Obituary: John George Williams 4 April 1913-28 December 1997 Welsh, short, ebullient, irreverentandenthusias- specimens he had obtained could never be re- tic,JohnWilliamsdiedinlateDecember1997.The placedasthespeciesinquestionnolongerexisted lastinalongline ofAfrica’sgreatcollector-orni- where he had obtained them. Against consider- thologiststhatstartedinthe 18thcentury. Likeso ablecriticism,hedeliberatelyshippedoffsomeof manybeforehim, hestartedas anamateurwith- themuseum’smorevaluableskinstoinstitutions out academic qualifications in zoology. John that he felt had a more secure political future. Williams went to Africa as a young man in the While his decisionsmaystillbe questioned ethi- RAF’smedicalarmduringtheSecondWorldWar. cally, subsequent events have proved that his Hefellinlovewiththelandandwhenanoppor- predictionofimpropercarewasnotentirelymis- tunitytojointhe staffofthe CoryndonMemorial placed. Conservation and the welfare ofnatural Museum’s(nowKenya’sNationalMuseum)arose historycollections havenotrankedhighly inthe afterthewar,hisalreadyprofoundgeneralknowl- face ofAfrica’shuge economicwoes. edge ofnatural historysecuredhimthepost. John also correctly predicted that the ‘job Withoutquestionhewastherightmaninthe security’ ofexpatriatessuchashimselfcouldnot rightplaceattherighttime. Hispredecessorhad be counted on andthat ifhewas to remain eco- departed in a cloud of controversy, taking with nomically buoyant he would have to fend for him most of the museum’s bird collection. This himself. Inthemid-1960sheleftthemuseumand deprived the institute (perhaps the most impor- established an advisory service for the wildlife- tantnaturalhistorymuseuminthetropics)ofone basedEastAfricantouristindustry.Interaliathis ofitsmostimportantassets.JohnWilliamswasan soonillustratedbothsoundbusinessacumenand enthusiastic collectorand immediatelyset about hisverybroadgeneralknowledgeofEastAfrican rebuildingthe collection. Indue course itwasto naturalhistory.Nowherewasthisbetterreflected becomefarmorecomprehensivethanithadorigi- than in the Collins Field Guides to East African nallybeenandaparticularlyimportantreference birds, butterflies and national parks which he base inAfricanornithology. authored. Williams was a broad-based naturalist and AlthoughWilliams didnotpublish aswidely could have secured employment with the mu- inthescientificliteratureashemighthavedone, seum as a mammologist or entomologist. His he nonetheless contributed morethananyother knowledge ofAfrica’s butterflies and moths was individual in the past 50 years to the public’s ofthe highestorderandhewas atrue experton knowledgeofEastAfricanbirds. Hisgreatestgift thecontinent’sbats. Inbothfields, hemadenew wasinimpartingenthusiasm—particularlytothe discoveries and contributed profoundly to our young. He treated any specimen brought to the presentknowledge. museum for identification or in donation as ex- It wasJohn Williams’ fate that his tenure as ceptionallyvaluable, making young donors feel ornithologist coincided with the rise of African thattheywereadvancingsciencesignificantly.In nationalism and the era ofindependence. Much contradictionofmodernconservationism, heac- ashelovedthelandofhisadoption, hewas one tivelyencourageda‘handson’approachtonatural ofthose who was pessimistic about governance history. He avoided admonition not to touch or by untried Africans. In particular, he feared that disturb, but in complete sympathy with youth’s — — natural sciences such as ornithology would drive to be directly involved, he gently directed notrankhighlyintheneworderofprioritiesand interests into responsible channels. In no time thatthecollectionssopainstakinglybuiltupwould aftertakinguphispositionatthemuseum,hehad notsubsequentlybeproperlycaredfor.Aheadof a corps ofyouthful observers spread across the histime,Johnwasawareofjusthowfasthabitats land.LikesomePiedPiperandinaquiteextraor- — were changing and realised that many of the dinary way, John George as many knew 94-BullABC Vol5No2 Obituary — Obituary:John George Williams (continued) — him entrenched a lifelong interest in natural his deeply loved wife Philipa. Nothing brought historytoawholegeneration.Inturnthishashad John George closer to panic than the threat of aprofoundinfluenceupontheregion’sconserva- reporting some ‘less repeatable’ quote to her. tion. Ornithology has lost an important contributor, One did not have to collect to benefit from but few in the world ofbirds so genuinelywar- JGW’s(anothernickname)interestorhelp, butif rantedthe sobriquet ofirrepressible character. onedidheimpartedhisownveryhighstandards JohnmarriedDoctorPhilipaGaffikininCairo of specimen preparation. The lilt of his Welsh duringtheWar.Philipapredeceasedhimandthey voice saying “sleep my pretty one; sleep!” as he aresurvivedbyonesonandthreedaughters.John laid a perfectly prepared specimen to rest in a GeorgeWilliamshadarichlifewelllivedofwhich drawer, orthenaughtytwinklewhenreferringto his descendants can be proud. To those of us — — hisaugustsuperior DrLouisB. Leakey asour broughtupunderhisinfluence, hewastrulyone fatherwhichoughttobeinHeaven, havestayed ofthemajorlandmarks inourlives. '$> in many memories down the years. His irrever- encewaswithoutmaliceandwaspartoftheman’s IanParker,January 1998. charm.Onlyonepersoncouldcallhimtoorder — Join the American BirdingAssociation the only North American association ofand for birders. Help support bird education and conservation projects and receive: • Birdingmagazine and WingingItnewsletter • The Birder's Catalog, featuring mail order books, optics, and accessories • Membership Directory, listing ABA'ers willing to help traveling birders • Join us at birding conferences and conventions Internationalmembership dues $45.00peryear AmericanbirdingAssociation PO Box 6599, Colorado Springs, CO 80934 Phone: 719/578-1614 or Fax: 719/578-1480 e-mail [email protected] web site: http://www.americanbirding.com Obituary BullABC Vol5No2-95