284 THE entomologist's record. 



George Henry Verrall. 



Mr. George Henry Verrall, so well known in entomological circles 

 for the annual " gathering of the clans "he so generously held at the 

 Holborn Restaurant, as well as for his valuable work on one of the 

 so-called " neglected orders," the Diptera, passed away on Saturday, 

 September 16th, after a long illness. He Avas in his sixty-fourth year, 

 having been born at Lewes in Sussex, in the year 1848. For many 

 years he had been officially connected with various race-courses as clerk 

 of the course, manager, auctioneer, etc., and was a keen supporter of 

 coursing and cricket. He long took an active interest in politics, and 

 in 1910 he represented the Newmarket Division in the House of 

 Commons. At the time of his death he was Vice-chairman of the 

 Cambridgeshire County Council and senior member of the Newmarket 

 Urban District Council. 



As a boy he was attracted to the study of insects, and sought every 

 opportunity as he grew older of collecting in the various parts of the 

 British Isles to which his professional duties led him. By the time he 

 was twenty years of age he decided to turn his attention entirely to the 

 Diptera, at that time one of the least known orders of insects, and one in 

 which new discoveries were both possible and probable, and where original 

 work and enterprise were much needed. As a result of his early work in 

 " Dipterology," as he termed it, he published in 1888 a List of British 

 Diptera. This was entirely his own compilation, and issued as a basis 

 for his own and others' work to attract and help forward students of 

 the order. In 1901 a second edition of the List was issued, and this 

 time Mr. Verrall acknowledged that numbers of students had come 

 forward to aid him in correcting and adding to the previous more or 

 less tentative list. He discovered large numbers of new species of flies, 

 and got into touch not only with British workers on the Diptera, but 

 was in friendly communication with the " Dipterologists " of the 

 continent. His increasing knowledge gave him the desire to commence 

 a most ambitious work, — British Flies — of which two volumes have 

 appeared, and he had accumulated a large amount of MS. for the 

 compilation of other volumes. 



As early as 1866 he joined the Entomological Society of London, 

 and some years later was its Hon. Secretary for a time. On several 

 occasions he was made a Vice-President, and in 1899-1900 he had the 

 honour of filling the office of President. He was also a member of the 

 South London Entomological Society, which he joined in 1887. 



Not only was he a keen entomologist, but he was a botanist of 

 considerable experience, in fact all forms of nature study had an 

 attraction for him, and in each he attained sufficient knowledge to speak 

 with authority. He was proud of the fact that in his own neighbour- 

 hood he had rediscovered plants which, for a generation at least, had 

 been thought to be extinct. Some years ago, when there was a prospect 

 of the total disappearance of Wicken Fen with its peculiar flora and 

 fauna, he used his utmost influence to prevent it, on several occasions 

 purchasing portions of the unreclaimed fen to preserve it in its wild 

 state for entomological and botanical purposes. It was mainly through 

 his active influence and care that the ancient and exclusive Entomo- 

 logical Club was brought into modern prominence. 



His body was cremated at Clolder's Green Cemetery, and the ashes 

 were buried at Newmarket in the presence of a very large number of 

 his professional and scientific friends. — H. J. T. 



