R. S. R. Fitter
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Richard Sidney Richmond Fitter (1 March 1913 – 3 September 2005) was a British naturalist and author. He was an expert on
wildflower A wildflower (or wild flower) is a flower that grows in the wild, rather than being intentionally seeded or planted. The term implies that the plant is neither a hybrid nor a selected cultivar that is any different from the native plant, eve ...
s and authored several guides for amateur
naturalist Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...
s.


Life

Fitter was born in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
,
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
, on 1 March 1913 and was educated at
Eastbourne College Eastbourne College is a co-educational Private schools in the United Kingdom, fee-charging school in the English Public school (United Kingdom), public school tradition, for boarding school, boarding and Day school, day pupils aged 13–18, in ...
and the
London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...
. He was the only son of Sidney and Dorothy Fitter. In 1938 he married Alice Mary (Maisie) Stewart (died 1996) and they had two sons and a daughter. He was recruited to the Institute for Political and Economic Planning in 1936, and in 1940 moved to the social research organisation Mass-Observation to investigate civilian morale for the Ministry of Information. During the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
he worked at the
Operations research Operations research () (U.S. Air Force Specialty Code: Operations Analysis), often shortened to the initialism OR, is a branch of applied mathematics that deals with the development and application of analytical methods to improve management and ...
section of the
RAF Coastal Command RAF Coastal Command was a formation within the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was founded in 1936, when the RAF was restructured into Fighter, Bomber and Coastal commands and played an important role during the Second World War. Maritime Aviation ...
. During this time he worked for two hours each evening on a comprehensive urban natural history of London, which was published in May 1945 as ''London's Natural History'', his first book. After the war in 1945 he was appointed secretary of the Wildlife Conservation Special Committee of the Ministry of Town and Country Planning, which made proposals for nature conservation as part of the reconstruction after the war. In 1946, Fitter became assistant editor of '' The Countryman'' and moved from London to
Burford Burford () is a town on the River Windrush, in the Cotswold hills, in the West Oxfordshire district of Oxfordshire, England. It is often referred to as the 'gateway' to the Cotswolds. Burford is located west of Oxford and southeast of Chelt ...
, Oxfordshire. "With the publication of The Pocket Guide to British Birds (1952), illustrated by R.A. Richardson, Fitter became a bestselling author." In later life he moved to
Great Shelford Great Shelford is a village located approximately to the south of Cambridge, in Cambridgeshire, in eastern England. In 1850 Great Shelford parish contained bisected by the River Cam. The population in 1841 was 803 people. By 2001, this had g ...
,
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...
. He died in Cambridge on 3 September 2005, survived by his children.


Work

Fitter wrote many books and was active in various areas relating to nature and conservation. His wife Maisie was a colleague and collaborator on many of his researches. They were joint authors of ''The Penguin Dictionary of British Natural History'' (1967). His son, Alastair Fitter, is a professor of biology at the
University of York The University of York (abbreviated as or ''York'' for Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a public Collegiate university, collegiate research university in York, England. Established in 1963, the university has expanded to more than thir ...
. They collaborated on three books: ''Guide to the Countryside'' (1984); ''Field Guide to the Freshwater Life of Britain and NW Europe'' (1986); and ''Wild Flowers of Britain and Ireland'' (2003). In 2002 father and son jointly authored a paper in ''
Science Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...
'' analysing the changing
phenology Phenology is the study of periodic events in biological life cycles and how these are influenced by seasonal and interannual variations in climate, as well as habitat factors (such as elevation). Examples include the date of emergence of leav ...
of plant flowering times due to
global warming Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes ...
. He wrote the ''Collins Pocket Guide to British Birds'' (1952), which started a series of
field guide A field guide is a book designed to help the reader identify wildlife (flora or fauna or funga) or other objects of natural occurrence (e.g. rocks and minerals). It is generally designed to be brought into the " field" or local area where suc ...
s by various authors, setting a style which was helpful to the inexperienced observer by the way it was organised and explained, placing short texts alongside pictures. This had birds grouped according to habitat, size and colour, rather than the biological classification which traditional books had done. His ''Pocket Guide to Wild Flowers'' (with David McClintock, 1956) had pictures grouped by colour for easier identification. His ''Fontana Wild Flower Guide'' (1957) showed which plants might be found in different counties. He was heavily involved with nature conservation organisations including the Council for Nature, the
International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the stat ...
and the Fauna and Flora Preservation Society (now
Fauna and Flora International Fauna & Flora is an international nature conservation charity and non-governmental organization based in the United Kingdom. Founded as the Society for the Preservation of the Wild Fauna of the Empire, the society created some of the first ga ...
) where he was Honorary Secretary. He also served on the councils of the
RSPB The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a Charitable_organization#United_Kingdom, charitable organisation registered in Charity Commission for England and Wales, England and Wales and in Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator, ...
and the
British Trust for Ornithology The British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) is an organisation founded in 1932 for the study of birds in the British Isles. The William, Prince of Wales, Prince of Wales has been patron since October 2020. History Beginning In 1931 Max Nicholson ...
, and founded the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Naturalists' Trust. In 1968 he was one of the founders of the British Deer Society, which aimed to help with study, management and control. He was also involved in the search for the
Loch Ness Monster The Loch Ness Monster (), known affectionately as Nessie, is a mythical creature in Scottish folklore that is said to inhabit Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands. It is often described as large, long-necked, and with one or more humps protrud ...
, being a director of the Loch Ness Investigation Bureau.1969 Annual Report: Loch Ness Investigation
/ref>


Honours

*
Order of the Golden Ark The Most Excellent Order of the Golden Ark () is a Dutch order of merit established in 1971 by Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands. It is awarded to people for major contributions to nature conservation. Although not awarded by the government o ...
in the
Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
(1978) *
Peter Scott Sir Peter Markham Scott (14 September 1909 – 29 August 1989) was a British ornithologist, conservation movement, conservationist, painter, naval officer, broadcaster and Sportsperson, sportsman. The only child of Antarctic explorer Robert Fal ...
Medal from the British Naturalists' Association (1998) *Christopher Cadbury Medal from the Royal Society for Nature Conservation. In 2008 the British Naturalists' Association instituted a Richard Fitter Memorial Medal which is awarded annually to an individual who is a dedicated active field naturalist.


Hobbies

Fitter collected 'bird inn signs.' He wrote about his hobby in the ''Birmingham Daily Post'', published Tuesday 22 March 1955. Fitter wrote that "I just note them down in my diary whenever I see them. I started during the second winter of the war, as a kind of light relief from the somewhat grim preoccupations of those days." By 1955 Fitter had several hundred signs in his collection of some 38 different bird species. https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000619/19550322/326/0015


Bibliography

* ''London's Natural History'' 1945
New Naturalist The New Naturalist Library (also known as ''The New Naturalists'') is a series of books published by Collins in the United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Br ...
no 3. * ''London's Birds'' (Collins) 1949 * ''Home Counties'' (About Britain Series; No.3) 1951 * ''Contributions to the Bibliography of the Natural History of the London Area: No.2: a Subject Index of the Society's Journals'', 1941–51 1952 * '' The Pocket Guide to British Birds'' (illustrated by Richard Richardson) 1952 * ''Birds of Town and Village'' (Collins Naturalist Series) 1953 * ''The Natural History of the City'' 1953 * ''The Pocket Guide to Nests and Eggs'' 1955 * ''Fontana Bird Guide'' (Fontana series) 1956 * ''Pocket Guide to Wild Flowers'' (with David McClintock) 1956 * ''Fontana Wild Flower Guide'' 1957 * ''Your Book of Bird Watching'' 1958 * ''The Ark in Our Midst: The Story of the Introduced Animals af Britain; Birds, Beasts, Reptiles, Amphibians, Fishes'' 1959 * ''The 'Countryman' nature book: An anthology from 'The Countryman 1960 * ''Your Book About Wild Flowers'' 1960 * ''Collins Guide to Bird Watching'' (illustrated by Richard Richardson) 1963 * ''Fitters Rural Rides: '
The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...
' Illustrated Map-Guide to the Countryside'' 1963 * ''Wildlife in Britain'' (Pelican books) 1963 * ''Wildlife – and Death'' (Take Home Books) 1964 * ''Britain's wildlife: Rarities and Introductions'' 1966 (illustrated by John Leigh-Pemberton) * ''Pocket Guide to British Birds'' (with Richard Richardson) 1966 * ''The Penguin Dictionary of British Natural History'' (with Maisie Fitter) 1967 * ''Pocket Guide to Nests and Eggs'' 1968 * ''Vanishing Wild Animals of the World'' 1968 * ''Guide to Bird Watching'' 1970 * ''Contributed section on Mammals to "The Shell Natural History of Britain"'' 1970 * ''Finding Wild Flowers'' 1971 * ''Birds of Britain and Europe with North Africa and the Middle East'' (with illustrations by Hermann Heinzel and maps by John Parslow) 1972 * ''The Butterfly Ball and the Grasshopper's Feast'' (with William Plomer, illustrations by
Alan Aldridge Alan Aldridge (8 July 1938 – 17 February 2017) was a British artist, graphic designer and illustrator. He is best known for his psychedelic artwork made for books and record covers by The Beatles and The Who and for creating the original desig ...
) 1973 * ''Wild Flowers of Britain and Northern Europe'' (Collins Pocket Guide) (with Alastair Fitter, Marjorie Blamey)1974 * ''Penitent Butchers: The Fauna Preservation Society 1903–1978'' (with Sir Peter Scott) 1978 * ''Collins Gem Wild Flowers'' (with Marjorie Blamey) 1980 * ''The Complete Guide to British Wildlife'' (with Alastair Fitter, illustrated by Norman Arlott) * ''Grasses, Sedges, Rushes & Ferns of Britain and Northern Europe'' (Collins Pocket Guide) (with Alastair Fitter, Ann Farrer) 1984 * ''Collins Guide to the Countryside'' (with Alastair Fitter) 1984 * ''Contributed the article on 'Naturalized Birds' to A Dictionary of Birds'' (edited by Bruce Campbell & Elizabeth Lack 1985 * ''Wild Life of the Thames Counties'' (Ed) 1985 * ''A Field Guide to Freshwater Life in Britain and North-west Europe'' (Collins Field Guide) (with
Richard Manuel Richard George Manuel (April 3, 1943 – March 4, 1986) was a Canadian musician, singer, and songwriter, best known as a pianist and one of three lead singers in the Band, for which he was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of F ...
) 1986 * ''Wild Life for Man'' (with Norman Arlott) 1986 * ''Collins Guide to the Countryside in Winter'' (Collins Handguide) (with Alastair Fitter) 1988 * ''Wild Flowers'' (Collins Gem Series) (with Martin Walters) 1999 * ''The Wild Flowers of Britain and Ireland: The Complete Guide to the British and Irish Flora'' (with Alastair Fitter, Marjorie Blamey) 2003


As editor

*


Journals

* "Rapid Changes in Flowering Time in British Plants" (with A. H. Fitter) ''Science'' Vol. 296, Issue 5573, 1689–1691, 2002


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fitter, Richard 1913 births 2005 deaths People from Streatham People educated at Eastbourne College Alumni of the London School of Economics British nature writers 20th-century English botanists English ornithologists New Naturalist writers English male non-fiction writers People from West Oxfordshire District People from Great Shelford 20th-century British zoologists 20th-century English male writers