John Barrett (conservationist)

John Henry Barrett MBE (1913–1999) was a pioneering conservationist, author and broadcaster.

Born in King's Lynn, Norfolk, John lived in Pembrokeshire for 50 years. He read Economics and Geography at Cambridge University and was the first Warden at Dale Fort Field Centre. He was appointed Minister's Nominee to the Fledgling Pembrokeshire National Park, initiated the Guided Walks, fought for the Coastal Path (he wrote the HMSO guide to the path) and served on the Park Committee for twenty five years.^[1][2]

Second World War

Before the war, John joined the RAF and served with Bomber Command reaching the rank of Wing Commander. During the early part of the war he was shot down and became a prisoner-of-war. The next years were spent in a succession of prisoner-of-war camps across Germany and Poland; Oflag VIB (Warburg), Oflag XXI (Schubin), Stalag Luft II (Sagan) (where he was part of the support team for the 'Wooden Horse' escape)and Stalag IIIa (Luckenwalde). It was in the large Oflag at Doessel bei Warburg,^[3] that John met up with John Buxton, Peter Conder and George Waterston. In their company John developed his lifelong interest in birds, which later he turned to such good use in Wales. These four recorded migration patterns and the minutiae of tree sparrow and chaffinch nesting behaviour.

Post war

In 1947 he became the Warden of Dale Fort Field Centre which included the Skokholm Bird Observatory. Dale Fort was established as a centre for the study of marine biology with Skokholm flourishing as a bird Observatory.

He established the Pembrokeshire Countryside Unit in Broad Haven in 1968 and ran guided walks along the coastal footpaths.^[4]

When conducting these guided walks he had a dog called "dog".

Books

Barrett, J.H. & Young, C.M. (1958). Collins Pocket Guide to the Seashore. Collins London

Barrett, J.H. & Nimmo, M. Flowers of the Coast Path (Pembrokeshire Coast National Park subject Guide)

Barrett, J.H. Seashore (1960) Collins.

Barrett, J.H. Life on the Seashore (Countryside)(1974). Collins

Barrett, J.H. Dale Peninsula (Pembrokeshire Coast National Park area guide) (1986)

Barrett, J.H. A Plain Man's Guide to the path round the Dale Peninsula (1966)

Barrett, J.H. The Pembrokeshire Coast Path (1979)

Footnotes

1. Field Studies, 9, (2000) 549-554
2. Cymru Wledig. Rural Wales, 28. Michael Brace
3. Niemann, Derek. Birds in a Cage p 73
4. Western Telegraph. Obituary. 17 February 1999

^ Wildlife. Issue no 79, Spring 99, Obituary