
Simon was born in England in 1913 and spent much of his childhood in Ceylon (Sri Lanka)
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
. His first names were actually Basil Henry Francis, but Peggy took to calling him Simon after the fictional character, and called him this until the end of his life. His family returned to the UK in 1924 when he was ten years old after his father had died. He was one of six children, two boys and four girls. His mother lived in Hammersmith, London, until she died.
Peggy was born in 1920 in Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
. Her father was a Welsh school teacher. The family moved to Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...
, Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...
where he taught for many years. When Peggy reached secondary age she was sent back to Wales to live with an Aunt. She got a place to study at Bangor University. By this time her parents were back in Wales and her father was a headmaster of a Prep School in Bangor. She had one younger sister.
The War
Simon and Peggy met during the Second World War. Peggy had started a degree in modern languages at Bangor University in Wales but decided to join the Women's Auxiliary Air Force
The Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF), whose members were referred to as WAAFs (), was the female auxiliary of the Royal Air Force during World War II. Established in 1939, WAAF numbers exceeded 180,000 at its peak strength in 1943, with over 2 ...
with her close friend known as Bim. The two young women both became plotters, plotting aeroplane positions. Simon flew De Havilland Mosquito aerial photo-reconnaissance planes for the RAF. He had many narrow escapes, including a chase through the Brenner Pass in Austria/Italy.
Simon and one of his fellow pilots met Peggy and Bim in a bar. After various exploits the two couples married and remained firm friends for years. Peggy and Simon had a home near RAF Benson
Royal Air Force Benson or RAF Benson is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located at Benson, near Wallingford, in South Oxfordshire, England. It is a front-line station and home to the RAF's fleet of Westland Puma HC2 support helicopters, us ...
. In 1942 Peggy gave birth to her first child. This was quickly followed by a second.
In the latter part of the war Simon was moved to a training role (many of the early Mosquito pilots had been killed). He never talked of his time in the war and took many secrets to his grave. This may have been related to the Official Secrets Act. It might also have been due to the fact that he was one of the lucky survivors.
At the end of the war the family moved to Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
, where Simon joined the European partnership of Price Waterhouse, and was sent to open up an office in Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
, Spain. These offices had been closed down during the Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, link ...
. He worked for them starting as a manager, and retired as a partner.
Move to Spain
Simon and Peggy moved to Barcelona, after a spell in Paris, a few years after the Second World War. They brought up their five children, Wendy, Michael, Dinah, Peter and Sally, in Barcelona.
Simon was the founding Partner of Price Waterhouse in Spain. Peggy set up two English-language schools in Barcelona that are still going today, St Peter's School and St Paul's School. They were active members of the Barcelona Tennis Club. Peggy represented Spain at Wimbledon when the competition was still amateur. Whilst still in Barcelona they had a pet monkey called "Jimmy" who was well loved if naughty. Jimmy was the seed of many things.
They lived in Barcelona until Simon retired and then built a new home in Breda (designed by Peggy), near Girona
Girona (officially and in Catalan , Spanish: ''Gerona'' ) is a city in northern Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 103,369 in 2020. Girona is the capital ...
with lots of spare land. This was to prove useful! They spent their time rescuing dogs and other animals. Peggy was an accomplished artist and potter. She had her own kiln at the new home.
Rescuing chimpanzees
Simon and Peggy's mission to rescue chimps started in 1978. At around this time they became aware that baby chimps were being smuggled into Spain from Africa to be sold on the black market. These babies were then purchased by photographers who used them as props for the tourist industry on Spanish beaches. The apes would be physically and mentally abused - given drugs to keep them calm, beaten to remain sedate, given a poor diet, have their teeth knocked out to prevent them biting and would then be killed when they reached puberty once they became uncontrollable.
The Templers worked extremely hard to end this trade and the mistreatment of chimpanzees by recruiting assistance from the Spanish Authorities, the Guardia Civil Council. They asked the Guardia to confiscate the beach chimps. In the meantime Simon and Peggy built a half-way house at their home in Breda near Girona in which to house them. The Templers battled to save every single beach chimp and give them a home. The number of chimpanzees quickly grew to around 40.
After relentless work they achieved their aim but were faced with a dilemma. Their small half-way house could not accommodate all the chimpanzees, and therefore a more ambitious solution was needed.
Monkey World
In 1986, a man called Jim Cronin approached the Templers and discussed how he could possibly help. Cronin had an ambition to build a rescue centre for primates and their ideas matched. Simon and Peggy needed to find much bigger accommodation for their beloved chimps and Jim promised to build a sanctuary in Dorset
Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...
, England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
to re-home the chimpanzees. By 1987, Jim Cronin set up Monkey World
The Monkey World Ape Rescue Centre is a ape and monkey sanctuary and rescue centre near Wool, Dorset, England.
History
Set up in 1987 by Jim Cronin with assistance from both Jeremy Keeling and later operated by both Cronin and his wife A ...
and was able re-home the Templers' chimpanzees and given them all a permanent, safe home at Monkey World. All the chimpanzees at Monkey World that were rescued from Spanish beach photographers were saved by the Templers in the mid 1980s.
MONA Chimpanzee Sanctuary
The MONA Chimpanzee Sanctuary was founded by the veterinarian, Olga Feliu, who was often called upon by Simon and Peggy Templer. The centre was set up to provide a sanctuary for abused beach chimpanzees used by photographers on beach resorts. MONA has provided a home to confiscated apes, as well as providing a home to a few Barbary macaques which are at the centre today.
Death
Peggy Templer died at home (Breda, near Girona) of cancer in 1991 after a few years of illness. Simon Templer died in March 1997 while on holiday visiting his son, Peter, in Nairobi
Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper h ...
, Kenya
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, national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"()
, image_map =
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, capital = Nairobi
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, largest_city = Nairobi
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They left five children, 14 grandchildren, and 23 great-grandchildren.
References
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[{{cite book, title=Animal welfare & the environment, author=Richard Dudley Ryder, publisher=Duckworth, year=1992, isbn=9780715624036, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_j-8AAAAIAAJ&q=Simon+and+Peggy+Templer]
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