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The Spy Who Loved Nature: Maxwell Knight’s Legacy Beyond MI5
Inspired by Simon King’s talk at The Maxwell Knight symposium. In the clandestine corridors of MI5, Maxwell Knight, the original ‘M’, was a living legend. His secret intelligence service prowess during the inter-war years and WWII is well-documented, with a flair for counter-subversion that helped infiltrate the British fascist movement and prevent Nazi sympathiser espionage…
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How Ocean Pollution Affects Humans: “The Devil in the deep blue sea”
“Oceans are fundamental to the health of our planet – the very lifeblood of Earth’s ecosystem. To survive and prosper, mankind needs a harmonious relationship with our planet’s oceans.”
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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…
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“The hand lens should be a weapon of mass education…every child under 10 should have one.” Dr George McGavin, 2017 Verrall Lecture
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Antarctica: “Iceberg twice size of Luxembourg breaks off Antarctic ice shelf”, reports The Guardian
You can read The Guardian’s article here.
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“Earth undergoing sixth ‘mass extinction’ as humans spur ‘biological annihilation’ of wildlife” reports The Telegraph
Read the full article here.
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EARTH DAY EVENT ENCOURAGES YOUNG NATURALISTS
Earth Day is an annual event, held to demonstrate support for environmental protection. It is marked by events in more than 193 countries, co-ordinated by the Earth Day Network. Earth Day was celebrated this year in many parts of Britain, including King’s Lynn in Norfolk, where, on Saturday 22nd April, a stall and display by…
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A day with Bill Oddie
It was a pleasure to spend the day with broadcasting legend Bill Oddie, to discuss natural history, the state of Britain’s nature, and film an Ask Bill Oddie session for wildlife specialists, Haith’s. Simon H King and (of course) Bill Oddie
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Buy “M: Maxwell Knight, MI5’s Greatest Spymaster by Henry Hemming”
Buy M: Maxwell Knight, MI5’s Greatest Spymaster on Amazon Read Henry Hemming’s account of Maxwell Knight’s life as Britain’s greatest spy and far-sighted, influential naturalist of his day: ‘Fascinating… Hemming has done a superb job’ – Ben Macintyre, The Times, Book of the Week “Maxwell Knight was a paradox. A jazz obsessive and nature enthusiast (he is…
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A lovely piece in this week’s Cage & Aviary Birds from David Alderton about passing on what we know to the next generation…
“David Alderton, MA (Cantab.) grew up in a home surrounded by pets and originally trained to be a vet until an allergic dermatitis forced a change of career in his final year of study. Since then, David has used his experience, knowledge and passion for the subject to concentrate on writing about animals and the…
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Maxwell Knight’s cabinet gets a mention on the Chris Evans Breakfast Show
Tune into the BBC iPlayer and fast forward to 2:44:42 to hear Maxwell Knight’s filing cabinet mentioned in today’s BBC Two World Book Day show…
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The Vanishing: Europe’s farmland birds
The Head of Conservation for BirdLife Europe & Central Asia explains how intensive agriculture has made farmland birds one of the most threatened bird groups in Europe: ‘Once upon a time, they were all around us,’ laments Iván Ramírez – ‘sights and sounds as familiar as the dusky skies their flocks danced in or the…
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Simon King talks about feeding the birds on BBC Radio Humberside
Representing Haith’s (as an Associate Director) Simon King discusses the merits of feeding wild birds this winter… Tune into the BBC iPlayer to hear the piece… or click here to open the iPlayer in a new window…
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The Maxwell Knight Memorial Fund (1968) A Letter To The Editor…
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The World Is Not Enough According To WWF’s Living Planet Report 2016 (in fact, we require the ‘biocapacity equivalent of 1.6 Earths’)
There’s a real-life international power struggle and the antagonist is man ‘demanding more from the planet than it can renew,’ reports WWF in the Living Planet Report 2016 ‘Since the early 1970s, humanity has been demanding more from the planet than it can renew (see below). By 2012,’ writes WWF in the Living Planet Report…
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Did you know Maxwell Knight?
Did you know Maxwell Knight? #Nature #Conservation #BBCNaturalHistory #MI5 @NHM_London @wwf_uk @ZSLconservation https://t.co/gmvWcj9BjY pic.twitter.com/3hNBWLo5oc — Simon King (@SimonHKing) October 14, 2016 //platform.twitter.com/widgets.js If you knew Maxwell Knight or have been influenced by him please share your story with us (it will not appear on this blog (or in the book) without your approval).
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Are butterflies slipping through our fingers?
The results for this year’s Big Butterfly Count are in and conservationists are already ‘scratching their heads,’ reports Butterfly Conservation. Over 38,000 counts were apparently completed and an almost unbelievable 396,138 butterflies were counted and – despite favourable weather conditions – 2016 will be a year where ‘common species saw their numbers collapse over summer.’ ‘Gatekeeper, Comma and…
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The State of Nature 2016: One in 10 UK wildlife species faces extinction
Over 50 wildlife organisations have compiled a stock take (The State of Nature Report) of all our native wildlife and it reveals that more than one in ten of all the species assessed are under threat of disappearing from our shores altogether. In Scotland, one in every 11 species assessed is at risk of becoming…
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Education: “It is the uninitiated that matter…
…They are the majority, and until more of them are made conservation conscious all or efforts will be wasted.” – Maxwell Knight (The Frightened Face of Nature – unpublished – Chapter XV). “Laws, rules and regulations will not themselves solve the problems of the future of wildlife,” wrote Knight in 1964 “It is only by education…
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Closed for Business: The Department of Energy and Climate Change #DECC #ClimateChange Find out why…
What does it say to the world when we (seemingly) downgrade our action on climate change? It says that we’re under stress as a country, and things are happening that we can’t control; uncertainty is piping its way through our veins. And in these conditions – when our backs are against the wall – we…
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So what sort of person was the real-life “M”?
To answer that question, we need to better understand the contrast between Maxwell Knight’s (recently publicised) life as one of Britain’s most talented World War II spymaster’s – the original ‘M’ – and that of an early (largely unpublicised) environmentalist. Clearly he was an incredibly gifted man who had a sixth sense for identifying and…
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How to Keep a Gorilla
On the 30th May 1967, Wolfe Publishing posted a book contract to Maxwell Knight to confirm terms for the fairly tongue-in-cheek “How to Keep a Gorilla.” The publisher wanted “something quite simple” – they wanted him to duplicate his previous book “How to Keep an Elephant” and they agreed to pay him the same terms. Inside the…
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Desert Island Discs: Roy Plomley’s castaway is naturalist Maxwell Knight
On Monday 28 June 1965 at 13:10 on the BBC Home Service, Maxwell Knight was Roy Plomley’s castaway on Desert Island Discs and his favourite track was The Waiter, the Porter and the Upstairs Maid by Bing Crosby & Mary Martin. His favourite book: The Cambridge Natural History Luxury: Microscope Unfortunately, this episode is not currently available on BBC…
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What’s a “cuckoo nest plot?”
It’s been a bad week for Boris Johnson; brought to his knees by a “cuckoo nest plot” reports The Telegraph. The Cuckoo, however, has its own problems as its population is in freefall: “since the early 1980s Cuckoo numbers have dropped by 65%,” says the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) and “the reason for this…
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Spies and Snakes – A Charming Story
Maxwell Knight was an adventurous and insatiably curious field naturalist (and MI5 agent-runner). “Naturalists, to be any use at all, must be curious above almost anything else,” he’d say. “They must ever be asking: Why? How? When? Where?” His curiosity would often lead him to conduct experiments to look at some of the unsolved myths…
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Wondering How To Learn Maxwell Knight’s (Nature) Detection Skills? Read This!
Not all ‘clues’ will at once tell you what you want to know At times, several clues will have to be put together – be patient Take notes – make it a habit – what did you see or hear? Don’t rely on your memory as it will let you down When in doubt, consult…
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“I may not be able to draw, but I can sew!”
As a boy scout, Maxwell Knight was influenced by Robert Baden-Powell’s teachings, which insisted that the study of living things was one of the single most important features of everyday scout life. He was trained to be highly observant and the foundations of a great amateur-naturalist were firmly established. He learned with varying degrees of…
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WORKING WITH INTELLIGENCE
“Intelligence is MI5’s currency,” according to mi5.gov.uk – “Collecting and analysing covert intelligence is at the centre of what MI5 does, and roles in these areas are critical to our mission of keeping the country safe.” Much has changed since Maxwell Knight’s (M’s) time; however, if he was still with us today, I’m sure he’d agree…
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Keep nature on the Agenda – post Brexit
“We can only hope that any future government will be continually alert and that the warnings of many top scientists about the necessity for full and extensive tests on any form of pesticide, or spray, for dealing with plants will be heeded.” – Maxwell Knight (The Frightened Face of Nature – 1964). Post Brexit, we must…
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What makes a good Field Naturalist?
“A good naturalist must be healthy, alert and tough,” writes Maxwell Knight in The Frightened Face of Nature (unpublished). “Think of some of our own naturalists today (1964): Field Marshal Lord Alanbrooke, Eric Hosking and Peter Scott. Remember that those who are inclined to make fun of naturalists are usually those who by jeering are trying…
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“Be a Nature Detective”
I have in front of me a “withdrawn” library book written by Maxwell Knight entitled “Be a Nature Detective” (Frederick Warne & Co 1968). On 24 June 1968 – some five months after the author of the book died – the book was borrowed from Derbyshire County Library for the very first time. I…
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Feeding our animals in 2066 – a perspective on future challenges for Zoos & Aquariums
John Cooper, Simon King and Andy Beer (nutritionist – RZSS) were guest speakers at the BIAZA Conference and 50th Anniversary celebrations 6th – 8th June Marwell Wildlife Abstract: The presentation gives a wide-ranging review of the issues and challenges that are emerging or could emerge as considerations impacting upon how and where the constituents…
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A new generation of Nature Detectives
John Cooper first heard Maxwell Knight’s iconic broadcasts as a child because his family listened to Nature Parliament in the afternoons, at ten past one on the Home Service. After the News, it would either be Country Questions or The Naturalist, which was introduced by three curlew calls. After attending several of Knight’s talks, in…
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Nature: friend or foe?
“Many people think that animals of all kinds can be neatly put into groups and labelled Friend, or Foe; or Harmless, or Harmful. Unfortunately, nature does not work like this, and there are very few creatures in this country that can be described as wholly beneficial or equally destructive… This business of friends and foes…
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Maxwell Knight – the spy-runner who loved nature
Maxwell Knight was the original “M”, a spy-runner who, with the help of young case officers, was responsible for counter-subversion and managed successfully to penetrate the British fascist movement. He was undeniably MI5’s most gifted agent-runner, and his sixth sense for enlisting would-be talented agents lead to him recruiting Joan Miller from within MI5 to…
