Ronald Mathias Lockley (8 November 1903 – 12 April 2000) was a Welsh

ornithologist Ornithology, from Ancient Greek ὄρνις (''órnis''), meaning "bird", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", is a branch of zoology dedicated to the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related discip ...

and

naturalist Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

. He wrote over fifty books on natural history, including a study of

shearwaters Shearwaters are medium-sized long-winged seabirds in the petrel family Procellariidae. They have a global marine distribution, but are most common in temperate and cold waters, and are pelagic outside the breeding season. Description These Proce ...

, and the book ''The Private Life of the Rabbit'', which was used in the development of his friend

Richard Adams Richard George Adams (10 May 1920 – 24 December 2016) was an English novelist. He is best known for his debut novel ''Watership Down'' which achieved international acclaim. His other works included ''Maia'', '' Shardik'' and '' The Plague Do ...

's children's book ''

Watership Down ''Watership Down'' is an adventure novel by English author Richard Adams, published by Rex Collings Ltd of London in 1972. Set in Hampshire in southern England, the story features a small group of rabbits. Although they live in their natur ...

''.

Life and career

Lockley was born in

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

and grew up in the suburb of Whitchurch, where his mother ran a

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. They have existed for many centuries, and now extend acr ...

. While still at school, he spent his weekends and summer holidays living rough in the woods and wetlands that now form the Glamorganshire Canal local nature reserve. After leaving school, he established a small poultry farm with his sister near St Mellons, Cardiff. His son is the

palaeontologist Paleontology, also spelled as palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of the life of the past, mainly but not exclusively through the study of fossils. Paleontologists use fossils as a means to classify organisms, measure geolo ...

Martin Lockley.

Skokholm

In 1927, with his first wife Doris Shellard, he took a 21-year lease of

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 island ...

, a small island some off the western tip of

Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and otherwise by the sea. Haverfordwest is the largest town and ...

, which was inhabited only by rabbits and

seabird Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adaptation, adapted to life within the marine ecosystem, marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent ...

s. Attempts to make a living from catching and selling rabbits and breeding chinchilla rabbits were abandoned when he found he could make a better living writing articles and books. He began to study migratory birds from 1928, establishing the first British bird observatory in 1933, and carrying out extensive pioneering research on breeding

Manx shearwater The Manx shearwater (''Puffinus puffinus'') is a medium-sized shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. The scientific name of this species records a name shift: Manx shearwaters were called Manks puffins in the 17th century. Puffin is an ...

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

s and European storm-petrels. He was encouraged to record the exact incubation and fledging period of the Manx shearwater by Harry Witherby, the then editor of '' British Birds''. He provided the initial

catalyst Catalysis () is the increase in rate of a chemical reaction due to an added substance known as a catalyst (). Catalysts are not consumed by the reaction and remain unchanged after it. If the reaction is rapid and the catalyst recycles quick ...

for the British Bird Observatory movement which, following the wartime interruption, reached its zenith in the fifties. He described his research in several books, including ''Dream Island'' (1930), ''Island Days'' (1934) and ''I Know an Island'' (1938). The work brought him to the notice of a wider circle of conservationists and naturalists, among them

Peter Scott Sir Peter Markham Scott (14 September 1909 – 29 August 1989) was a British ornithologist, conservation movement, conservationist, painter, naval officer, broadcaster and Sportsperson, sportsman. The only child of Antarctic explorer Robert Fal ...

and

Julian Huxley Sir Julian Sorell Huxley (22 June 1887 – 14 February 1975) was an English evolutionary biologist, eugenicist and Internationalism (politics), internationalist. He was a proponent of natural selection, and a leading figure in the mid-twentiet ...

.Obituary: R. M. Lockley
''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' Lockley's notable scientific monograph ''Shearwaters'' is a result of a twelve years' study. He founded the Pembrokeshire Bird Protection Society which later became the West Wales Field Society. He urged the broadening of the activities of the original Society and the extension of its area to include the whole of West Wales and it was at his insistence that the West Wales Field Society was incorporated as the West Wales Naturalists' Trust. With Julian Huxley he made one of the first professional (BFI) nature films, '' The Private Life of the Gannets'' (1934), which won an

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...

Postwar

Lockley continued farming on the mainland when Skokholm was used by the military during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He played a key part in the preliminary survey of the natural history of

Skomer Island Skomer () or Skomer Island is an island off the coast of Pembrokeshire, in the community of Marloes and St Brides in west Wales. It is well known for its wildlife: around half the world's population of Manx shearwaters nest on the island, the A ...

in 1946, re-establishing Skokholm as a bird observatory and establishing the Council for the Promotion of Field Studies in Dale Fort. He played a role in setting up the

Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Pembrokeshire Coast National Park () is a National Parks of England and Wales, national park along the Pembrokeshire coast in west Wales. It was established as a National Park in 1952. It is one of the three National parks of Wales, the others ...

in 1952, and in mapping out the coastal footpath around the county. Living at Orielton, a large estate near Pembroke, he undertook a four-year scientific study of

rabbit Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also includes the hares), which is in the order Lagomorpha (which also includes pikas). They are familiar throughout the world as a small herbivore, a prey animal, a domesticated ...

behaviour for the British Nature Conservancy during the 1950s. As chairman of the West Wales Field Society, he also led an unsuccessful campaign against the building of a large

oil refinery An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial processes, industrial process Factory, plant where petroleum (crude oil) is transformed and refining, refined into products such as gasoline (petrol), diesel fuel, Bitumen, asphalt base, ...

Milford Haven Milford Haven ( ) is a town and community (Wales), community in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is on the north side of the Milford Haven Waterway, an estuary forming a natural harbour that has been used as a port since the Middle Ages. The town was ...

. His belief that successive British governments were not sufficiently aware of the threat to the landscape from industrial development led to his decision to emigrate to

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

in 1970, with his third wife. There he continued to write, mostly about islands and birds, but also novels, and to travel among the islands of

Polynesia Polynesia ( , ) is a subregion of Oceania, made up of more than 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are called Polynesians. They have many things in ...

and in the

Antarctic The Antarctic (, ; commonly ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the South Pole, lying within the Antarctic Circle. It is antipodes, diametrically opposite of the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antar ...

. Lockley was awarded an Honorary MSc by the

University of Wales The University of Wales () is a confederal university based in Cardiff, Wales. Founded by royal charter in 1893 as a federal university with three constituent colleges – Aberystwyth, Bangor and Cardiff – the university was the first universit ...

in 1977, in recognition of his distinction as a naturalist. In 1993 he was awarded the Union Medal of the

British Ornithologists' Union The British Ornithologists' Union (BOU) aims to encourage the study of birds (ornithology) around the world in order to understand their biology and aid their conservation. The BOU was founded in 1858 by Professor Alfred Newton, Henry Baker ...

. He died in 2000, aged 96. His ashes were scattered from the boat ''Dale Princess'', in the waters just off Skokholm Island in 2000.

In popular culture

Lockley's ''The Private Life of the Rabbit'' (1964) played a role in the plot development of his friend

's children's book ''

''.The Telegraph. Obituaries. 13 April 2000 The ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' obituary observed "It was a rigorously factual work with none of the anthropomorphic sentimentality that infused ''Watership'' with its charm, but it bristled with insights." With Lockley's permission, Adams introduced him (alongside Sir

) as a character in his later novel '' The Plague Dogs'' (1977).

Bibliography

Books authored or coauthored by Lockley: * 1930: ''Dream Island''. Witherby: London. * 1932: ''The Island Dwellers''. G. P. Putnam's Sons: London. * 1934: ''Island Days''. Witherby: London. * 1936: ''The Sea's a Thief.''

Longman Longman, also known as Pearson Longman, is a publisher, publishing company founded in 1724 in London, England, which is owned by Pearson PLC. Since 1968, Longman has been used primarily as an imprint by Pearson's Schools business. The Longman ...

: London * 1936: ''Birds of the Green Belt and the Country around London.'' Witherby: London. * 1938: ''I Know an Island''. George G. Harrap: London. * 1939: ''Early Morning Island – or a dish of sprats.'' George G. Harrap: London. * 1940: ''A Pot of Smoke. Being the Life and Adventures of Dan Owain as Told to R.M. Lockley.'' George G. Harrap: London. * 1941: ''The Way to an Island'' J M Dent: London. * 1942: ''Shearwaters.'' J. M. Dent: London. * 1943: ''Dream Island Days''. Witherby: London. * 1943: ''Inland Farm.'' Witherby: London. * 1945: ''Islands Round Britain''. Collins: London. * 1945: ''Birds of the Sea.''

Penguin Books Penguin Books Limited is a Germany, German-owned English publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers the Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the ...

: London. (With R.B. Talbot Kelly). * 1946: ''The Island Farmers.'' Witherby: London. * 1947: ''Letters from Skokholm.'' J. M. Dent: London. * 1948: ''The Cinnamon Bird.'' Staples Press: London. (Illustrated by Charles Tunnicliffe). * 1948: ''The Golden Year.'' Witherby: London. * 1948: ''The Birds of Pembrokeshire.'' Compiled for West Wales Field Society ( With GCS Ingram & H Morrey Salmon) * 1949: '' Natural History of Selborne.'' Introduction & notes by Lockley. Dent: London ( Everyman Library No.48). * 1950: ''The Charm of the Channel Islands.'' Evans Brothers: London. * 1950: ''Island of Skomer.'' Staples Press: London. (With John Buxton). * 1951: ''The Nature-lovers' Anthology.'' Edited by Lockley. * 1953: ''Bird Ringing. The Art of Bird Study by Individual Marking.'' Crosby Lockwood & Son: London. (With Rosemary Russell). * 1953: ''Puffins.'' Dent: London. * 1953: ''Travels with A Tent in Western Europe.'' Odhams Press: London. * 1954: ''Gilbert White.'' Witherby: London. (Great Naturalists series) * 1954: ''The Seals and the Curragh. Introducing the Natural History of the Grey Seal of the North Atlantic.'' Dent: London. * 1954: ''Seabirds.'' (

New Naturalist The New Naturalist Library (also known as ''The New Naturalists'') is a series of books published by Collins in the United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Br ...

No.28) Collins: London. (With James Fisher). * 1957: ''Pembrokeshire.'' ( Regional Books series). Robert Hale: London. * 1957: ''In Praise of Islands. An anthology for friends.'' Frederick Muller: London. * 1958: ''The Bird-lover's Bedside Book.''

Eyre & Spottiswoode Eyre & Spottiswoode was the London-based printing firm established in 1739 that was the King's Printer, and subsequently, a publisher prior to being incorporated; it once went by the name of Spottiswoode, Ballantyne & co. ltd. In April 1929, it ...

: London. Edited by RML. * 1961: ''Pan Book of Cage Birds.''

Pan Books Pan Books is a British publishing imprint that first became active in the 1940s and is now part of the British-based Macmillan Publishers, owned by the Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group of Germany. History Pan Books began as an indepe ...

: London. * 1964: ''Britain in Colour.'' Batsford Books: London. * 1964: ''The Private Life of the Rabbit.'' Andre Deutsch: London. (A Survival Book.) * 1966: ''Grey Seal, Common Seal.'' Andre Deutsch: London. (A Survival Book.) * 1966: ''Wales.'' Batsford: London. * 1967: ''

Animal navigation Animal navigation is the ability of many animals to find their way accurately without maps or instruments. Birds such as the Arctic tern, insects such as the Monarch (butterfly), monarch butterfly and fish such as the salmon regularly Animal mi ...

.'' Arthur Barker: London. * 1968: ''The Book of Bird Watching.'' Arthur Barker: London. * 1968: ''The Travellers Guide to the Channel Islands.''

Jonathan Cape Jonathan Cape is a British publishing firm headquartered in London and founded in 1921 by Herbert Jonathan Cape, who was head of the firm until his death. Cape and his business partner Wren Howard (1893–1968) set up the publishing house in ...

: London * 1969: ''The Island.'' Andre Deutsch: London. * 1970: ''Man Against Nature.'' Andre Deutsch: London. (A Survival Book.) * 1970: ''The Naturalist in Wales.''

David & Charles David & Charles Ltd is an English publishing company. It is the owner of the David & Charles imprint, which specialises in craft and lifestyle publishing. David and Charles Ltd acts as distributor for all David and Charles Ltd books and cont ...

Newton Abbot Newton Abbot is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish on the River Teign in the Teignbridge, Teignbridge District of Devon, England. Its population was 24,029 in 2011, and was estimated at 26,655 in 2019. It grew rapidly in ...

. * 1971: ''A Traveller's Guide to the Channel Islands.'' ( Corgi – 0552086479) * 1974: ''Ocean Wanderers. The migratory sea birds of the world.'' David & Charles: Newton Abbot. * 1974: ''Seal Woman.'' Rex Collings: London. * 1977: ''Orielton: The Human and Natural History of a Welsh Manor.'' Andre Deutsch: London. * 1979: ''Myself When Young: The Making of a Naturalist.'' Andre Deutsch: London. * 1979: ''Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises.'' David & Charles: Newton Abbot. * 1980: ''The House Above the Sea.'' Longman Paul: New Zealand. * 1980: ''New Zealand Endangered Species. Birds, Bats, Reptiles, Freshwater Fishes, Snails and Insects.'' Cassell New Zealand. (With Noel W. Cusa) * 1982: ''Voyage through the Antarctic.'' Allen Lane: London. (With

) * 1982: ''New Zealand Birds.'' (With Geoff Moon) Heinemann. * 1983: '' Eric Hosking's Seabirds.'' (Text by Lockley) Croom Helm: London. * 1983: ''The Flight of the Storm Petrel.'' David & Charles: London. * 1986: ''Voyage Through the Antarctic'' by Lockley and Richard Adams. * 1987: ''The Lodge above the Waterfall.'' Divach Press:

Drumnadrochit Drumnadrochit (; ) is a village in the Highland (council area), Highland Local government in Scotland, local government Council areas of Scotland, council area of Scotland, lying near the west shore of Loch Ness at the foot of Glen Urquhart. The ...

. * 1987: ''The Secrets of Natural New Zealand.'' Viking Press: Auckland. (With Betty Brownlie) * 1991: ''Birds and Islands. Travels in Wild Places.'' Witherby: London. * 1996: ''Dear Islandman.'' Compiled by Lockley. Gomer Press: Llandysul. He was also a writer of articles, many of them for ''Countryman'' magazine in the 1930s, 40s and 50s. A 1947 edition of ''I Know an Island'' was illustrated by James Lucas.

References

External links

BBC: RM Lockley, nature conservationist
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lockley, Ronald 1903 births 2000 deaths Welsh conservationists Welsh naturalists Welsh non-fiction writers New Zealand ornithologists New Zealand writers Welsh zoologists 20th-century Welsh writers New Naturalist writers 20th-century British zoologists 20th-century Welsh scientists 20th-century New Zealand scientists 20th-century naturalists People educated at Cardiff High School Welsh ornithologists