Peter Oliver had many friends and associates in the worlds of conservation and ornithology but because of his modesty and private nature his name might not be familiar to many. To those who did know him however he was a great friend and someone you could always turn to for sound advice. He loved the North Kent Marshes became a very knowledgeable ornithologist, was a meticulous record keeper and shared a deep concern for conservation.

He was born on 22^nd July 1939 at Forest Hill, London and was educated at St Dunstan’s College Catford and on leaving school he took up employment to train as a Chartered Accountant. Sadly his father died when he was only 17. After qualifying in 1963 he pursued a successful accountancy career in London acquiring exceptional financial and administrative skills which he was able to use to great effect in the cause of conservation.It was his financial and administrative skills that were used to great effect in the rescue of ‘British Birds’ in 2000, where, according to Richard Chandler, Peter effectively saved it from closure. At that time ‘British Birds’ had been published continuously every month for 93 years and thanks to Peter’s efforts its future was secured, and this will remain a lasting legacy. Earlier he had been invited to join the Board of ‘West Palearctic Birds 1993 Ltd’ at a time when difficulties arose in financing that publication. At the successful completion of the ninth volume of ‘Birds of the Western Palearctic’ he is acknowledged to have “kept firm control of the finances besides providing a balanced and knowledgeable input to the Board’s discussions”.

Peter was a keen birdwatcher and it was his mother who introduced him to the joy of watching and identifying birds in his garden. Later he explored Dulwich Park and Sydenham Woods. But I think it was the book ‘The Birds of the North Kent Marshes’ by Gillham and Homes published in 1950 that might well have been the spur that caused him to expand his horizons there as they were easily accessible by rail. He tells how once during the winter, on an early trip with a school friend, they got lost on the marshes as it rapidly got dark and arrived back home extremely late. After this early adventure, Peter came to love the North Kent Marshes and this developed into a lifelong interest in its wildlife, carefully recording his observations and noting the changes that were taking place over the years. Peter’s sister Jean rightly described the North Kent Marshes as Peter’s birdwatching home.

It was there where I first met him, we were both in our late teens studying for our respective professions whilst in employment and a day out birdwatching was a precious commodity. We very soon became great friends, sometimes meeting for lunch in one of the Dickensian eating houses still to be found in those days in the City of London.  We also attended the evening meetings of the London Natural History Society and in course of time the meetings of the British Ornithologists Union, British Ornithologists Club and the little known ’37 Club’.

In those early days we regularly visited the marshes bordering the Hoo peninsula which were accessible by a local steam railway running from Gravesend. This was at a time when very few people had cars and the marshes had become a magnet for birdwatchers from the London area using ‘The Birds of the North Kent Marshes’ as their vade-mecum. Gravesend Station was a regular meeting place of like-minded souls waiting for the local train on a Saturday morning, which led to many friendships that lasted a lifetime. We had great times exploring the marshes, often in the winter when it always seemed to be misty and damp, crawling over the wet grass with our brass and glass telescopes trying to get close enough to the flock of White-fronted Geese to find the odd Bean Goose. We were very lucky to have greater freedom in those days, being able to wander over the marshes more or less where we pleased, getting to know the local farmers and shepherds as well as the local pub with is hot pasties and bar billiards. Peter was great fun to be with and had a sense of humour always ready for a good laugh. There was great excitement one day in 1958 when we found three Avocet chicks feeding in a tidal creek with their parents. Thinking we had ‘discovered’ the first breeding Avocet in Kent since the nineteenth century we soon discovered the nest had been a well-kept secret, guarded by the RSPB who had organised a 24 hour watch until the eggs hatched. We did however find the first nest of Black-tailed Godwit on the marshes in 1968, which unfortunately failed, possibly due to the fact it contained seven eggs.

Obtaining a license to ring birds enabled Peter to become involved in ringing gulls and terns in the spring, Linnets and Goldfinches in the late summer and thrushes in the winter. Catching wading birds at night at a tidal roost on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent was a rewarding but exhausting occupation, particularly after a week at work in London. Seeing the luminous plankton on the incoming tide, the Northern Lights and a receiving a night visitation by the police with a dog team after some-one had reported illegal immigrants coming ashore, made some nights memorable. Apart from recoveries from West Africa etc. much was learnt about the autumn movements of waders in and around the Medway estuary. Latterly he took an interest in the breeding harriers on the North Kent Marshes, particularly on the Isle of Sheppey, where he monitored the position of the Marsh Harrier nests so that the young could be ringed and wing-tagged. He also co-ordinated the counts at the winter roost sites of both Marsh and Hen Harriers in North Kent and published various papers in the Kent Bird Reports in connection with these activities, he also wrote the raptor section in the Kent Bird Reports from 1996 -2016

In 1991 Peter wrote and self-published ‘Bird Watching on the North Kent Marshes’, a book which chronicled the change in status over the years since Gillham and Homes published their account in 1950. He was never obsessed with chasing rarities but as wildfowl were one of his favourite group of birds it was fitting that one day in 1967, when we were out on the marshes, he picked out a drake American Black Duck. However in his book it hardly gets a mention, being listed as ‘accidental’ without a date, stating that the “accidental occurrence of a species is of little relevance to the ornithology of an area”. He then, somewhat mischievously admitted, “but for virtually all birdwatchers - - there is an undoubted spice and excitement in seeing a rarity, especially in an area watched regularly and even more if you find it yourself”. Some years later this eventually became the first record for Great Britain and Northern Ireland and is now permanently etched in the annals of British ornithology with his name attached to it, and it still remains the only record for Kent.

Interest in migration led Peter to become involved with Phil Redman, Tony Gibbs and John Naylor in the establishment of a Bird Observatory at cap Gris-Nez, opposite Dover, to link in with the Bird Observatories in the UK. The use of a wartime blockhouse on top of the cliffs and using the French ringing scheme were arranged, with visitors from Britain providing cover during the autumn. Night migrants were attracted by the revolving beam lighthouse and visible migration by day could be impressive particularly in October, with sea-watching being rewarding as well. Peter was there one weekend in October 1963 when a Pallas’s Warbler was found which was officially accepted as a first record for France. Since the demise of the cap Gris-Nez Bird Observatory, L’associaton “Station Ornithologique du cap Gris-Nez” has been established and become a popular seawatching locality for birdwatchers from northern France, Belgium and Holland. It is with some satisfaction that ‘Le seawatch’ and ‘seawatcheurs’ have been added to the French vocabulary because of the attraction at cap Gris-Nez. Peter also loved visiting sea bird breeding colonies and was particularly fond of Skokholm which he first visited in his younger days, handling a Manx Shearwater for the first time. In later tears I joined him several times and one day after ringing some shearwaters the previous night, he discovered that one of the birds we had been handling was ringed on a night when he was there some 20 years previously. We were also both there in the hot summer of 1976 and were able to fulfil one of his ambitions, which was to land on Grasholm and walk up to the nesting Gannets. We last visited Skokholm together with our wives to mark his retirement from professional life.

As travel overseas became easier after the wartime restrictions and with growing affordability, exploring the wider world inevitably became tempting, bearing in mind that annual holidays in those days were limited to two weeks, or three if you were lucky. The first adventure a small group of us made involved hiring a Bedford van in 1961 and setting out on camping trip to the Camargue and Pyrenees and this was the precursor of many more expeditions to Europe and various parts of the world before we each got married and settled down. These included areas of Europe, Morocco, Kenya, Canada, Trinidad and Tobago and India. Odd memories that come to mind include; camping on Fetlar in 1965 when the male Snowy Owl was there, meeting three figures coming out of the mist which materialised into George Waterston, Peter Conder and Bobby Tulloch; being lucky to gain free access on the Coto Donana in our Land rover; finding a pair of Demoiselle Cranes in the Atlas mountains of Morocco; camping by Varanger Fjord in north Norway; watching the migration of raptors over the Bosporus in September 1972, clocking-up 3,000 Lesser Spotted Eagles in one day; camping in the wild miles away from anywhere in Kenya experiencing the African dawn chorus; finding Siberian White Cranes in India and meeting Dr Salim Ali., Later after his marriage to Mary in 1981 Peter travelled to Chile, Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands, the Seychelles and an expedition to the Arctic where another of his ambitions to sit among Little Auks at a breeding colony was fulfilled.Collectively we saw some wonderful things and had many experiences which would be impossible to replicate today.

Peter was a member of both the London natural History Society and the Kent Ornithological Society becoming a member of the London Natural History Society’s Bird Research committee and Chairman of their Records Committee.

Having been a methodical record keeper over the years as well as travelling widely he was acutely aware of all the changes to the environment that had occurred during his lifetime, and it concerned him greatly, in particular the effect this was having to the everyday birds in the areas with which he was familiar. He commented often to me, as he did quite recently, that we were so lucky to have been able to do and see the things that we did when we did.

He was determined to highlight the needs of conservation and raise its profile and I imagine he hoped that by publishing his information and raising awareness it might have some effect on policy makers. Not being a policy maker himself he was able to use his financial and administrative skills to great effect in the cause of conservation by voluntarily offering his time and energy in supporting charities whose business it was to influence policy makers.

He was a Council Member of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds from 1983 and Treasurer from 1986 – 1991. He became Trustee and Treasurer of the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust from 1996 – 1999 when the WWT were not only embarking on a major upgrade of the Slimbridge Headquarters but also on the formation of the London Wetlands Centre. The charity had to take great care not to overextend its financial reach and the three years that Peter remained as Treasurer came at a pivotal time in this regard, and it was no small thanks to Peter’s support and influence that both the Slimbridge Millennium Conservation Centre and the London Wetland Centre were both duly opened to great acclaim in 2000. He was a Trustee of the Woodland Trust from 1996 – 2005 becoming Chair of the Board in 1998 when the Trust were delivering their millennium project ‘Woods on your Doorstep’ and acquiring new sites in England Scotland and Northern Ireland. He was a Trustee of the British Ornithologists Union and elected Treasurer from 2007 – 2011 where he served on the Management Committee of the publication of the journal ‘Ibis’.  It was for service to wildlife conservation that he was awarded his OBE in 2005

Away from birdwatching, he loved music, going to Prom concerts, booking seats as soon as the programme was published, and visiting art exhibitions both of which he and Mary enjoyed doing together. Latterly he took up change-ringing at his local church.

Modesty was one of the many attributes that Peter possessed, he was never boastful about what he had done or seen or found but was always careful that, if it had relevance, it was recorded somehow. He possessed high ethical standards and I suspect that, like me, he was apolitical. He was conscious of the needs of others and with his detailed knowledge of economics could be critical of a Government’s handling of the economy and the effect it had on the man in the street. The last time we had a chat, a few months ago he expressed great concern that many people in this country have now found it necessary to rely on food banks to survive and wondered what could be done about it.

He was very kind and considerate to all he met, and an encouragement to others, always ready to share his knowledge of wildlife.

Since being diagnosed with Myeloma Peter remained active and positive until he finally succumbed to its various effects just before Easter this year. He is survived by his wife Mary, his sister Jean and brother-in-law Peter. Of the many tributes that have been received since the announcement of his death are, a congenial and engaging personality, a true gentleman, fair, considerate, intelligent and astute, and one final very apt comment - another good one gone. He will be missed and his family, friends and all who had the privilege of coming into contact with him, can say thank-you – you really were a ‘good egg’.