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Jeffery Boswall (20 March 1931 – 15 August 2012) was a British naturalist, broadcaster and
programmes internationally.
Other programmes he produced included ''Cracking the Egg'' (1982), ''The Truth behind the Turkey'' (1982), ''Natural World: Where the Parrots Speak Mandarin'' (1986) and ''Wild Waterfalls'' (1989)
He was series producer for ''Birds For All Seasons'', a three-part series broadcast in 1986, narrated by
in 1987 he became Head of Film and Video at the
Jeffery Boswall (20 March 1931 – 15 August 2012) was a British naturalist, broadcaster and educator
A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching.
''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...
.
One of the longest serving producers with the BBC Natural History Unit
The BBC Studios Natural History Unit (NHU) is a department of BBC Studios that produces television, radio and online content with a natural history or wildlife theme. It is best known for its highly regarded nature documentaries, including '' ...
(1957-1987), and the writer and presenter/narrator of many of the programmes he produced, he was also prominent in the development of the ethics of natural history broadcasting and the encouragement of new entrants into the field. Boswall wrote and produced the first wildlife film shown in colour on the BBC, '' The Private Life of the Kingfisher'', filmed by Ron Eastman. It was broadcast in 1967 on BBC2. He was one of the "pioneers of British natural history broadcasting" (Daily Telegraph obituary, 5 September 2012).
Early years
Jeffery Hugh Richard Boswall was born inBrighton
Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London.
Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...
on 20 March 1931. A keen amateur ornithologist, his first published article appeared in the journal British Birds when he was 16. His interest in ornithology arose from a chance suggestion by a friend that he join him bird watching at the River Adur near Shoreham-on-Sea. His first full-time job was as assistant to the Director of Watchers and Sanctuaries for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a charitable organisation registered in England and Wales and in Scotland. It was founded in 1889. It works to promote conservation and protection of birds and the wider environment throug ...
.
BBC Natural History Unit
Boswall began as a radio producer, upon joining theBBC Natural History Unit
The BBC Studios Natural History Unit (NHU) is a department of BBC Studios that produces television, radio and online content with a natural history or wildlife theme. It is best known for its highly regarded nature documentaries, including '' ...
in 1957, producing series including ''Birds of the Air'' and ''The Naturalist''.
He started to work on television programmes in 1964. He produced the ''Look'' series (introduced 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 in ...
) from 1963 to 1969, which is the series which made Peter Scott a household name in Great Britain.
Boswall wrote and produced the first wildlife film shown in colour on the BBC, ''The Private Life of the Kingfisher'', filmed by Ron Eastman and narrated 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 in ...
. It was broadcast in 1967 on BBC2. It won the Silver Medal at the Moscow Film Festival in 1967. It enormous popularity led to it being repeated an unprecedented eight times, as well as to Boswall commissioning a series of 18 programmes on single species in a series known as ''Private Lives'', ranging from the Jackass Penguin to the Siamese Fighting Fish to the Cuckoo.
He produced and presented ''Wildlife Safari to Ethiopia'' (1970), a six-part series. It was described by Christopher Parsons
Christopher Eugene Parsons OBE (23. August 1932 in Winchester, Hampshire – 8 November 2002 in Littleton-upon-Severn, Gloucestershire) was an English wildlife film-maker and the executive producer of David Attenborough's ''Life on Earth'', wid ...
, former head of the BBC's Natural History Unit, as "arguably one of the best series of its genre ever made". Boswall went on to produce and present three follow up series: ''Wildlife Safari to the Argentine'' (1972), ''Boswall's Wildlife Safari to Mexico'' (1977) and ''Boswall's Wildlife Safari to Thailand'' (1979).
He was awarded the Royal Geographical Society
The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...
's Cherry Kearton Medal and Award
The Cherry Kearton Medal and Award is an honour bestowed by the Royal Geographical Society on "a traveller concerned with the study or practice of natural history, with a preference for those with an interest in nature photography, art or cinemato ...
in 1977.
He wrote, produced and narrated ''Animal Olympians'' (1980) a one-hour special which compared the feats of animals to those of human olympians, as well as celebrating superlative feats from the natural world which have no human analogue. This was broadcast in connection with the Moscow Olympics
The 1980 Summer Olympics (russian: Летние Олимпийские игры 1980, Letniye Olimpiyskiye igry 1980), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad (russian: Игры XXII Олимпиады, Igry XXII Olimpiady) and commo ...
in 1980 and was for many years in the top 5 sales of BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...Magnus Magnusson
Magnus Magnusson, (born Magnús Sigursteinsson; 12 October 1929 – 7 January 2007) was an Icelandic-born British-based journalist, translator, writer and television presenter. Born in Reykjavík, he lived in Scotland for almost all his life, a ...
. He wrote a book to accompany this series, with David Helton.
He frequently appeared on or contributed to other radio and television programmes, including ''Today
Today (archaically to-day) may refer to:
* Day of the present, the time that is perceived directly, often called ''now''
* Current era, present
* The current calendar date
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Today'' (1930 film), a 1930 A ...
'', '' Animal Magic'', '' Nationwide'', and ''Wogan
''Wogan'' is a British television talk show which was broadcast on BBC1 from 1982 until 1992, presented by Terry Wogan. It was usually broadcast live from the BBC Television Theatre in Shepherd's Bush, London, until 1991. It was then broadcast ...
''.
Ethics of natural history broadcasting
Boswall is acknowledged as one of the key figures in shaping the approach to ethics in natural history broadcasting. He is credited with establishing two main commandments "Thou shalt not deceive the audience" and "thou shalt not harm nature". On the latter topic he was quoted in ''Discover'' magazine in 1985:When I lecture about this issue, I ask this question: Who would shrink from introducing a living fly into a spider's web to get a shot of the spider feeding on the fly. Usually no one objects to that. Then I carry the same question through the animal kingdom, up to using a monkey as a bait for a boa constrictor. Not many people like that too much. Then I ask - supposing of course that adequate provisions were made for his family - how would you feel about feeding a human to a crocodile? Crocodiles do feed on humans, you know, so it would be ''scientifically'' correct (original emphasis).
The profession of natural history broadcasting
Boswall chaired the first six BKSTS International Symposia for Wildlife Filmmakers from 1976 to 1991, being the main forum in the UK for wildlife filmmakers to meet and debate current issues in the profession. Keynote speakers includedDavid Puttnam
David Terence Puttnam, Baron Puttnam, CBE, HonFRSA, HonFRPS, MRIA (born 25 February 1941) is a British film producer, educator, environmentalist and former member of the House of Lords. His productions include ''Chariots of Fire'', which wo ...
and Hugh Falkus
Hugh Falkus (15 May 1917 – 30 March 1996) was a British writer, filmmaker and presenter, World War II pilot and angler. In an extremely varied career, he is perhaps best known for his seminal books on angling, particularly salmon and sea trout ...
. This event was merged with Wildscreen
Wildscreen is a wildlife conservation charity based in Bristol, England.
The charity was founded in December 1987 from a trust which had operated since 1982, with the initial aim of encouraging and applauding excellence in the production of na ...
from 1994.
In 1992 he became Senior Lecturer in Wildlife Film-making at the University of Derby
, mottoeng = Experience is the best teacher
, established = 1851 – Teacher Training College1992 – gained university status
, type = Public
, chancellor = William Cavendish, Ear ...
, probably the first full-time position of its kind in the world. Boswall has taught courses in the UK and internationally on natural history film-making. He appeared on the jury at a number of international wildlife film festivals.
Boswall's overall contribution to natural history broadcasting has been recognised by awards from the Royal Geographic Society and the British Kinematograph Sound and Television Society.
Wildlife sound recording
In addition to owning one of the largest privately held collections of commercially issued bird voice gramophone records and tapes, Boswall published numerous discographies including sound production by birds, mammals, insects and amphibians. He was joint author of ''The Peterson Field Guide to the Bird Songs of Britain and Europe'' and co-founder of the British Library of Wildlife Sounds collection now at theBritish Library Sound Archive
The British Library Sound Archive, formerly the British Institute of Recorded Sound; also known as the National Sound Archive (NSA), in London, England is among the largest collections of recorded sound in the world, including music, spoken word a ...
in London.
Other work
After leaving theBBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a charitable organisation registered in England and Wales and in Scotland. It was founded in 1889. It works to promote conservation and protection of birds and the wider environment throug ...
, producing a variety of programmes including ''Mud Matters'' (1988), ''Eagles - the Majestic Hunters'' (1990) and ''Flying for Gold'' (1992).
Throughout his career he has given frequent public lectures on a variety of natural history topics, including bird song
Bird vocalization includes both bird calls and bird songs. In non-technical use, bird songs are the bird sounds that are melodious to the human ear. In ornithology and birding, songs (relatively complex vocalizations) are distinguished by func ...
and tool using by birds. He has also led courses since 1988 aimed at those seeking to enter natural history television as a career on how to make wildlife documentaries.
From the 1980s, Boswall was involved in the vanguard of the emerging trend towards eco-tourism, and has led wildlife tours to places as varied as the Galápagos Islands
The Galápagos Islands (Spanish: , , ) are an archipelago of volcanic islands. They are distributed on each side of the equator in the Pacific Ocean, surrounding the centre of the Western Hemisphere, and are part of the Republic of Ecuador ...
, Ethiopia
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
, Russia and China.
Boswall wrote over 100 articles in scientific journals on natural history subjects. He wrote the annual update on global ornithology for ''Encyclopædia Britannica
The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various time ...
Yearbook'' from 1964 to 1998.
Bibliography
* Jeffery Boswall, editor. ''Private Lives: Studies of Birds and Other Animals from the BBC TV Series Look'' and ''Private Lives'', BBC Books, 1970. . * Jeffery Boswall. ''The language of birds'', Proceedings of the Royal Institution Vol 55 pp. 240–303 among many other scientific articles. https://www.bl.uk/the-language-of-birds * Jeffery Boswall. ''Birds for All Seasons'', BBC Books, 1986. . * Copeland, Peter, Jeffery Boswall, and Leonard Petts. ''Birdsongs on Old Records''. London: the authors in association with the British Library of Wildlife Sounds, 1987. . * Piers Warren, foreword by Jeffery Boswall. ''Careers in Wildlife Filmmaking''. Wildeye, 2006.References
* Gail Davies PhD thesis University College London 1997 "Networks of Nature: Stories of Natural History Film-Making from the BBC" * Personalities: Jeffery Boswall, ''British Birds'' 70:453-455 * http://www.wildfilmhistory.org/person/77/Jeffery+Boswall.html * http://www.wildfilmhistory.org/film/97/Private+Life+of+the+Kingfisher.html * http://www.wildfilmhistory.org/film/102/Across+the+Great+Salt+Desert.html * http://www.wildfilmhistory.org/film/116/Animal+Olympians.htmlTool-use in birds
External links
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Boswall, Jeffery British ornithologists British radio producers British television producers BBC radio producers BBC television producers 1931 births 2012 deaths People from Brighton