I M UK I INI NAI HISI .9: 1996 OBITUARY FRANCES Mary Murphy 1926 1995 Frances was horn on 29 April 1926. Her parents were both interested in birdsand, BO Frances recalled, probably also in flowers and gardens, and she soon developed a keen interest in natural history. Following the death of her mother when she was seven, fiancesand heryounger brother Ldward continued to live with theirfatherin the Yorkshire countryside. When she returned from boarding school during the school holidays she spent much of her time wandering in the surrounding fields. I Hi she recalled thai even at this early age she seemed to have long known all the common flowers and buds of the area. fiances was taken to the Natural History Museum whenever she visited her London relatives and was fascinated by the giant skeletons of the giant prehistoric saurians. Having read the second chapter of Wells's History of the world, which concerned dinosaurs, she Ilien read the first chapter which gave an outline <>l astronomy. This led to a fascination with the stars which endured throughout her life. She once commented Ihal in the early 1940s cosmologists believed the universe to be 10 million years old, while geologists put the Earth at about 100 million years old. The teenage Frances had considered this "an unsatisfactory arrangement". In 194.1 fiances went to Bedford College, London University, to read mathematics. It was an old-fashioned course, but she enjoyed the freedom ol life foi a yeai in < Cambridge and then in London. In 1945 she became ill with very high blood pressure through kidney disease, fiances thought she "had had it", but luckily Ihe trouble only affected the left kidney and after it was removed she recovered. Bi i ause ofher illness, fiances lost a years education and finally took her degree in I94X. She later considered it "nol a very good degree", but it had taken her some time to gel <>ver Ihe operation. With hindsight she thought that she should perhaps havi- taken a yearoff, but in typical positive fashion she wanted toget on with things. Altei graduating fiances went to work at Lairey Aviation in the guided missile section, where her mathematical training was put to use calculating stability and flight paths. She found the work interesting and progressed well, ultimately having a small section to assist her. It was at fancy's that she met John Murphy, and they were married in December 1949. The accompanying portrait <.l fiances at 40 was painted l>V led Watson, another colleague at the company. In the late 1950s and early 1960s fiances suffered from a sort of general blood poisoningwhich left her very tired. It wasat tins time that lairey's wastakenover by Vickers another aviation company which fiances dryly described as "the merchants <il death". She did not get on with Ihe new company and stayed only a ycai ll was al this lime that her interest in spiders developed She joined the forerunner nl the British Arachnological Society and went on a field Studies course on spiders al Flatford Mill. One ol the inspirations lor her interest was W. S. Bristowe's The worldofspiders. At first she wanted to photograph them because shecould not draw "lor toffee", and in order to do this she kept many in captivity, rearing them to maturity. In this she becamequiteexpert and wrote several small books based on her experuiK < fiances was quickly drawn in to the study ofspiders and was a member ofmany arachnological groups. She was a founder member ofboth the British and American Arachnological Societies ami also belonged to the British Tarantula Society, the SpiderClub ofSouthern Africa, the Australasian Arachnological Society, the Centre International tie Documentation Arachnologique and the Socicle buiopeen d'Arachnologie. Her wide interest in general natural history enabled her to BR.J. ENT.NAT.HIST.,9: 1996 Frances at 40, painted by Ted Watson, a colleague at Fairey Aviation. contribute to the London Wildlife Trust, the Wildlife Society and the London Natural History Society. Her childhood fascination with dinosaur bones was repaid when she became a founder and committee member of the Friends of the Natural History Museum. In 1962 Frances joined the BENHS, which was then the "South London", and during her membership she contributed greatly to the Society. D—uring the 1980s Franceswas Secretaryofthe Societyand in 1989 became President thefirst and (so far) only woman to be appointed to the position. Later she was one ofthe BENHS representatives on the Joint Committee forthe Conservation ofBritish Insects (later Invertebrates).ItwasduringherpresidencythattheSocietyreceivednewsthatitwould havetoquititslong-held roomsattheAlpineClubinMayfair'sSouthAudleyStreet, and Francesspentmuchtimeandeffort findingnewpremisesforthe Society. BR.J.ENT.NAT.HIST..9: 1996 Frances at the 1989 AES exhibition. With a resurgence of her previous kidney problems a few years ago, Frances prepared a resume ofher life and sent it to Canon David Agassiz with the request that, wheneverit mightcome, he should officiateat herfuneral. Ihavedrawnheavily on that resume (and David's funeral oration) in preparing this notice, and reading through it I can still hear Frances' voice speaking to me. Frances died on 20 July 1995 and her funeral on the 28th ofJulywas so well attended by family, friends and colleagues from the many societies to which she belonged, that there was standing room only for many ofus. Frances will be sadly missed by us all, but in particular by her husband John to whom our deepest sympathy is offered. A PERSONALAPPRECIATION Anyonewhomet Franceswasimmediatelystruck bythe strength ofhercharacter. Some, who knew her less, mistook her outsp—okenness and hearing her acerbic wit failed to appreciate her dry sense ofhumour their loss. In 1980 when I first attended BENHS indoor meetings in the crusty rooms ofthe Alpine Club, I was immediately aware that the Society still had something of an archaic(butcharming)atmosphere;atthetimeI likenedittoaVictoriangentlemen's club. Andyethereinthemiddleoftheenthusiasticbustlingmaleswasawoman, and not a woman entomologist but an arachnologist to boot. Despite these ironies, Franceswas not out ofplace; shecut a swathe through the Society, held her own on all occasions and commanded the respect ofothers on equal terms. Eveninthepubaftereveningmeetings, Franceswouldjoinusotherreprobatesfor abeerbeforehome. When herrenalproblemsreappeared, shewasobligedtogiveup her usual halfofGuinness, so took to ordering a small brandy instead. BR.J.ENT.NAT.HIST.,9: 1996 123 One ofthefirst things which struck me about Franceswas that she and John were always zooming off on exotic holidays to strange parts of the globe. On several occasions she gave lectures to the Society detailing her adventures and showing spectacular slides. These were not at all wholly ofspiders and you could always be certain that whenever she spoke, Frances would colour her narratives with bizarre anecdotes and amusing asides. Frances once gave an account of her travels in New Zealand and I tempted my partner, Catrina, along to hear it since this was the land ofher father. My glowing accounts ofFrances' skills as a speakerwere rewarded when Catrina latercompared the measured but enthusiastic delivery to that ofJoyce Grenfell. As ever, it was a delightful evening. Itwas throughherworld travel that Franceswasaninspiration tome. A fewyears ago Catrina and I had, as usual, left our holiday planning until the very last minute and were at a loss wondering where to go. The destinations we selected were impossible to reach, for this was the time of failing travel companies and consolidation ofmany flights meant that package deals and cheap flights were full orcancelled. Costa Rica in Central America cameinto ourminds and I remembered that Frances had been there a few years before. I telephoned her to ask what she thought ofthe place and her immediate response was to invite us over to her house for a private slide show. Here we were entertained with as professional a travelogue as we could wish to hear anywhere. And afterwards Frances showe—d us some ofher pets, including one she just happened to have from Costa Rica a large amblypygid tailless whip- scorpion sitting almost motionless in its case. It was now that Frances admitted she had a cunning trick to get through US customs quickly and easily whenever she travelled that way. She would inform officials that she was transporting live spiders in her baggage. This was not against regulations, but it meant she was ushered through a different customs route, one which was inevitably less congested. Our holiday in Costa Rica was a spectacular success and one ofthe most exciting moments was peeling back a bit ofbark to reveal an amblypygid—just like the one Frances had. On BENHS field meetings Frances was sometimes ribbed by the discov—ery that an int—eresting web was made, not by a moth caterpillar, but by a spider a"Murphy" and now Icannot seea spiderwithout thinkingfondly ofher. Richard A. Jones Bibliography 1966Dictynaviridissima(Walck.)and Tegenariaagrestis(Walck.)in Middlesex. BSSGBulletin 30: 9. 1966 Spidercourse at Monks Wood, Huntingdon, in 1966. BSSG Bulletin 34: 7. 1967 Field meeting at Box Hill. BSSG Bulletin 36: 7. 1968 Notes on interesting spider species. BSSG Bulletin 37: 4. 1971 Callilepis nocturna (Linneaus) (Araneae, Gnaphosidae) newly found in Britain. Entomologist's Gaz. 22: 269. 1973 The spiders ofChobham Common. Surrey Naturalist Report for 1973. 1974 Occurrence ofTm 4 on Erigone longipalpis. Br. Arachnol. Soc. Newsl. 9: 9. 1974 Two field meetings at Hackhurst Downs, April & November 1972. Br. Arachnol. Soc. Newsl. 9: 9. — 1976(Murphy,J. A. & ) Spiderhuntingin the United States ofAmerica. Br. Arachnol. Soc. Newsl. 16: 6. — 1978 (Murphy,J. A. & )Themale ofLycosoidescrassipalpis(Denis) (Araneae, Agelenidae). Bull. Br. Arachnol. Soc. 4(6). 124 BR.J.ENT.NAT.HIST..9: 1996 — 1979 (P. Tongiorgi & ) Arctosa villica (Lucas, 1848): drawings and observations. Bull. Br. Arachnol. Soc. 4(9). 1980 A spider hunting trip to Malaya and Borneo. Br. Arachnol. Soc. Newsl. 28/9. 1980Keepingspiders, insectsandotherlandinvertebratesincaptivity. John Bartholomew&Son Ltd. 1981 Council's report for 1980. Proc. Trans. Br. Ent. Nat. Hist. Soc. 14: 63-64. 1982BASmeetingatMasForgeFieldCentreinFrance5th—12thJune 1982.Br. Arachnol. Soc. Newsl. 35: 1. 1982 Council's report fo—r 1981. Proc. Trans. Br. Ent. Nat. Hist. Soc. 15: 48. 1983 (Murphy, J. A. & ) More about Portia (Araneae, Salticidae). Bull. Br. Arachnol. Soc. 6(1). — 1983 (Murphy, J. A. & ) The orb weaverAcusilas(Araneae, Araneidae). Bull. Br. Arachnol. Soc. 6(3). 1983 Council's report f—or 1982. Proc. Trans. Br. Ent. Nat. Hist. Soc. 16: 121. 1984(Murphy,J. A. & )AnEnglishcollectionofTyroleanspiders(Arachnida,Aranei). Ber. Nat. Med. Ver. Innsbruck 71. 1984 Biology ofspiders by Foelix. Book review. Proc. Trans. Br. Ent. Nat. Hist. Soc. 17: 86. 1984 Council's report for 1983. Proc. Trans. Br. Ent. Nat. Hist. Soc. 17: 95-96. 1984 [Photograph ofFrances "attracting the unanticipated interest ofthe residents (a herd of cows)ofMagorMarshin herspiderphotography".]Proc. Trans. Br. Ent. Nat. Hist. Soc. 17: 109. 1988HowtobeginthestudyofspidersbyCloudsley-Thompson. Bookreview.Br.Arachnol.Soc. Newsl. 52: 6. 1988 The British Tarantula Society. Br. Arachnol. Soc. Newsl. Suppl. 52: ii. 1988 Orb web spiders: two interesting observations in the literature. Br. Arachnol. Soc. Suppl. 53: iv. 1989 Pseudoscorpions by Legg & Jones. Book review. Br. J. Ent. Nat. Hist. 2: 64. 1989[PhotographofEnoplognathaovataonwebbuiltinsidetrumpetofSarraceniaalata.]Br.J. Ent. Nat. Hist. 2: 88. 1990 Sex determination ofimmature theraphosid spidersfrom their cast skins by Hancock & Hancock. Book review. Br. Arachnol. Soc. Newsl. 59: 8. 1991 HowtobeginthestudyofspidersbyD. W. Mackie. Bookreview. BrArachnol. Soc. Newsl. 60: 8. 1991 Baboon spiders, tarantulas ofAfrica and the Middle East by A. Smith. Book review. Br. Arachnol. Soc. Newsl. 62: 1. 1991 The 1989 Presidential Address——Part 1. Report. Br. J. Ent. Nat. Hist. 4: 67-68. 1991 The 1989 Presidential Address Part 2. Some interesting European spiders. Br. J. Ent. Nat. Hist. 4: 69-82, Plate III. 1992BritishRedDataBooks;3. InvertebratesotherthaninsectseditedbyBratton. Bookreview. Br. Arachnol.—Soc. Newsl. 63: 7. 1992 (Miles, S. & ) The Joint Commitee for the Conservation ofBritish Insects. Br. J. Ent. Nat. Hist. 5: 24. 1992 [Photograph ofHarpactocrates ravastellus showingpeculiarbulbs on the animal's palps.] Br. J. Ent. Nat. Hist. 5: 26. 1992 Staffhurst Wood, Surrey, 19 May 1991. BENHS Field Meeting. Br. J. Ent. Nat. Hist. 5: 40. 1992 Stick insectsofBritain, Europeandthe Mediterranean by Brock. Book review. Br. J. Ent. Nat. Hist. 5: 91-92. 1992 Move from the Alpine Club. Br. J. Ent. Nat. Hist. 5: 129-132. 1992 The care ofspiders in captivity. Chiron Publishers, Keighley. 1992 Keepingspiders in captivity. Br. Arachnol. Soc. Members' Handbook. 1993 MartinLister'sEnglishspiders (1678) editedbyParker&Harley. Bookreview.Br.J. Ent. Nat. Hist. 6: 47. 1993 Points ofview. Br. Arachnol. Soc. Newsl. 66: 3. 1994 [Photographs ofBENHS members at Dinton Pastures.] Br. J. Ent. Nat. Hist. 7: 94-95. 1995 More about Aussie rules. Br. Arachnol. Soc. Newsl. 72: 16.