Arthur Edward Smith

CBE 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 ...

was a British conservation pioneer and English teacher from

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...

. He was primarily known for his work in founding the

Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust The Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust, (part of the Wildlife Trusts partnership), covers the whole ceremonial county of Lincolnshire, England. It was founded in 1948 as a voluntary charitable organisation dedicated to conserving the wildlife and wild ...

, and in extending the Wildlife Trust movement across Britain to form what is now

the Wildlife Trusts The Wildlife Trusts, the trading name of the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts, is an organisation made up of 46 local Wildlife Trusts in the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man and Alderney. The Wildlife Trusts, between them, look after more than 2, ...

Early life

Ted Smith came from a relatively poor background; his father Arthur was a plumber, and his parents ran a bakery and grocery shop. He attended

Leeds University , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

, and studied English, where he was taught by

Bruce Dickins Bruce Dickins, FBA (26 October 1889 – 4 January 1978), a graduate of Magdalene College, Cambridge, was Professor of English Language at the University of Leeds from 1931 to 1946 (where he succeeded E. V. Gordon), teaching medieval English and Ol ...

. He spent much of his adult life working firstly as a teacher in Leeds and then Norfolk, and then as an adult education tutor in Lincolnshire.

Nature Conservation

The nature conservation movement started as a very elite movement in the United Kingdom, led by wealthy aristocrats or academics such as

Charles Rothschild Nathaniel Charles Rothschild (9 May 1877 – 12 October 1923), known as "Charles", was an English banker and entomologist and a member of the Rothschild family. He is remembered for The Rothschild List, a list he made in 1915 of 284 sites acros ...

who initially envisaged a national network of nature reserves. After the Second World War, however, Smith drove the movement towards different goals and methods, most notably in recognising the threat from post-war agricultural methods and forming nature reserves that were accessible to the public and scientists. This was joined with the creation of more local wildlife trusts. Smith directly helped found the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust as its first Honorary Secretary, and helped spark the foundation of other early trusts such as those in

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and North ...

Wildlife Trust and

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...

Wildlife Trust. He particularly championed the creation of the nature reserve at

Gibraltar Point Gibraltar Point may refer to: * Gibraltar Point, Lincolnshire Gibraltar Point national nature reserve is an area of about on the coast of Lincolnshire, England. The reserve is owned by Lincolnshire County Council and East Lindsey District C ...

, which provided a blueprint for his ideas compared to the less publicly accessible nature reserves founded by earlier conservationists. He was a member of the

Lincolnshire Naturalists' Union Lincolnshire Naturalist's Union (LNU) is an association of amateur naturalists covering a wide range of natural history subjects. It was founded in 1893 and aims to promote the investigation of the fauna, flora, and physical features of the count ...

and served as its President in 1968. Later in life he became chairman and then President of the Lincolnshire Trust, holding the latter position until his death in 2015; he also became the Chairman of the England Committee of the Nature Conservancy Council (now

Natural England Natural England is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. It is responsible for ensuring that England's natural environment, including its land, flora and fauna, ...

) and first General Secretary of the Royal Society of Nature Conservation. He received multiple awards for his work in nature conservation, including the

in 1998, having received the OBE in 1963. He was the first recipient of the Christopher Cadbury medal for nature conservation, was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Science by the

University of Lincolnshire and Humberside The University of Lincoln is a public university, public research university in Lincoln, England, Lincoln, England, with origins dating back to 1861. It gained university status in 1992 and its present name in 2001. The main campus is in the heart ...

in 1999, and became an Officer of the

Order of the Golden Ark The Most Excellent Order of the Golden Ark ( nl, Orde van de Gouden Ark) is a Dutch order of merit established in 1971 by Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands. It is awarded to people for major contributions to nature conservation. Although not ...

in 2000. In 2012 he received a centenary award from the Wildlife Trusts, presented by his friend and colleague

Sir David Attenborough Sir David Frederick Attenborough (; born 8 May 1926) is an English broadcaster, biologist, natural historian and author. He is best known for writing and presenting, in conjunction with the BBC Natural History Unit, the nine natural histor ...

. The Gibraltar Point nature reserve was dedicated to him in 2010.

Personal life

Smith met Mary Goddard in 1948 on a trip to

Skokholm Skokholm () or Skokholm Island is an island off the coast of Pembrokeshire, Wales, south of the neighbouring island of Skomer. The surrounding waters are a marine reserve and all are part of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. Both islands a ...

, and married her in 1949. They have two surviving children; Professor Alison Smith, a prominent specialist in plant metabolism, and Dr Helen Smith, an arachnologist and president of the

British Arachnological Society The British Arachnological Society (BAS) is the UK’s first body devoted exclusively to the study of arachnids. The primary objectives of the Society are to encourage interest in arachnology in people of all ages and to generate, promote and diss ...

. He died on 13 September 2015. He was a lifelong member of the Liberal party and its successor, the Liberal Democrats.Smith, Ted (2007), "Trustees for Nature", p. 25. Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust,

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Ted 1920 births 2015 deaths Alumni of the University of Leeds Commanders of the Order of the British Empire English conservationists People educated at Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Alford People from Alford, Lincolnshire Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust people Members of the Lincolnshire Naturalists' Union