Our father, Martin George, who has died aged 86, championed the conservation of the Norfolk Broads. He was one of the last great naturalists of his generation.
His achievements were many and varied, those around him recalling his enthusiasm and energy as new sites and species were found. He put several initiatives in place, including the Hoveton Great Broad nature trail, which he designed and implemented. He led the Nature Conservancy’s ground-breaking 1965 report on Broadland, which alerted the public and government to its ecological challenges, and played significant roles in the subsequent establishment of the Broads Authority and launch of the Broads grazing marsh conservation scheme, the forerunner of national agri-environment payments to farmers.
Martin was born in the Hambleden valley, near Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, the youngest son of Charles George, an engineer and company director, and his wife, Phyllis (nee Webb). He formed an early love of nature while exploring the flowery chalk downland of the Chilterns with his mother. His father died when he was six.
Later, after applying his passion for nature at Radley college, and with a doctorate in entomology from London University, he worked at the Field Studies Council’s Dale Fort field centre in Pembrokeshire, where he met his wife, Barbara, a geographer.
In 1960, moving with Barbara to Norfolk, he joined the staff of the Nature Conservancy, which later became Natural England. He became the regional officer for East Anglia in 1966, a role he held for 24 years until retiring in 1990.
On his retirement, appointed OBE for his services to nature conservation, he continued to fight for the environment, and wrote the definitive book Land Use, Ecology and Conservation of Broadland (1992). He shared his knowledge with students, undertook a variety of committee responsibilities, gathered seeds for storage as a principal collector for the Millennium Seed Bank at Kew and, just before he died, completed a paper chronicling the history and ecology of the Hickling Broad nature reserve.
Martin shared his passion for steam engines, sports cars and music, including violin playing, with all the family. He particularly enjoyed sailing and flying kites on family holidays on Scolt Head Island.
His infectious enthusiasm and ability to share his curiosity, knowledge and joy about the natural world with others affected everyone around him. Many people will remember him for the opportunity to see and photograph their first swallowtail butterfly, one of the UK’s rarest, in his garden overlooking the RSPB’s Strumpshaw Fen reserve.
He is survived by Barbara, by their four children, Lucy, Mark and ourselves, and by six grandchildren.
