Ronald Mathias Lockley (8 November 1903 – 12 April 2000) was a Welsh

ornithologist Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the "methodological study and consequent knowledge of birds with all that relates to them." Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and th ...

and naturalist. He wrote over fifty books on natural history, including a major study of

shearwaters Shearwaters are medium-sized long-winged seabirds in the petrel family Procellariidae. They have a global marine distribution, but are most common in temperate and cold waters, and are pelagic outside the breeding season. Description These t ...

, and many articles. He is perhaps best known for his book ''The Private Life of the Rabbit''.

Life and career

Lockley was born in

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a ...

and grew up in the suburb of Whitchurch where his mother ran a

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of " room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exte ...

. While still at school, he spent his weekends and summer holidays living rough in the woods and wetlands that now form the

Glamorganshire Canal local nature reserve The Glamorganshire Canal local nature reserve is a nature reserve in Whitchurch, Cardiff, Wales. Formed in 1967, it comprises a disused section of the Glamorganshire Canal (constructed 1794), the Long Wood (designated as a Site of Special Scienti ...

. After leaving school, he established a small poultry farm with his sister near St Mellons, Cardiff. His son is the

palaeontologist Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of foss ...

Martin Lockley Martin G. Lockley (born 1950) is a Welsh palaeontologist. He was educated in the United Kingdom where he obtained degrees (BSc and PhD) and post-doctoral experience in Geology in the 1970s. Since 1980 he has been a professor at the University ...

Skokholm

In 1927, with his first wife Doris Shellard, he took a 21-year lease of

Skokholm Skokholm () or Skokholm Island is an island off the coast of Pembrokeshire, Wales, south of the neighbouring island of Skomer. The surrounding waters are a marine reserve and all are part of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. Both islands ...

, a small island some off the western tip of

Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire ( ; cy, Sir Benfro ) is a county in the south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and the rest by sea. The county is home to Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. The Park oc ...

, which was inhabited only by rabbits and

seabird Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same envir ...

s. Attempts to make a living from catching and selling rabbits and breeding chinchilla rabbits were abandoned when he found he could make a better living writing articles and books. He began to study migratory birds from 1928, establishing the first British

bird observatory A bird observatory is a centre for the study of bird migration and bird populations. They are usually focused on local birds, but may also include interest in far-flung areas. Most bird observatories are small operations with a limited staff, man ...

in 1933, and carrying out extensive pioneering research on breeding

Manx shearwater The Manx shearwater (''Puffinus puffinus'') is a medium-sized shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. The scientific name of this species records a name shift: Manx shearwaters were called Manks puffins in the 17th century. Puffin is a ...

Atlantic puffin The Atlantic puffin ('), also known as the common puffin, is a species of seabird in the auk family. It is the only puffin native to the Atlantic Ocean; two related species, the tufted puffin and the horned puffin is found in the northeastern ...

s and

European storm-petrel The European storm petrel, British storm petrel, or just storm petrel (''Hydrobates pelagicus'') is a seabird in the northern storm petrel family, Hydrobatidae. The small, square-tailed bird is entirely black except for a broad, white rump and ...

s. He was encouraged to record the exact incubation and fledging period of the Manx shearwater by

Harry Witherby Harry Forbes Witherby, MBE, FZS, MBOU (7 October 1873 – 11 December 1943) was a noted British ornithologist, author, publisher and founding editor (in 1907) of the magazine ''British Birds''. Personal life Harry was the second surviving so ...

, the then editor of '' British Birds''. He provided the initial

catalyst Catalysis () is the process of increasing the rate of a chemical reaction by adding a substance known as a catalyst (). Catalysts are not consumed in the reaction and remain unchanged after it. If the reaction is rapid and the catalyst recyc ...

for the entire British Bird Observatory movement which, following the wartime interruption, reached its zenith in the fifties. He described his research in several books, including ''Dream Island'' (1930), ''Island Days'' (1934) and ''I Know an Island'' (1938). The work brought him to the notice of a wider circle of conservationists and naturalists, among them

Peter Scott Sir Peter Markham Scott, (14 September 1909 – 29 August 1989) was a British ornithologist, conservationist, painter, naval officer, broadcaster and sportsman. The only child of Antarctic explorer Robert Falcon Scott, he took an interest i ...

and

Julian Huxley Sir Julian Sorell Huxley (22 June 1887 – 14 February 1975) was an English evolutionary biologist, eugenicist, and internationalist. He was a proponent of natural selection, and a leading figure in the mid-twentieth century modern synthesis. ...

.Obituary: R. M. Lockley
''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

'' Lockley's notable scientific monograph ''Shearwaters'' is a result of a twelve years' study. He founded the Pembrokeshire Bird Protection Society which later became the

West Wales Field Society The Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales (WTSWW) ( cy, Ymddiriedolaeth Natur De a Gorllewin Cymru) is a Wildlife Trust in south and west Wales, one of 46 such Trusts in the United Kingdom. History Forerunner of the WTSWW, the former West Wal ...

. He urged the broadening of the activities of the original Society and the extension of its area to include the whole of West Wales and it was at his insistence that the West Wales Field Society was incorporated as the

West Wales Naturalists' Trust The Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales (WTSWW) ( cy, Ymddiriedolaeth Natur De a Gorllewin Cymru) is a Wildlife Trust in south and west Wales, one of 46 such Trusts in the United Kingdom. History Forerunner of the WTSWW, the former West Wal ...

. With Julian Huxley he made one of the first professional (BFI) nature films, '' The Private Life of the Gannets'' (1934), which won an

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology) ...

Postwar

Lockley continued farming on the mainland when Skokholm was used by the military during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. He played a key part in the preliminary survey of the natural history of

Skomer Island Skomer () or Skomer Island is an island off the coast of Pembrokeshire, in the community of Marloes and St Brides in west Wales. It is well known for its wildlife: around half the world's population of Manx shearwaters nest on the island, the ...

in 1946, re-establishing Skokholm as a bird observatory and establishing the Council for the Promotion of Field Studies in

Dale Fort Dale Fort is a mid-19th-century coastal artillery fort at Dale Head, a rocky promontory near Dale, Pembrokeshire, west of Milford Haven in Wales. It is one of the centres run by Field Studies Council and offers residential and non-residential fi ...

. He played a leading role in setting up the

Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Pembrokeshire Coast National Park ( cy, Parc Cenedlaethol Arfordir Penfro) is a national park along the Pembrokeshire coast in west Wales. It was established as a National Park in 1952. It is one of three national parks in Wales, the others ...

in 1952, and in mapping out the coastal footpath around the county. Living at Orielton, a large estate near Pembroke, he undertook an intensive four-year scientific study of

rabbit Rabbits, also known as bunnies or bunny rabbits, are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also contains the hares) of the order Lagomorpha (which also contains the pikas). ''Oryctolagus cuniculus'' includes the European rabbit sp ...

behaviour for the British Nature Conservancy during the 1950s. As chairman of the West Wales Field Society, he also led an unsuccessful campaign against the building of a large

oil refinery An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial process plant where petroleum (crude oil) is transformed and refined into useful products such as gasoline (petrol), diesel fuel, asphalt base, fuel oils, heating oil, kerosene, liq ...

Milford Haven Milford Haven ( cy, Aberdaugleddau, meaning "mouth of the two Rivers Cleddau") is both a town and a community in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is situated on the north side of the Milford Haven Waterway, an estuary forming a natural harbour that has ...

. His belief that successive British governments were not sufficiently aware of the threat to the landscape from industrial development led to his decision to emigrate to

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

in 1970, with his third wife. There he continued to write, mostly about islands and birds, but also novels, and to travel among the islands of

Polynesia Polynesia () "many" and νῆσος () "island"), to, Polinisia; mi, Porinihia; haw, Polenekia; fj, Polinisia; sm, Polenisia; rar, Porinetia; ty, Pōrīnetia; tvl, Polenisia; tkl, Polenihia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, made up of ...

and in the

Antarctic The Antarctic ( or , American English also or ; commonly ) is a polar region around Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica, the Kerguelen Plateau and othe ...

. Lockley was awarded an Honorary MSc by the

University of Wales , latin_name = , image = , caption = Coat of Arms , motto = cy, Goreu Awen Gwirionedd , mottoeng = The Best Inspiration is Truth , established = , , type = Confederal, non-member ...

in 1977, in recognition of his distinction as a naturalist. In 1993 he was awarded the Union Medal of the

British Ornithologists' Union The British Ornithologists' Union (BOU) aims to encourage the study of birds ("ornithology") and around the world, in order to understand their biology and to aid their conservation. The BOU was founded in 1858 by Professor Alfred Newton, Henr ...

. He died in 2000, aged 96. His ashes were scattered from the boat ''Dale Princess'', in the waters just off Skokholm Island in 2000.

In popular culture

Lockley's ''The Private Life of the Rabbit'' (1964) played an important role in the plot development of his friend

Richard Adams Richard George Adams (9 May 1920 – 24 December 2016) was an English novelist and writer of the books ''Watership Down'', '' Maia'', ''Shardik'' and '' The Plague Dogs''. He studied modern history at university before serving in the British Ar ...

's children's book ''

Watership Down ''Watership Down'' is an adventure novel by English author Richard Adams, published by Rex Collings Ltd of London in 1972. Set in Berkshire in southern England, the story features a small group of rabbits. Although they live in their natural ...

''.The Telegraph. Obituaries. 13 April 2000 The ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' obituary observed "It was a rigorously factual work with none of the anthropomorphic sentimentality that infused ''Watership'' with its charm, but it bristled with insights." With Lockley's permission, Adams introduced him (alongside Sir

) as a character in his later novel '' The Plague Dogs'' (1977).

Bibliography

Books authored or coauthored by Lockley: * 1930: ''Dream Island''. Witherby: London. * 1932: ''The Island Dwellers''. G. P. Putnam's Sons: London. * 1934: ''Island Days''. Witherby: London. * 1936: ''The Sea's a Thief.''

Longman Longman, also known as Pearson Longman, is a publishing company founded in London, England, in 1724 and is owned by Pearson PLC. Since 1968, Longman has been used primarily as an imprint by Pearson's Schools business. The Longman brand is also ...

: London * 1936: ''Birds of the Green Belt and the Country around London.'' Witherby: London. * 1938: ''I Know an Island''. George G. Harrap: London. * 1939: ''Early Morning Island – or a dish of sprats.'' George G. Harrap: London. * 1940: ''A Pot of Smoke. Being the Life and Adventures of Dan Owain as Told to R.M. Lockley.'' George G. Harrap: London. * 1941: ''The Way to an Island'' J M Dent: London. * 1942: ''Shearwaters.'' J. M. Dent: London. * 1943: ''Dream Island Days''. Witherby: London. * 1943: ''Inland Farm.'' Witherby: London. * 1945: ''Islands Round Britain''. Collins: London. * 1945: ''Birds of the Sea.''

Penguin Books Penguin Books is a British publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.Charles Tunnicliffe Charles Frederick Tunnicliffe, OBE, RA (1 December 1901 – 7 February 1979) was an internationally renowned naturalistic painter of British birds and other wildlife. He spent most of his working life on the Isle of Anglesey. He is popularly ...

). * 1948: ''The Golden Year.'' Witherby: London. * 1948: ''The Birds of Pembrokeshire.'' Compiled for

( With GCS Ingram & H Morrey Salmon) * 1949: ''

Natural History of Selborne ''The Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne'', or just ''The Natural History of Selborne'' is a book by English parson-naturalist Gilbert White (1720–1793). It was first published in 1789 by his brother Benjamin. It has been continuous ...

.'' Introduction & notes by Lockley. Dent: London (

Everyman Library Everyman's Library is a series of reprints of classic literature, primarily from the Western canon. It is currently published in hardback by Random House. It was originally an imprint of J. M. Dent (itself later a division of Weidenfeld & N ...

No.48). * 1950: ''The Charm of the Channel Islands.''

Evans Brothers Evans Brothers Ltd (or Evans Brothers Limited) was a British publishing house that was part of the Evans Publishing Group UK. The firm first published teacher training materials and in later years broadened its catalogue, publishing children's bo ...

: London. * 1950: ''Island of Skomer.'' Staples Press: London. (With John Buxton). * 1951: ''The Nature-lovers' Anthology.'' Edited by Lockley. * 1953: ''Bird Ringing. The Art of Bird Study by Individual Marking.'' Crosby Lockwood & Son: London. (With Rosemary Russell). * 1953: ''Puffins.'' Dent: London. * 1953: ''Travels with A Tent in Western Europe.''

Odhams Press Odhams Press was a British publishing company, operating from 1920 to 1968. Originally a magazine publisher, Odhams later expanded into book publishing and then children's comics. The company was acquired by Fleetway Publications in 1961 and the ...

: London. * 1954: ''Gilbert White.'' Witherby: London. (Great Naturalists series) * 1954: ''The Seals and the Curragh. Introducing the Natural History of the Grey Seal of the North Atlantic.'' Dent: London. * 1954: ''Seabirds.'' (

New Naturalist The New Naturalist Library (also known as ''The New Naturalists'') is a series of books published by Collins in the United Kingdom, on a variety of natural history topics relevant to the British Isles. The aim of the series at the start was: "T ...

No.28) Collins: London. (With James Fisher). * 1957: ''Pembrokeshire.'' ( Regional Books series). Robert Hale: London. * 1957: ''In Praise of Islands. An anthology for friends.'' Frederick Muller: London. * 1958: ''The Bird-lover's Bedside Book.''

Eyre & Spottiswoode Eyre & Spottiswoode was the London-based printing firm that was the King's Printer, and subsequently, a publisher prior to being incorporated; it once went by the name of Spottiswoode, Ballantyne & co. ltd. In April 1929, it was incorporated as E ...

: London. Edited by RML. * 1961: ''Pan Book of Cage Birds.''

Pan Books Pan Books is a publishing imprint that first became active in the 1940s and is now part of the British-based Macmillan Publishers, owned by the Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group of Germany. Pan Books began as an independent publisher, es ...

: London. * 1964: ''Britain in Colour.''

Batsford Books Batsford Books is an independent British book publisher. Batsford was founded in 1843 by Bradley Thomas Batsford. For some time it was an imprint of Pavilion Books. Upon the purchase of Pavilion Books by HarperCollins, on 1 December 2021 B. T. Bat ...

: London. * 1964: ''The Private Life of the Rabbit.'' Andre Deutsch: London. (A Survival Book.) * 1966: ''Grey Seal, Common Seal.'' Andre Deutsch: London. (A Survival Book.) * 1966: ''Wales.'' Batsford: London. * 1967: ''

Animal navigation Animal navigation is the ability of many animals to find their way accurately without maps or instruments. Birds such as the Arctic tern, insects such as the monarch butterfly and fish such as the salmon regularly migrate thousands of miles to ...

.'' Arthur Barker: London. * 1968: ''The Book of Bird Watching.'' Arthur Barker: London. * 1968: ''The Travellers Guide to the Channel Islands.''

Jonathan Cape Jonathan Cape is a London publishing firm founded in 1921 by Herbert Jonathan Cape, who was head of the firm until his death in 1960. Cape and his business partner Wren Howard set up the publishing house in 1921. They established a reputation ...

: London * 1969: ''The Island.'' Andre Deutsch: London. * 1970: ''Man Against Nature.'' Andre Deutsch: London. (A Survival Book.) * 1970: ''The Naturalist in Wales.''

David & Charles David & Charles Ltd is an English publishing company. It is the owner of the David & Charles imprint, which specialises in craft and lifestyle publishing. David and Charles Ltd acts as distributor for all David and Charles Ltd books and cont ...

Newton Abbot Newton Abbot is a market town and civil parish on the River Teign in the Teignbridge District of Devon, England. Its 2011 population of 24,029 was estimated to reach 26,655 in 2019. It grew rapidly in the Victorian era as the home of the So ...

. * 1971: ''A Traveller's Guide to the Channel Islands.'' ( Corgi – 0552086479) * 1974: ''Ocean Wanderers. The migratory sea birds of the world.'' David & Charles: Newton Abbot. * 1974: ''Seal Woman.''

Rex Collings Rex Collings (18 June 1925 – 23 May 1996) was an English publisher who specialized in books relating to Africa and children's books. He ensured the publication of Wole Soyinka's plays, and was the first to publish ''Watership Down'' (1972) by Ri ...

: London. * 1977: ''Orielton: The Human and Natural History of a Welsh Manor.'' Andre Deutsch: London. * 1979: ''Myself When Young: The Making of a Naturalist.'' Andre Deutsch: London. * 1979: ''Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises.'' David & Charles: Newton Abbot. * 1980: ''The House Above the Sea.'' Longman Paul: New Zealand. * 1980: ''New Zealand Endangered Species. Birds, Bats, Reptiles, Freshwater Fishes, Snails and Insects.'' Cassell New Zealand. (With Noel W. Cusa) * 1982: ''Voyage through the Antarctic.'' Allen Lane: London. (With

) * 1982: ''New Zealand Birds.'' (With Geoff Moon)

Heinemann Heinemann may refer to: * Heinemann (surname) * Heinemann (publisher), a publishing company * Heinemann Park, a.k.a. Pelican Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States See also * Heineman Heineman is a surname. Notable people with the surnam ...

. * 1983: ''

Eric Hosking Eric John Hosking OBE (2 October 1909 – 22 February 1991) was an English photographer noted for his bird photography. Life and career Eric Hosking OBE, Hon FRPS, was a pioneering wildlife photographer preceded in Britain by Richard and Cher ...

's Seabirds.'' (Text by Lockley)

Croom Helm Routledge () is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law, and ...

: London. * 1983: ''The Flight of the Storm Petrel.'' David & Charles: London. * 1986: ''Voyage Through the Antarctic'' by Lockley and Richard Adams. * 1987: ''The Lodge above the Waterfall.'' Divach Press:

Drumnadrochit Drumnadrochit (; gd, Druim na Drochaid) is a village in the Highland local government council area of Scotland, lying near the west shore of Loch Ness at the foot of Glen Urquhart. The village is close to several neighbouring settlements: the v ...

. * 1987: ''The Secrets of Natural New Zealand.''

Viking Press Viking Press (formally Viking Penguin, also listed as Viking Books) is an American publishing company owned by Penguin Random House. It was founded in New York City on March 1, 1925, by Harold K. Guinzburg and George S. Oppenheim and then acquir ...

: Auckland. (With Betty Brownlie) * 1991: ''Birds and Islands. Travels in Wild Places.'' Witherby: London. * 1996: ''Dear Islandman.'' Compiled by Lockley. Gomer Press:

Llandysul Llandysul is a small town and community in the county of Ceredigion, Wales. As a community it consists of the townships of Capel Dewi, Horeb, Pontsian, Pren-gwyn, Tregroes, Rhydowen and the village of Llandysul itself. Llandysul lies in sout ...

. This bibliography is believed to be a complete list of all Lockley's book titles, but many of his books have been reprinted and published in different editions. He was also a prolific writer of articles, many of them for ''Countryman'' magazine in the 1930s, 40s and 50s. A 1947 edition of ''I Know an Island'' was illustrated by James Lucas.

References

External links

BBC: RM Lockley, nature conservationist
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lockley, Ronald 1903 births 2000 deaths Welsh naturalists Welsh non-fiction writers New Zealand ornithologists New Zealand writers Welsh zoologists 20th-century Welsh writers New Naturalist writers 20th-century British zoologists 20th-century Welsh scientists 20th-century New Zealand scientists 20th-century naturalists