Phyllis Barclay-Smith
Phyllis Barclay-Smith | |
|---|---|
| Born | Ida Phyllis Barclay-Smith 18 May 1902 |
| Died | 2 January 1980 Islington, London, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | Ornithologist |
| Honours | Member of theOrder of the British Empire,Commander of the British Empire,Order of the Golden Ark |
Ida Phyllis Barclay-SmithCBE(18 May 1902 – 2 January 1980) was a Britishornithologistand editor of theAvicultural Magazine.She led theInternational Council of Bird Preservation.In 1958, she became the first woman to receive anMBEfor work in conservation, and was madeCBEfor 1970.[1]
Biography
[edit]Phyllis, as she was known, was the second of three daughters of Edward Barclay-Smith and his wife Ida Mary. Edward was a professor of anatomy atCambridge University.She studied at Blackheath high school andKing's College, Londonand joined as an assistant secretary to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) in 1924. One of the early founders of the RSPB was her auntMargaretta Louisa Lemon,known as Etta Lemon.
At the International Ornithological Congress of 1930 Barclay-Smith spoke on oil pollution and sea birds.Jean Delacourwho was vice-president of theInternational Council for Bird Preservation(ICBP) was impressed by her organizational efficiency.
Barclay-Smith resigned from the RSPB in 1935, partly due to being denied the position of secretary after the retirement of Linda Gardiner, a position for which Robert Preston Donaldson was recruited. Etta Lemon believed that a male secretary was needed for the organization to be viewed more seriously and this enraged the secretaries, Barclay-Smith as well as Beatrice Solly.[2]Barclay-Smith then joined the ICBP and worked almost lifelong at the Council, becoming a secretary in 1946 and secretary-general in 1974.
War years
[edit]DuringWorld War II,Barclay-Smith worked as a secretary to the business manager of the Bristol Aeroplane Factory and from 1943 to 45 she worked in the Ministry of Labour. Her strengths were in building organizations, ensuring communication, collaboration and participation within and across an international network of scientists, civil servants and politicians.
She helped in bridging aviculturists and ornithologists, serving as editor of theAvicultural Magazinefrom 1938. She helped establish the International Wildfowl Research Bureau, and helped in raising awareness on insecticide risks. She also helped in rallying support for the establishment of theCousin Islandreserve in theSeychelles,in the Indian Ocean.
Phyllis earned the nickname ofthe dragon,[3]a nickname also shared by her aunt Etta Lemon.
Death
[edit]Barclay-Smith died on 2 January 1980, five days after going into coma following a severe stroke on Christmas Day, 1979, at the Whittington Hospital,Islington, London.She was cremated.[4]
Honors
[edit]She was made MBE in 1958 for her services to conservation, CBE for 1970,[5]and awardedRidder of the Most Excellent Order of the Golden Arkby Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands.[6][7]
Selected works
[edit]Among Barclay-Smith's works were translations of books from French and German.
- British birds on lake, river and stream,1939
- British and American game birds,1939
- Garden birds,1945
- A book of ducks,1951
- (tr.)The Bird: its life and structureby Gertrud Hess
- (tr.)Birds of the world: their life and habitsby Paul Barruel, 1954
- Woodland birds,1955
- (tr.)Water-birds with webbed feetby Paul Geroudet, 1965
References
[edit]- ^Haines, Catherine M. (2001).International Women in Science: A Biographical Dictionary to 1950.ABC-CLIO. pp.19-20.
- ^Boase, Tessa (2018).Mrs Pankhurst's Purple Feather: Fashion, Fury and Feminism - Women's Fight for Change.Aurum Press. pp. 274–276.
- ^[N.P.] (1980). "Phyllis Barclay-Smith (1902–1980) and the ICBP".Environmental Conservation.7(4): 270.doi:10.1017/S0376892900007980.ISSN1469-4387.
- ^Harrison, Colin J.O. (2004)."Smith, (Ida) Phyllis Barclay- (1902–1980), ornithological administrator".Oxford Dictionary of National Biography(online ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/61361.(Subscription orUK public library membershiprequired.)
- ^London Gazette 1 January 1971
- ^Thorpe, W.H. (1980)."Phyllis Barclay-Smith".Ibis.122(3): 374–375.doi:10.1111/j.1474-919x.1980.tb00895.x.ISSN0019-1019.
- ^Nicholson, E.M. (1980)."Miss Phyllis Ida Barclay-Smith, CBE, MBOU (1903-1980)"(PDF).British Birds.73(5): 215–216.
External links
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