InMemoriam: Walter John Gyngell. 159 
interested himself in the study of Theosophy, of which he 
was a strong advocate. 
He was born in Leeds in 1856, where for many years he 
was connected with the leather trade. When he retired from 
business, in 1905, he went to live at Filey, and his home there, 
perched on the top of the cliff, was an ideal observation post 
for an Ornithologist, overlooking as it does the whole of the 
bay and the extensive cliffs of the Flamborough Headland. 
There he devoted himself to writing, mainly on subjects 
connected with Natural History and Sport. 
The writer, who had the great privilege of his friendship, 
together with hosts of other friends, sincerely deplores 
the loss of his charming personality. May he rest in peace. — - 
R.F. 
WALTER JOHN GYNGELL. 
The death of Walter John Gyngell at the age of 7 6, which 
occurred on May 27th at his home in Scarborough, has removed 
a well-known member from the ranks of Yorkshire naturalists. 
Gyngell descended from a family of showmen. His 
great grandfather, Daniel Violet Gyngell was a clever per- 
former of tricks of sleight of hand, and travelled with his 
own show in 1815. Amongst other attractions he exhibited 
a Dutch dwarf named Sampseman. Most of the members of 
the family — Joseph, Horatio, George and Louisa — were 
engaged in the show in one capacity or another. 
H is grandfather, Lionel Violet Gyngell, was a firework 
maker, and his father, George Augustus Gyngell, followed 
the same occupation and was also an expert and well-known 
conjurer. — W. J. Clarke. 
My personal acquaintance with him goes back for a period 
of over thirty years. 
Gyngell was one of the best all-round naturalists I have 
ever known, though he was first and foremost an Ornithologist 
and Conchologist. Few men that I have met had as good, 
and none a better, ear for the songs and notes of birds. He 
was a scrupulously careful and exact observer, and in this 
respect he had a great influence on those of us who were less 
experienced ; and the younger naturalists with whom he 
came in contact always found him eager to help and advise 
them. He kept copious notes of his observations, and he 
once told me that he had a record of every bird’s nest and 
eggs that he had found since he began to study and take an 
interest in birds. 
For many years Gyngell made an intensive investigation 
into the molluscan life of the Scarborough district. It was 
1933 July 1 
