I am sad to pass this message on from Joan Childs wh was one oft he founders of the Bedfordshire Bat Group and whose quirky drawing enliven so many pages of the website
“Brian Clarke has asked me to post the message that this morning his father, Philip, sadly lost his brave fight with a brain tumour. Those of you who were members of the Beds Bat Group in the early years, and the Bedfordshire Natural History Society, will remember that Philip was a staunch supporter, allowing us to build the first purpose-built hibernaculum on his land-holding, a project which was to prove very successful and that informed many similar projects across the UK in subsequent years. Brian is trying to contact Philip’s many friends before the funeral so if you would like to get in touch, please e-mail him on clarkebriann@aol.com – thanks.”
Braystone under construction Steve Brian17 Mar 91
Braystone hibernaculum opening 18 July 1991. Photo Joan Childs
I only ever met him on the regular hibernation surveys, and he was a lovely man
It took a while for the bats to use the hibernaculum but we now find bats there most years. You can read an article about the hibernation site here
(With apologies to Andy , et al for bringing THAT photo back into the daylight.)
For years we had to walk through the water to the ditch in old fertiliser sacks. We have now moved on and we have bought a pair of waders for the purpose, which reduces how wet members get