Victor Samuel Summerhayes (21 February 1897 – 27 December 1974) was an English botanist in charge of the orchid herbarium at

Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. An internationally important botanical research and education institution, it employs 1,100 ...

for 39 years. Summerhayes was born on 21 February 1897 at

Street, Somerset Street is a large village and civil parish in Somerset, England, with a population of 12,709 in 2021. On a dry spot in the Somerset Levels, at the end of the Polden Hills, it is southwest of Glastonbury. There is evidence of Roman occupation. ...

and he was educated at Sexey's School, Bruton and

University College, London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

. His time at University was interrupted by

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, when he served in the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...

including action at the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme (; ), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and the French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place between 1 July and 18 Nove ...

. In 1920 after being awarded a first-class honours degree, he was awarded the Quain Studentship. Summerhayes participated in the

1921 Oxford University Spitsbergen expedition The 1921 Oxford University Spitsbergen expedition took place over the period June–August 1921 and was led by F.C.R. Jourdain (1865–1940). Science The initial ornithological focus "was rapidly enlarged to embrace a range of interest, so diver ...

, one of the first Oxford Expeditions to

Svalbard Svalbard ( , ), previously known as Spitsbergen or Spitzbergen, is a Norway, Norwegian archipelago that lies at the convergence of the Arctic Ocean with the Atlantic Ocean. North of continental Europe, mainland Europe, it lies about midway be ...

, together with

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

and others. He started work at the Herbarium at Kew in 1924. Summerhayes retired from the Royal Botanical Gardens in 1964 and moved to Sidmouth where he lived until his death in 1974.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Summerhayes, Victor Samuel 1897 births 1974 deaths Officers of the Order of the British Empire English botanists New Naturalist writers People from Street, Somerset British Army personnel of World War I Royal Engineers soldiers Orchidologists Botanists active in Kew Gardens