44 THE entomologist's record. 



after a short illness at Forest Hill, on Decembei- 27th, 1916, and was 

 buried by the side of his wife, at Birchington, on January 2nd, 1917. 

 Physically and mentally alert, in spite of his 78 years, to within a day 

 or two of his death, and keen on "renewals" to the last, as our Ex- 

 change column will show, he will be missed by many of the present 

 generation of entomologists, but more so by that greater number, 

 amongst whom his strength was spent, whose outlook in life was 

 brightened by his careful and beneficent teaching. As a master of the 

 Deaf and Dumb School at Margate, with which he was associated for 

 upwards of fifty years, he was instrumental in converting into useful 

 members of society, a great number of heavily handicapped children, 

 who might otherwise have been a burden. Since his retirement from 

 active work, in 1908, he had for some years given an evening's enter- 

 tainment to the deaf and dumb of South London, to which he fre- 

 quently invited the writer, who felt himself the only deaf person 

 present. Those who were at the annual meeting of the Entomological 

 Society last year will remember the "tale of a tramp," told by the 

 President, that Mr. Platt-Barrett told on his fingers to his deaf and 

 dumb guests shortly afterwards, who laughed as heartily as the Fellows 

 who heard it. 



His entomological career may be divided into two parts, as a young 

 man and as an old. It was at his house at Peckham the South London 

 Entomological and Natural History Society was founded. 1872 is the 

 accepted date, but informal meetings were held there a year or two 

 previously. He was elected President in 1877, but resigned member- 

 ship just before his removal to Margate, and did not rejoin till 1900. 

 He was elected a Fellow of the Entomological Society in 1911. A 

 pleasant little story is told of his early days, which has the merit of 

 being true. In 1872 a youth wished to join the South London Society, 

 when someone objected to boys. Platt-Barrett said he would answer 

 for him. That youth is now the youngest of its oldest members, and 

 one of our most popular writers on natural history subjects. 



Of late years Platt-Barrett made frequent visits to Sicily, and was 

 present at the terrible earthquake at Messina, when he narrowly escaped 

 the fate which befell his daughter- in-law and grandchild, and so many 

 thousands of others. Both at the meetings of the Entomological and 

 South London Societies he frequently exhibited his captures, and it is 

 to his generosity that some of us owe the only Sicilian butterflies we 

 possess. He was particularly interested in the genus Melanan/ta, and 

 one of his last essays was a paper read before the South London 

 Society on the European species of the genus, with special reference to 

 the Sicilian forms. From time to time he contributed notes to the 

 magazines, and when exhibiting usually enlivened his remarks with 

 reminiscent details. Essentially a field naturalist, he preferred his own 

 observations to anything second-hand. His collection, which he has 

 bequeathed to the Horniman Museum, contains some good varieties, 

 especially the much-figured form of M.galathea, somewhat like M. lachesis, 

 which he took in North Kent, July, 1875. As a member of the Kent 

 Archaeological Society he will be remembered as the writer (John 

 Pharos) of the series of articles on the " Seven Churches of Thanet," 

 and the " Annals of Birchington," the outcome of years of patient 

 research and deciphering of ancient parish registers. — H.M. 



