Wiltshire Archaeological & Natural History Magazine, vol. 95 (2002), pp. 259-68 



A Brief History of Dauntsey's School Natural 

 History Society (fl. 1933-1 963) 



by Michael Darby 



The story of Dauntsey's School Natural History Society is traced from its origin in the early 1930s to its 

 dissolution in the 1 960s through a recently discovered archive of material in WANHS library, supported by 

 additional information from two of the early members. Brief accounts are given of the main protagonists 

 including Ian Hamilton, the Biology master responsible for promoting and developing the Society, and the 

 young Desmond Morris who was an early member. Particular attention is paid to the Society's 'publications' 

 (which contain a wealth of information about the fauna and flora of the West Lavington area), and a list of 

 these is appended. 



The discovery of an uncatalogued archive (mainly 

 typescripts and card indices) in WANHS library, 

 presented by Dauntsey's in c.1989, provides an 

 opportunity not only to document the complex 

 history of the school's Natural History Society, but 

 also to place on record several sources of 

 information which are not well known to Wiltshire's 

 naturalists. 



It is important to make clear at the outset that 

 Dauntsey's was a very different organisation from 

 the well-known Society at nearby Marlborough 

 College. The Natural History Society there was 

 much older and wealthier, and although Dauntsey's 

 had its own premises and collections, these were 

 not on the scale of the Marlborough museum. 

 Furthermore, fewer professional staff and local 

 enthusiasts were available to provide support, and 

 it did not attract the same number of well-known 

 personalities to lecture. The scope of the Dauntsey's 

 Society, consequently, was much narrower, and the 

 image it presents to the contemporary historian, 

 more amateur. 



But perhaps the most important reason why the 

 Dauntsey's Society is not better known is because, 

 unlike Marlborough, it could not afford to produce 

 printed and bound reports and papers for national 

 distribution (surely a major incentive to visiting 



speakers whose talks were often reprinted in full). 

 Instead, what the Society described as 'publications' 

 were typed sheets which were copied - a laborious 

 task involving the use of stencils - in small numbers 

 before being stapled. Most were either sold, or given 

 away, to staff and pupils. Because many were 

 produced during, or soon after, the War, paper quality 

 was poor and stocks limited. (In this article 

 publication is used in the sense meant by the school.) 



In spite of these limitations, Dauntsey's specific 

 concentration on the fauna and flora within a three 

 mile radius (later increased to five miles) of the 

 school, provided the opportunity for a more 

 comprehensive study than that attempted at 

 Marlborough. Dauntsey's aim was to catalogue and 

 record everything living. Although this ambitious 

 goal proved far beyond the knowledge and abilities 

 of those involved in many areas, considerable 

 achievements were made in others of which the 

 members could feel justifiably proud. 



Dauntsey's School Natural History Society, 

 often referred to as the School House Natural 

 History Society (see below), came into being in the 

 early 1930s shortly after a particularly dynamic 

 phase in the School's history. The school, which 

 had been founded in 1553 had recently formalised 

 the process of conversion from Agricultural College 



The Old Malthouse, Sutton Mandeville, Salisbury SP3 5LZ 



