Claude Morley and the Suffolk Naturalists' Society

CLAUDE MORLEY AND THE SUFFOLK NATURALISTS' SOCIETY FRANCIS SIMPSON T h e r e are f e w , if any naturalists living today w h o possess t h e encyclopaedic k n o w l e d g e , especially of insects, of C l a u d e M o r l e y (1874-1951). H e was collecting extensively and contributing to learned journals b e f o r e h e was 21, t h e year in which he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society of L o n d o n . In 1899 h e published his first m o n o g r a p h , the Coleoptera of Suffolk. This was followed by o t h e r s on the H y m e n o p t e r a and H e m i p t e r a of t h e C o u n t y . In 1930 M o r l e y claimed that his 10 volumes on parasitic flies c o n s t i t u t e d t h e Standard work in Britain and its d o m i n i o n s . A t that time his cabinets c o n t a i n e d over 80,000 British insects, p e r h a p s the finest private e n t o m o l o g i c a l collection in t h e world. F r o m t h e n until his d e a t h in 1951 he a d d e d m a n y t h o u s a n d s . T h e s e are n o w at the Ipswich M u s e u m , except for s o m e of t h e i c h n e u m o n s a n d type specimens which went to the British Museum (Natural History).

In 1910 he t o o k p a r t in t h e natural history survey of Cläre Island, M a y o .

H e also c o n t r i b u t e d articles and r e c o r d s on Suffolk to the Victoria County History, a n d his a n n o t a t e d copy is at t h e Ipswich M u s e u m . H e was also i n t e r e s t e d in the historical past of Suffolk and its p e o p l e . H e published The

Claude Morley's Study, Monks Soham House. November 1951.

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Registers of Monks Soham in 1920, and prepared the manuscripts Historia Saxonica Suffolciensis, The Towne Book of Monks Soham, 1557-1831, and Monks Soham Genealogies. At the time of his death he was working on a manuscript on Suffolk families.

Morley was born at Blackheath on the 22nd J u n e , 1874. H e resided with his wife, Rose A n n e , who he married in 1904, at the moated Monks Soham H o u s e . In later years little gardening was done, the house was almost hidden by trees, bushes and ivy, and the moat became silted-up. T h e house was difficult to locate in that area of Suffolk.

A s well as writing entomological and historical articles, in lighter vain he produced a small book of verse jointly with Ernest A . Elliott, the H o n .

Treasurer of the Society for some years. It was entitled The Beatific Babblings of Bugland Bard by 'Bard Ellnest Eriott', 'extenuated, condoned and abetted by Bardlet M a u d e Clorley'. It was published in 1934, and he sent me a copy.

Morley kept detailed diaries of his finds, and these are an important part of the Morley collections at the Ipswich Museum. His favourite collecting sites included the Blythburgh area and the Bentley Woods, which were f a m o u s for their rare butterflies, moths and other insects. Many Purple E m p e r o r s were taken there during the Victorian period, and the Rev. Hocking f o r m e d much of his collection (now at Ipswich M u s e u m ) with specimens taken f r o m the area.

T h e Bentley Woods I refer to are partly in two parishes, Belstead and Bentley. Baldrough W o o d in Belstead joins Old Hall Wood and Howe W o o d in Bentley. O n one of a small group of Holly trees in the woods Morley carved his initials and the year of his visit, 1892, and he did so again in 1950, as if he realised that this would be his last visit. Hollies grow very slowly and when I visited the woods a few years ago the markings were still very clear.

T h e oaks and other old timber were felled in the 1950s, and the woods replanted with conifers and other trees, but fortunately this group of hollies was left, possibly because it is considered unlucky to feil old hollies. The whole character of these woods has now changed, with loss to their f a u n a and flora.

The Birth o f t h e Society Claude Morley had long been a m e m b e r of the Suffolk Institute of Archaeology and Natural History, and was at one time its excursion Organizer, but he feil out with the Society because it neglected to further the natural history section or to publish Morley's records in its Proceedings. In 1924 he tried to f o r m a new society, but received little support. However, in 1929, with the help of a b o u t ten supporters, at a meeting on Ist April at Haynings, Framlingham, he was able to found the Suffolk Naturalists' Society. The meeting was at the h o m e of Dr. Vinter, the Society's first President, and the other supporters were to become Officers of the Society or Sectional Recorders. By the end of 1929 the membership had risen to 79, paying an annual subscription of a half-guinea, or Life Membership of ÂŁ10. M e m b e r s joining in 1929 have become known as 'original m e m b e r s ' , although the term

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was at first restricted to the original supporters. I knew many of them. They were keen naturalists and collectors. It was then normal, as in Victorian times, to make collections, and long before 'conservation' had become an important issue. It was also the practice to kill and stuff birds and mammals, and mount heads and horns of animals to show to your friends.

The Society's second President was the Rev. Julian Tuck of Tostock, elected in 1932. H e was a collector of birds' eggs, and his large collection is now at the Ipswich Museum. He paid children to collect birds' eggs. I once called at his Rectory in 1932 to ask about habitats of the Oxlip and Fritillary in the Parish. Unfortunately the Oxlip habitat, a small, wet pasture, was drained and ploughed about 1950. I also knew Chester Doughty, whose collection of Coleoptera and Molluscs is in the Ipswich Museum now, Canon A . P. Waller, a Lepidopterist, and the all-round naturalist Arthur Mayfield of Mendlesham, who was especially interested in Lichens, Mosses, Fungi, and land and fresh water Molluscs.

Another original supporter I knew well was Edward Platten of Needham Market, who would visit me at the Museum and send botanical specimens.

H e was an old friend of Morley. The only original supporter I never met was the first H o n . Treasurer, Ernest Elliott, who moved to St. Leonards in 1929.

One of the 1929 original members I knew quite well was Henry Andrews, Mammals Recorder, who became the Curator of Moyses Hall Museum, Bury St. Edmunds. I recall two lectures he gave to the Society, one on his expedition to Norway to search for surviving Brown Bears, and the other on changes to wildlife of Breckland and the planting of conifers.

Morley was very concerned over the protection of the Suffolk countryside and its special habitats. Various changes were mentioned in the Transactions, and in 1929 he appointed Local Secretaries to report upon rare and interesting species and intended injury to the beauty spots of the County.

Society Meetings It was not until the March meeting of 1931, held at Ipswich Museum, that I was introduced to the Society. I had recently joined the staff and was to become the Museum's representative, although I did not actually join the Society as an individual member until 1933. I still remember the occasion, and the Museum exhibits, including a newly-acquired case of Ruffs and the Ipswich specimen of the Black Rat. The meeting was held at noon, the members arrived, men well-dressed in tweed suits, except for Morley wearing breeches. Norfolk jacket and heavy brown boots. H e entered in his deliberate way, strutting like an important landed gentleman or squire. He took off his cap and placed it on the table with the small suitcase he always brought to indoor meetings, containing the Minute Book and various papers and correspondence. A few members spoke to me about the exhibits and Mr. Doughty said that the Black Rat still occurred at Gt. Yarmouth. In theafternoon Mr. Andrews read a p a p e r o n the Mammals of Suffolk.

A feature of all the indoor meetings during Morley's reign were the exhibits brought by members. Morley always managed in his way - almost a Trans. Suffolk Nat. Soc. 25

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compelling manner, to round off the meetings with 'Would you be so good as to give us tea?' In many ways meetings were somewhat different from those held today, perhaps because the members were of a past generation. Mrs. Morley, wearing a large hat, attended all meetings, as Morley did not drive.

She seemed almost part of the life of the meetings and would mix with everybody. She once told me she came from Kilkenny, and jokingly remarked that she was the 'Kilkenny Cat'.

Although I always got on very well with Morley and there was never an unfriendly word, he ruffled some members. Guy Maynard, an original member and the Curator of the Ipswich Museum from 1920-1952, was considered by Morley as not taking enough interest in the natural history section. H e would compare Maynard with a former Curator, Dr. J. E. Taylor (1872-94), who had helped Morley in his early studies. Maynard would retreat into the safety of his office as soon as Morley was heard or seen.

For many years the Society seemed almost as if it was Morley's personal responsibility. H e did so much himself, and was the sole editor of the Transactions. H e added his own comments to the members' contributions and made various alterations to their manuscripts and, as far as I can recall, never sent them galley-proofs. This once led to trouble and Morley had to publish an apology and print, at his expense, the corrected article.

O n e member who really helped to advertise the Society was Harold Lingwood, a reporter on the staff of the East Anglian Daily Times. H e attended nearly all meetings and wrote fĂźll and interesting accounts of the activities. H e was responsible for the weekly 'Nature Notes' in that paper, under the pseudonym 'John O' Bosmere'. The family home had been Bosmere Hall, Needham Market.

At every meeting I attended I was able to meet new members. We visited private gardens and parks, and were frequently invited to hold our meetings in mansions where the host provided tea and other refreshments. On a lovely sunny day, on the Ist August, 1933, I travelled by taxi with Mr. Lingwood and Mr. Edward Hancox of Nacton to a meeting at Hengrave Hall, the residence of Sir John W o o d , who regaled us with soft drinks served on the veranda. Mr. Hancox was employed on the Orwell Park Estate, looking after the famous Observatory constructed in the last Century by Colonel Tomline.

H e had a fine collection of Neolithic flint arrow heads and other artifacts. At this meeting I met Ernest Long, a botanist, from Lowestoft, and also John Parker from Pakefield. It was not until after Mr. Parker's death that I learnt that he had been stone deaf, for he was a perfect lip reader.

From 1931, the pre-war October meetings were held at Campsey Ash High House, by invitation of Lord Ullswater, an original and life member. Lord Ullswater was a very refined, learned and stately gentleman who had been in earlier time, as Mr. Lowther, the Speaker of the House of Commons. Even in old age he still possessed the ability to remember names. Although he had not seen me for some seven years, and when aged 92, without hesitation he called me by name to speak when he presided at a special meeting to discuss nature reserves in Suffolk.

The Society, like most others, has seen some odd characters. One such was Ronald Burn of Whatfield, who joined in 1931 and became a Botanical Trans. Suffolk Nat. Soc. 25

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Recorder f o r 'Flowers', a post he held until he left in 1938. His father was the Rector of Whatfield and, after losing his post as a classical lecturer at Glasgow University, he came to Suffolk and took up botany to occupy his time. H e was a Scotsman who claimed to have climbed every mountain there over 3,000 ft. H e never wore a hat, an unusual feature in those days, grew a b e a r d , and walked very fast wearing heavy boots solded by the gardener with rubber cut f r o m old motor tyres. H e also collected sheep's wool f r o m fences to stuff into his boots, and drank water f r o m almost any stream or ditch, using an old envelope as a cup. H e would arrive at meetings either after Walking long distances or obtaining a lift in the 'dicky seat' of Mrs. Everett's car from Hadleigh. H e feil out with Morley, and left Suffolk after his father's death and got a j o b as a reader with the Oxford University Press. I last saw him in 1946 in Oxford when I was stationed in the area. I should like to trace, if it still exists, his minutely annotated copy of Hind's Flora of Suffolk.

T h e Society was, in theory, maintained by its Officers and elected Members of a Council, but during Morley's reign the Council never met. I recall a meeting at Southwold, on the 7th October, 1950, chaired by A . C. C. Hervey. A letter was read in which the President, Dr. Dudley Collings, offered his resignation. Mr. Hervey spoke somewhat critically concerning the running of the Society and the need for change. Morley was by now rather deaf and I do not believe that he heard the comments. Morley died the following year and the changes took place under an active new President, Lord C r a n b r o o k , the father of our present President.

Miss J a n e t Willis, a well-educated retired school teacher was appointed the new H o n . Secretary, and during the following years put in a tremendous amount of work for the Society. Whenever I called at her house in Holly R o a d , Ipswich, I would be given a very fĂźll account of her volume of work, and her opinions of certain Society members. This would go on and on, sometimes for two hours before I could finally leave. In her judgement some m e m b e r s were not qualified to hold office in the Society, or were too interfering! Unfortunately this resulted in there being a succession of Excursion Secretaries. They did not really understand Miss Willis. I got on very well with her and received every encouragement for my Flora of Suff olk. In old age she became frail and confused, and Mrs. Molly G r e e n , who had b e c o m e Assistant Secretary before Miss Willis resigned in 1968, took control.

T h e majority of field meetings I have attended have proceeded smoothly, except for one at which I was the leader. This was on Saturday afternoon, 1 Ith July, 1959, to Landguard C o m m o n . We were to meet at 2.30 p m . I had to travel by train f r o m Ipswich, but the train was running late that day and of course I then had to walk from the Felixstowe Town Station. T h e Beach Station had already been closed. Members were assembled at the official entrance to the C o m m o n , and some were looking through their binoculars in my direction. I was quite out of breath when I arrived. What m a d e it worse was that o n e m e m b e r immediately asked me if I had seen the Military Orchid, as its habitat was still a closely-guarded secret. Next was the problem of entry, for the C o m m o n was still closed to the public. There was a civihan guard w h o would not let us pass, although Miss Willis had obtained perTrans. Suffolk

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mission from the Commanding Officer of the Fort. This permission had not been passed on to the guard, who told us that there was no Officer available that afternoon. I thought for a brief period what to do and, allowing for some experience gained during my Army Service, I said in a loud voice 'We will proceed forward', and I led the party past the protesting guard, who was going to contact the Police. Some members failed to obey my order and stayed outside, but we did not encounter any further difficulties and never saw a policeman.

The Society Then and Now In the pre-war years many of the meetings Morley arranged resembled social gatherings, especially when held in the gardens and houses of Suffolk gentry and nobility. In some ways I feit that the meetings had the atmosphere one associated with the Victorian era. Indeed, this might have been expected, as many of the members, and all the original supporters had been brought up with the cultures of those times. Morley liked to know and mix with the influential people of the County, which he considered helped to enhance the status of the Society, and his own ego.

Among members Morley just tolerated were those he considered to be mere 'bird watchers'. H e did not give them much encouragement, although he told me that he saw them as a threat to the Society, and often feared that they would break away and form a separate society, thus depleting the membership and the finances. After the war, in the early fifties, the bird section became very active and began to hold special meetings and demanded a special annual report. This has developed and the Society has now, perhaps, the best bird publication of any county society.

I find that in the Society generally there are now more young and active members than when I first joined. That 'Victorian' image has gone, and the future for the Society looks good, especially with the publication of attractive monographs by its members and the work of the Suffolk Biological Records Centre.

Francis Simpson, 40 Ruskin R o a d , Ipswich, IP4 1PT

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