Obituary - Arthur and Janet Watchman
Arthur Watchman died in February 2023; his beloved wife Janet (nee Hazelwood) followed a few months later in June. They had been members of SNS for over 50 years, having joined the Society when they lived in Ipswich in 1972. They had joined the Ipswich and District Natural History Society (IDNHS) a few years earlier and got hooked on moths when the great ‘Chip’ Chipperfield presided over a ‘Moth Night’ at s Sycamore Farm, Swilland in September 1969 (see Refs 1996).
In 1977, Arthur and Janet moved to Monks Eleigh; she worked as a school secretary in Hadleigh and he as a gardener in the village and others nearby. Their garden at ‘Onchan’ in Monks Eleigh was full of wildlife and they were soon contributing records on a wide variety of taxa, especially moths. In their first year at Monks Eleigh, Arthur recorded 338 species of moth from the garden and, over the next 20 years, this total rose to 530 taxa (See Refs 1999). New species continued to be added in the 2000s with the total for the village reaching over 600 taxa.
Arthur’s recording was exemplary, he was an early adopter of the Mapmate program to capture his records. From 1969–2010 he collected nearly 88,000 records
covering a wide range of taxa. The majority (c. 70,000, covering 850 different taxa) are moths; but he also made significant contributions on groups like butterflies, dragonflies, bees and wasps, beetles, bugs, flies, grasshoppers and crickets, mammals, and many lesser-known groups. He visited all the SWT reserves (see Refs 1981) making lists with the Suffolk Moth Group and made many records along footpaths and in open spaces across the county (see map).
Arthur and Janet were a formidable team, they set up the Monks Eleigh Wildlife and Conservation Group in 1990 with the intention of monitoring and conserving the varying habitats in the village and recording the wildlife species to be found here. As part of the village millennium celebrations in 1991, they produced several small booklets on groups such as Butterflies and Mammals.
They were both warm, friendly people, good communicators with excellent field naturalist skills – a rare combination. This led them to take on a lot of work with SNS during the 1980s and 90s. Janet served as Programme Secretary for SNS 1984-1988 and on Council 1989-1993. Arthur was on SNS Council 1981-1985 and took on the challenging job of County Recorder for Moths 1992-1998.
They also played a pivotal role in running the IDNHS. Janet was on the committee for 42 years, from 1971 until the society ended in 2013. In that time, she was twice president, plus minutes secretary, correspondence secretary and general secretary. 3 4 5 6
She booked speakers, arranged meeting venues, organised outdoor meetings, kept minutes of meetings and sometimes held committee meetings at their house. She was a superb cook and refreshments were eagerly awaited. Arthur wasn’t really a committee person but was president and newsletter editor from 2011-2012.
Janet also organised the annual Drake Award in memory of Herbert Drake, involving many different facets of natural history, including poetry, prose, sets of slides, craft and diaries. Both attended almost all indoor meetings and field meetings, leading many and also organising coach trips to natural history venues in Essex, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and London. When Arthur’s arthritis got worse, they still came to outdoor meetings but concentrated on diptera, in the company of Alan Hubbard, rather than covering the planned route. Both also contributed frequently to the society’s newsletter, not just meeting reports but also varied natural history articles, often based on their garden.
My thanks to Richard Stewart for providing the pictures and help in compiling these notes.
References
1981. Some Lepidoptera recorded from Suffolk Trust for Nature Conservation reserves during 1980. Trans. Suffolk Nat. Soc. 18: 201–202.
1989. Notes and Comments on some Suffolk moths in 1988. Trans Suffolk Nat. Soc. 25: 31-32.
1990. (with Mike Hall) Notes and Comments on some Suffolk moths in 1989. Trans Suffolk Nat. Soc. 26: 8-11.
1996. History. Suffolk Moth Group Newsletter 1. https://www.suffolkmoths.org.uk/newsletters/01/ SuffolkMothGroupNewsletter01.html#history
1999. Mothing at “Onchan” Monks Eleigh. Suffolk Moth Group Newsletter 15. https://www.suffolkmoths.org.uk/newsletters/15/onchanmothing.html 2003. Whatever Happened To......? Suffolk Moth Group Newsletter 31 https://www.suffolkmoths.org.uk/newsletters/31/ SuffolkMothGroupNewsletter31.html#WhateverHappenedTo