Geoffrey C.S.Ingram (1883-1971) 53^rd President

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Sadly given the contributions made by Geoffrey Ingram we do not have more than a brief mention of his passing as the Transactions were coming to an end as a published journal by the time of his death. Neither can I locate many detailed articles about him in newspapers or journals. I have however located this brief obituary of him in British Birds

Obituary of G. C. S. Ingram

It is with regret that we record the death, on 25 th April, of the prominent Welsh ornithologist, Geoffrey C. S. Ingram, who was in his 89th year.

A consistent contributor to ornithological literature over several decades, his first note to British Birds was published in 1919; but he is best known for the series of works he wrote in conjunction with his old friend and colleague, Colonel H. Morrey Salmon: Birds in Britain Today (1934), followed by a string of county avifaunas for Glamorgan (1936), Monmouthshire (1937, revised 1963), Pembrokeshire (1948), Carmarthenshire (1954). Radnorshire (1955) and Brecknock (1957).

He was a life member of the British Ornithologists' Union, which he joined in 1923.

Geoffrey Ingram was not well known to the younger generation of birdwatchers on account of his advanced age and poor health which forced him in 1952 to resign as joint bird recorder for the Cardiff Natural History Society, after as long as 34 years. He had been virtually blind for the past decade (having lost one eye during service in the 1914-18 war) and had been a total invalid for the last three years of his life.

Regarding his early life before WWI I can only find 2 small notes in local newspapers regarding his personal life, and a single mention that he was at the funeral of Mr John Cory (his employer)

Evening Express 9th September 1907

Evening Express 1st August 1910

it is in 1910 that he joined the Cardiff Naturalists and as per the brief notation above it is from this point that his contributions to bird recording takes off, especially with Colonel H. Morrey Salmon, Nature Photographer and 72^nd President, with whom he had a long friendship and partnership. In 1912 they were both founder members of the Photographic section of the Society

Joshua John Neale, owner of fishing trawlers and a member of Cardiff Naturalists’ Society, leased the Pembrokeshire islands of Skomer and Grassholm from 1890-1915 and occasionally invited fellow members to join him for long weekends. Salmon and Ingram often visited the islands and spent many long periods over there as members of the Pembrokeshire Field Club.

After WWI his interest in birds continued especially so as they had better transport post 1921 when Salmon purchased a car.

Salmon and Ingham on the Road post 1921

In 1928 it is recorded that he provided Water-colour drawings of birds, chiefly wild fowl for an Exhibition that the Society put on at the National Museum of Wales (note I have yet to determine if these still exist). His continued partnership with Morrey Salmon resulted in their book Birds in Britain Today Their status and Distribution, illustrated with over 50 Plates in 1934

Birds in Britain Today

After WWII Ingram and Salmon continued their partnership and from the extensively published articles in many bird and general nature or Welsh county related publications ( I will not list them all here there are literally 10's if not 100's) it is clear to see that they both contributed hugely to the knowledge bank of British birds. I have not yet found out why Geoffrey Ingram was not recognised to the extent that Morrey Salmon was.

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Before this... Donald Rose Paterson M.D., F.R.C.P., F.S.A. (1862-1939) 30^th and 52^nd President

next up... Robert William Atkinson, B.Sc. (Lond.), F.I.C., F.C.S. 22^nd and 54^th President

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