Bird Notes and News 



17 



OBITUARY. 



The death of the Ven. Basil Wilberforce, 

 D.D., Archdeacon of Westminster, which 

 occurred on May 13th, must have been felt 

 as a personal loss by thousands who had 

 known him only as preacher or speaker ; 

 and millions of the animal creation, did 

 they but comprehend their loss, would 

 mourn as deeply. A passionate advocate of 

 justice and humanity to all " the lesser 

 brethren," Archdeacon Wilberforce was keenly 

 alive to the persecution of birds by man, 

 whether as plume-himter or bird-catcher, and 

 in liis eloquent appeals from the R.S.P.B. 

 platform denounced with equal vigour " the 

 absolutely cruel and senseless habit of 

 decorating hats and bonnets with the bodies 

 of birds and with aigrettes of herons' 

 feathers," and the keeping of winged things 

 in cages — " the sight of a lark in a cage 

 in a London slum seems to me about the 

 saddest sight imaginable ; is there anything 

 more pathetic that these little spirits in 

 prison ? " To his poetical mind the birds 

 were " the angels of the animal world," ' 

 "the wonderful feathered thoughts of God." 



Archdeacon Wilberforce was a hearty 

 supporter of the Society and its work, 

 and had been a Fellow since 1904. 



Commander Harry Pennell, R.N., who 

 went down in the Queen Mary, in the Naval 

 Battle, was a keen bird-student and a sup- 

 porter of the Society, taking special interest 

 in the work of the Watchers Committee. 

 He had gained distinction by his services in 

 the Antarctic Expedition of 1910-13. 



Among other recent losses to the Society 

 must be mentioned Mr. Cornelius Hanbury, 

 Fellow, and Dr. Stamford Felce and Mr. J. W. 

 McLellan, Members of the Society. Mr. 

 McLellan also generously assisted the Society 



by placing his skill as a photographer at 

 its service and presenting a number of 

 lantern slides to its collection. 



Mr. Ernest Pimiell Jones, winner a few 

 years ago of the Society's Silver Medal for 

 the most useful essay on " How to protect 

 Crops without destruction of Bird Life " 

 (published in the Society's pamphlet, " Farm, 

 Garden and Birds "), died at Crewe on 

 May 6th, aged 35, after a very long illness. 

 A practical ornithologist and horticulturist, 

 he spoke and wrote on birds with knowledge 

 and sympathy, and to the last never lost 

 his deep interest in them. 



Bird-and-Tree work loses grievously by 

 the death, on May 28th, of Mr. Herbert 

 Studman, aged fifty -two, for twenty-five years 

 headmaster of Wobum Boys' School. Mr. 

 Studman took up the Competition with 

 characteristic enthusiasm, and his keen 

 interest in the work of the boys was only 

 equalled by his pleasure and pride in their 

 rapid progress and in the premier position 

 to which they attained as winners of the 

 Bedfordshire and Inter-County Shields, 

 " Natm-e-lovers such as our late school- 

 master are few and far between," writes the 

 Duchess of Bedford, who did so much to 

 encourage his work. " It was strange that 

 just as the cofiin was being lowered a thrush 

 sang loudly from the top of one of the church- 

 yard trees. I think everyone noticed it. 

 I never knew any master whose boys were 

 so devoted to him, and he will be sadly 

 missed." Among the many wreaths was 

 one, " In lo\Tng memory of a really kind 

 and thoughtful counsellor, guide and friend, 

 from all his old scholars who were members 

 of the Bird Team," and another one from 

 Her Grace, " A last token of regard from 

 one Nature-lover to another." 



