-
Maxwell Knight the Amateur Naturalist – Remembering a Lecture by Prof. John E. Cooper
Introduction In a compelling lecture at the Maxwell Knight Commemorative Symposium, Professor John E. Cooper delved into the captivating world of Maxwell Knight, known to many as a WW2 MI5 spymaster and agent handler, but equally significant (especially to John Cooper) as a pioneering amateur naturalist. Held on 24th November 2018 at Birkbeck College, London,…
-
Report on Cooper visit to Kenya, March-April 2023
Introduction We flew back from Kenya, East Africa, on Tuesday 18th April after a seventeen-day visit together, Kenya is, of course, our “nyumba ya pili” (second home), in which our children were born in the 1970s and where we have spent happy years together. We had a very good time and were able to catch…
-
VISIT TO KENYA, September-October 2022
By John E Cooper 12th October 2022 I returned on Friday, 8th October from my visit to Kenya. Margaret and I were last in East Africa two-and-a-half years’ ago, just before the SARS- CoV- 2 (“Covid-19”) pandemic and lockdown. For much of my “safari” in Kenya I was accompanied by our friend and colleague Professor Charles…
-
Norfolk Nature Notes, May 2021
By John and Margaret Cooper It is May and spring is progressing apace here in West Norfolk. During the past week we have had periods of sunshine, alternating with light rain. John goes out most days on his bike. On the local lake (Figure 1) there are currently young geese, greylag and Canada, with their…
-
THE NAR VALLEY IN NORFOLK – A FOOT SAFARI DURING THE COVID LOCKDOWN Part 2.
Written by John and Margaret Cooper: Pentney to King’s Lynn walk 13 – 15 July 2020. A report on our walk – and the natural history that we saw – for the FFON Armchair Naturalist website: https://thefrightenedfaceofnature.com/ In Part 1 of this saga of our Nar Valley adventure, published in FFON on 1st September…
-
Podcast episode 7 – An Anniversary (Maxwell Knight’s) and an Armchair Assessment.
Simon, John and Margaret’s theme for today’s podcast is “An Anniversary and An Armchair Assessment” and marked the fact that the 9th of July (when the podcast was recorded), is the date of birth of Maxwell Knight whom the FFON Maxwell Knight website is named. John and Margaret – who knew Maxwell Knight – share…
-
“Where have all the flowers gone?”
By John and Margaret Cooper. On Monday 23rd March 2020, nine weeks ago, we started to “self-isolate” as over 70s in our tiny cottage in Norfolk. During our lockdown we have taken most of our government-sanctioned daily exercise by strolling down a nearby narrow country lane. We have used these walks to observe plants and…
-
Podcast episode 4 – ‘Don’t keep your natural history to yourself’
Simon, John and Margaret’s theme for today’s podcast is “Records and Rapport”. But first, they share messages from a variety of places including India, the Caribbean, Scotland and a safari company based in East Africa. Recorded Wednesday 6th May at 19.00. Podcast edited by Edward King. Episode show notes: Since recording the podcast, The Map’s…
-
“It’s been an exciting week for us two Norfolk Armchair Naturalists”
Written by John and Margaret Cooper. Easter, but it doesn’t feel like it because of the personal, national and global concern about Covid-19 and growing number of deaths. However, as the Queen said in her Easter message “Easter isn’t cancelled; indeed, we need Easter as much as ever”. This morning, as we are doing everyday…
-
Do you have a question for the first ‘Armchair Naturalists’ podcast?
We’re recording our first podcast session tomorrow (Tuesday 7th April) evening – if you have a question to put to the FFON /ARMNAT team, please email it to thefrightenedfaceofnature@gmail.com and we’ll try to answer it. Thanks for caring.
-
All aboard the Madaraka Express – Kenya with the Coopers
John and Margaret Cooper are currently in Kenya. Here is an account of their experience of catching Kenya’s “Chinese Train” the modern replacement of the British narrow-guage railway (of man-eating lions fame) built at the turn of the 19th century, in its day a memorable, well-recorded experience in itself. The only certainty in life is…
-
FFON Co-founder, John Cooper presented with the BFC Silver Falcon Award
FFON co-founders, John and Margaret Cooper recently attended the BFC (British Falconers’ Club) meeting in Hungerford, held at “The Bear Hotel”. At the dinner in the evening John was presented with the BFC Silver Falcon Award for his work on the diseases and veterinary care of raptors over many decades. John was first introduced to the world…
-
Maxwell Knight Symposium coverage in the IAT Bulletin
Thanks for the generous coverage of the MaxwellKnight Symposium in the IAT Bulletin.
-
John and Margaret Cooper would like to express their personal thanks to Simon King
“Our friend Simon King has been a constant source of encouragement and support in the recent investigations into the life and work of Maxwell Knight (MK). Simon offered to take, temporarily to store, and then to catalogue, the contents of Maxwell Knight’s filing cabinet. This was an enormous undertaking; the undertaking was greatly expedited by the enthusiastic…
-
Maxwell Knight Symposium 2018 video invitation from Prof. John E. Cooper.
MAXWELL KNIGHT SYMPOSIUM 2018 THE BRITISH HERPETOLOGICAL SOCIETY (BHS) COMMEMORATIVE SYMPOSIUM London, Saturday 24th November 2018. Birkbeck College, 43 Gordon Square (“School of Arts’ annex”), London WC1H 0PD Organised by the British Herpetological Society (BHS), with support from the British Chelonia Group (BCG), the Amateur Entomologists Society (AES), the Institute of Animal Technology (IAT), The Frightened…
-
“The mysterious Mr Knight: spymaster to be celebrated.” – Cage & Aviary Birds magazine July 18.
Thanks, Cage & Aviary Birds for the article “The Mysterious Mr Knight: spymaster to be celebrated” in this week’s publication. Registration for the Maxwell Knight Symposium is via The British Herpetological Society website Organised by the British Herpetological Society (BHS), with support from the British Chelonia Group (BCG), the Amateur Entomologists Society (AES), the Institute…
-
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…
-
Maxwell Knight and snake skins – a new approach to an old challenge
A Letter to The Editor The Herpetological Bulletin 18th June 2017 Dear Sir I was interested to read the Short Note “Lamination as a method of preserving sloughs” by Steven JR Allain and Mark J Goodman (The Herpetological Bulletin (2016) 138, 29-30). The technique they describe would appear to be an excellent approach to the…
-
Conservation challenges in Kenya
On a recent busy visit to Kenya, John and Margaret Cooper visited a number of locations where there is competition for land and where wildlife – and local people – may suffer as an outcome. One of these was particularly noteworthy. This was a short, 48-hour, trip to Maasailand, a few kilometres outside Kajiado, where…
-
Book update: A day’s research in London
John and Margaret Cooper joined Simon King to visit The Linnean Society (Piccadilly) and peruse their Maxwell Knight archive. Then, on to the Natural History Museum (South Kensington) to see The Maxwell Knight Library. In the evening, returning back to The Linnean Society for Founder’s Day. Thanks to everyone who helped make the day productive…
-
Gorilla Pathology and Health, 1st Edition
John E Cooper is a member of a husband and wife team, from the United Kingdom. He and his wife Margaret (a lawyer, who is a contributor to this book and the forthcoming natural history book about Maxwell Knight) travel widely and lecture together in many countries. They have spent nearly twenty years living overseas,…
