Fred J Speakman (born in
Essex
Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...
) 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 ...
naturalist and
author
An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states:
"''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...
. He was one of Britain's best known naturalist-authors in the 1960s.
Life
Speakman grew up and lived in
Epping Forest
Epping Forest is a area of ancient woodland, and other established habitats, which straddles the border between Greater London and Essex. The main body of the forest stretches from Epping in the north, to Chingford on the edge of the London ...
and became a teacher at Woodside School,
Walthamstow. He spent his later years running a field centre at Roseville,
High Beach
High Beach (or High Beech) is a village inside Epping Forest in south-west Essex, England. Part of Waltham Abbey, the village is within the Epping Forest District and the ward of Waltham Abbey High Beach, and lies approximately north-east of Ch ...
between 1959 and 1979.
A well known popular writer of illustrated guides to the English forests, in the mid 1950s with the support of Walthamstow's Education Office he began to convert Jubilee Retreat,
Chingford
Chingford is a town in east London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. The town is approximately north-east of Charing Cross, with Waltham Abbey to the north, Woodford Green and Buckhurst Hill to the east, Walthamstow t ...
into a classroom able to take 20 pupils for day visits to the forest.
In 1959 he acquired Roseville, High Beach and converted it into a nature study centre. The borough became a pioneer in childhood environmental education, sending
primary school
A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...
children who often lived in
working class
The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colo ...
urban areas
An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban morphology as cities, ...
on fortnightly visits to be taught by Speakman at Roseville and Ernie Douse and later Ken Hoy at the Jubilee Retreat. As demand for trips to the forest increased, the new
London Borough of Waltham Forest purchased the Suntrap Centre in 1967, sending all final year primary classes to make eight visits a year to the centre.
After retiring he went on to live in
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate) ...
with his second wife Kit and died there in 1982.
Friends of Epping Forest p7
Retrieved 30 May 2013
Bibliography
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References
External links
Photo of Speakman
{{DEFAULTSORT:Speakman, Fred J.
People from Epping Forest District
English non-fiction writers
English naturalists
Epping Forest District
1982 deaths
Year of birth missing
English male non-fiction writers