Cuthbert Antony Norris (9 January 1917 in Cradley, Worcestershire – 25 February 2005 in

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engl ...

) was an English

ornithologist Ornithology, from Ancient Greek ὄρνις (''órnis''), meaning "bird", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", is a branch of zoology dedicated to the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related discip ...

. He was a member 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, ...

's council in the 1950s and 1960s, chairing its finance and general purposes committee. During that time, he persuaded the organisation to move from London to its current headquarters at The Lodge, Sandy,

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated ''Beds'') is a Ceremonial County, ceremonial county in the East of England. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Hertfordshire to the south and the south-east, and Buckin ...

. Using his own money to facilitate the transaction he was, for one day, owner of the Lodge. Norris was BTO President from 1961–1964 and was awarded their Bernard Tucker Medal in 1959. He was also secretary and chairman of the

West Midland Bird Club The West Midland Bird Club is the UK's largest regional ornithological society. It has been serving birdwatchers and ornithologists in the four English counties of Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Worcestershire and (since its separation from the ...

from 1953–1975 and its president from 1975–1999. He was the youngest member of the

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

. He was the instigator of the Bardsey Bird and Field Observatory and was the youngest member of the

. In December 1958 he presented a talk on the

BBC Home Service The BBC Home Service was a national and regional radio station that broadcast from 1939 until 1967, when it was replaced by BBC Radio 4. History 1922–1939: Interwar period Between the early 1920s and the outbreak of World War II, the BBC ...

, ''In Search of Prunella'', about the alpine accentor (''Prunella collaris''). In 1940, he married Cicely Hurcomb, daughter of Lord Hurcomb, and they had two daughters. During World War II, he was a Colonel in the British army responsible for a unit of troops from Sierra Leone, fighting the Japanese in Burma. He later ran a garden nursery in the Malvern area of Worcestershire and specialised in growing

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

n nerine lilies, for which he was awarded an RHS gold medal. Cicely died in 1976 and in 1985 Norris bred a ''Nerine'' 'Cicely Norris', named in her honour. He was a personal friend of

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 ...

and assisted him in setting up the

Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) is an international wildfowl and wetland conservation charity in the United Kingdom. History The trust was founded in 1946 by the ornithologist and artist Sir Peter Scott as the Severn Wildfowl Trust. ...

. He was also a friend of and supplier of much of his nerine collection to Monty Hollows, New Zealand’s pioneering nerine breeder and producer.

Bibliography

(incomplete) *''The Distribution and Status of the Corncrake'' * * * (published for private circulation)

References

External links

* - obituary, linking to others. {{DEFAULTSORT:Norris, Tony 1917 births 2005 deaths English ornithologists People from Cradley, West Midlands British Trust for Ornithology people 20th-century English zoologists Military personnel from the West Midlands (county) British Army personnel of World War II British Army officers