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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
Geoffrey Ingram (seated), Herbert Short (left) & Morrey Salmon (right) at camouflaged hiding tent for photographing Nightjars, Woods Covert, (Nant Fawr Woodlands), Cardiff, 29-Jul-1911 from the Salmon Collection ©National Museum of Wales, used under non Commercial terms
Obituary of G. C. S. Ingram
It is with regret that we record the death, on 25th 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 72nd 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.
he had married in 1912 and had at least 2 cildren accoring to our research and notes in his diaries
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 regards to his diaries, these are held in the National Museum of Wales as part of the overall Salmon/Ingram collection. for many years they were mis-identified as being the diaries of Morrey Salmon but work by Stephen Howe as part of the Morrey Salmon images project proved these to be indeed Ingram's diaries, and we are happy to be able to provide transcripts of these. His recording of photographic details was initially of a much higher standard than that of Morrey Salmon and from that we have been able to glean information about the type of photographic plates that were used. His photographic archive should be considered for future work to properly reflect the value of his contribution to photography and conservation
Geoffrey Ingram seatednext to Morrey Salmon's Goddfrey Nash car, Kenfig 25-Nov-1923 from the Salmon Collection ©National Museum of Wales, used under non Commercial terms
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 we 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. In fact it was apparently noted in Punch Magazine that they could be considered a "blended being" have not yet found out why Geoffrey Ingram was not recognised to the extent that Morrey Salmon was.
Back to the 150th Anniversary index
Before this... Donald Rose Paterson M.D., F.R.C.P., F.S.A. (1862-1939) 30th and 52nd President
next up... Robert William Atkinson, B.Sc. (Lond.), F.I.C., F.C.S. 22nd and 54th President
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These pages are part of the Cardiff Naturalists' Society 150th Anniversary celebrations and are about our history and are celebrating the people who developed our Society and helped build the city and the cultural heritage of Cardiff. You can read more about that using the links above
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