Interview with John Cooper (2010) reveals the source of his clinical diagnosis skills to be Major Maxwell Knight, Britain’s greatest MI5 spymaster and the original ‘Nature Detective’

Q: Who has been the most inspiring influence on your professional career?

A: THE BBC NATURALIST AND BROADCASTER, MAJOR MAXWELL KNIGHT, WHO – THROUGH HIS WRITINGS AND PERSONAL TUITION – HELPED ME TO APPRECIATE THE NATURAL WORLD AND TAUGHT ME THAT BEING AN OBSERVANT “NATURE DETECTIVE” COULD ASSIST IN CLINICAL DIAGNOSIS AND WAS THE FOUNDATION OF FORENSIC INVESTIGATION.

Acknowledgements: John Bonner and the BSAVA