Anthony Keeling Collett (22 August 1877 – 22 August 1929) was an author and writer on natural history subjects and was nature correspondent for ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ...

'' during the 1910s and 1920s. Collett's father was the Reverend William Collett, a former fellow of

Oriel College, Oxford Oriel College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Located in Oriel Square, the college has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford (a title formerly claimed by University College, ...

. He was born at

Cromhall Cromhall is a village in South Gloucestershire, England. It is located between Bagstone and Charfield on the B4058, and also borders Leyhill. The parish population taken at the 2011 census was 1,231. Location Cromhall is about from Falfield ...

, Gloucestershire, where his father held the

living Living or The Living may refer to: Common meanings *Life, a condition that distinguishes organisms from inorganic objects and dead organisms ** Living species, one that is not extinct *Personal life, the course of an individual human's life * ...

that was dispensed by Oriel College, and was educated privately at

Crowthorne Crowthorne is a large village and civil parish in the Bracknell Forest district of south-eastern Berkshire, England. It had a population of 6,711 at the 2001 census, which rose to 6,902 at the 2011 census. A 2020 estimate put it at 7,808. Cr ...

and then at

Bradfield College Bradfield College, formally St Andrew's College, Bradfield, is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) for pupils aged 11–18, located in the small village of Bradfield in the English county of Berkshire. It is not ...

before being awarded a scholarship to study classics at Oriel. After graduating he was awarded a college scholarship that enabled him to spend some time at the

University of Berlin The Humboldt University of Berlin (german: link=no, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick Will ...

. Collett began work as a journalist for the ''

St. James's Gazette The ''St James's Gazette'' was a London evening newspaper published from 1880 to 1905. It was founded by the Conservative Henry Hucks Gibbs, later Baron Aldenham, a director of the Bank of England 1853–1901 and its governor 1875–1877; the ...

'' in London, where he wrote on many subjects. From 1908, he also contributed to ''The Times'', although not as a staff member until after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. He enlisted in the

Post Office Rifles The Post Office Rifles was a unit of the British Army, first formed in 1868 from volunteers as part of the Volunteer Force, which later became the Territorial Force (and later the Territorial Army). The unit evolved several times until 1921, aft ...

for that war, initially as a private and later as a commissioned officer. After fighting at

Vimy Ridge The Battle of Vimy Ridge was part of the Battle of Arras, in the Pas-de-Calais department of France, during the First World War. The main combatants were the four divisions of the Canadian Corps in the First Army, against three divisions of ...

, Collett, who was in any case generally not a particularly healthy man, was invalided home and served the rest of the war working in the

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom), Ministry of Defence (MoD ...

. He was not enamoured of London and regularly lived and produced his writings from other places, including in the

Italian Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Swi ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

and

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. During the war, he had managed occasionally to write articles while in France. He died in a London nursing home on 22 August 1929, on his 52nd birthday, having suffered a significant decline in his already poor health in the previous two years. That decline may have been related to his war service. Collett retained an affection for Bradfield College and was a governor there for many years.

W. H. Auden Wystan Hugh Auden (; 21 February 1907 – 29 September 1973) was a British-American poet. Auden's poetry was noted for its stylistic and technical achievement, its engagement with politics, morals, love, and religion, and its variety in ...

used many phrases from Collett's ''Changing Face of England'' in his poems. The Chase, a woodland in

Woolton Hill Woolton Hill is a village in Hampshire, England, in the civil parish of East Woodhay. The village lies approximately south-west of the centre of Newbury and encompasses the hamlet of Broad Layings on its northern edge. History The area was ...

, was dedicated to the memory of Collett (according to a plaque on the site) when the land was presented to the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty in 1944 by Sir

Kenneth Swan Kenneth is an English given name and surname. The name is an Anglicised form of two entirely different Gaelic personal names: ''Cainnech'' and '' Cináed''. The modern Gaelic form of ''Cainnech'' is ''Coinneach''; the name was derived from a byn ...

as a nature reserve and bird sanctuary.

Bibliography

Among Collett's publications are: *''A Handbook of British Inland Birds'' (1906) *''The English Year'' (three volumes, co-authored with William Beach Thomas; T. C. & E. C. Jack, 1913–14) *''Birds Through The Year'' (co-authored with William Beach Thomas; T. C. & E. C. Jack, 1922) *''The Changing Year'' (undated) *''The Changing Face of England'' (1926) *''The Heart of a Bird'' (1927)

References

1877 births 1929 deaths London Regiment soldiers British nature writers Alumni of Oriel College, Oxford People from South Gloucestershire District The Times people People educated at Bradfield College British Army personnel of World War I {{UK-nonfiction-writer-stub

Bibliography

See also

References