86 Obituary


OBITUARY


WILLIAM HERBERT ST. QUENTIN


We deeply regret to have to record the death, which took place

on 21st January, of William Herbert St. Quintin, J.P., D.L., at the


age of eighty-one.


Mr. St. Quintin was the eldest son of Matthew Chitty Downes

St. Quintin, of the 17th Lancers, and was educated at Eton and Christ

Church College, Oxford. He married in 1885, Violet Helen, second

daughter of the Hon. Cecil Duncombe, of Nawton Orange, York.


Throughout his long life Mr. St. Quintin was devoted to natural

history in all its branches, though ornithology and entomology were

his favourite subjects. He was an original member of the Avicultural

Society, and in its early days contributed many valuable articles to the

Magazine. His home, Scampston Hall, in Yorkshire, was full of interest

for those who were fond of live birds, for it was surrounded with large

paddocks in which were Cranes, Bustards, Grouse, Pheasants of many

species, Secretary Birds, and many others. A large lake in the grounds

was covered with Waterfowl of many species, and his aviaries contained

a large collection of the Birds of Prey, Owls, and the smaller birds. He

was also a great gardener, and very many rare plants and shrubs from

all parts of the world thrived in his grounds, and he knew the name and

habits of each.


Mr. E. G. B. Meade-Waldo writes of him : “ Yes, St. Quintin’s death

is a great grief and loss to me. We have been the greatest friends ever

since our schooldays in 1869, but more especially since 1880, when I took

up Falconry with him. He was the best all-round field naturalist,

and especially ornithologist, I ever met. So far as I know he is the only

one who has bred the Little Bustard, and he was the first to breed the

Roller and the Tragopans. He was a first-rate entomologist and

wonderful at breeding and rearing through all their stages all kinds of

insects ; and was also most successful in taming lizards, etc. The

Avicultural and Zoological Societies owe him much as do also the

London Parks, to which he has given many rare Waterfowl.”


All of us who knew him will remember him as one of the most

delightful and lovable of men, who was always ready to place his vast

store of knowledge at the disposal of others. D. S-S.



