Eric Ennion
Encyclopedia
Dr. Eric Arnold Roberts Ennion (1900–1981) was a British
artist
, author
, illustrator
, and radio presenter, specialising in bird
s and other natural history
subjects.
Ennion was a founder member and Honorary Vice President of the Society of Wildlife Artists
.
Following education at Epsom College
and Caius College, Cambridge
and training at St Mary's Hospital, he worked for 20 years as a general practitioner
at a large country practice in Burwell
on the fen borders
of Cambridge
, where he had spent his childhood. A career change in 1945 saw him become warden at the Field Studies Council
's Flatford Mill Field Centre, and from 1950, founder and director of the Monks' House Bird Observatory in Northumberland
, which he wrote about in The House on the Shore.
His son, Hugh is also an accomplished artist.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
, author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, illustrator
Illustrator
An Illustrator is a narrative artist who specializes in enhancing writing by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text...
, and radio presenter, specialising in bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s and other natural history
Natural history
Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
subjects.
Ennion was a founder member and Honorary Vice President of the Society of Wildlife Artists
Society of Wildlife Artists
The Society of Wildlife Artists is a British organisation for artists who paint or draw wildlife, founded in 1964. Its founder President was Sir Peter Scott, the current President of the society is British artist Andrew Stock....
.
Following education at Epsom College
Epsom College
Epsom College is an independent co-educational public school in Epsom, Surrey, England, for pupils aged 13 to 18. Founded in 1853 to provide support for poor members of the medical profession such as pensioners and orphans , Epsom's long-standing association with medicine was estimated in 1980 as...
and Caius College, Cambridge
Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
Gonville and Caius College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college is often referred to simply as "Caius" , after its second founder, John Keys, who fashionably latinised the spelling of his name after studying in Italy.- Outline :Gonville and...
and training at St Mary's Hospital, he worked for 20 years as a general practitioner
General practitioner
A general practitioner is a medical practitioner who treats acute and chronic illnesses and provides preventive care and health education for all ages and both sexes. They have particular skills in treating people with multiple health issues and comorbidities...
at a large country practice in Burwell
Burwell, Cambridgeshire
Burwell is a large fen-edge village and civil parish in Cambridgeshire, England, about 10 miles north east of Cambridge. It is situated on the south-eastern edge of The Fens, a large area of relatively flat former marshland which lies close to sea level and covers the majority of Cambridgeshire...
on the fen borders
The Fens
The Fens, also known as the , are a naturally marshy region in eastern England. Most of the fens were drained several centuries ago, resulting in a flat, damp, low-lying agricultural region....
of Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
, where he had spent his childhood. A career change in 1945 saw him become warden at the Field Studies Council
Field Studies Council
The Field Studies Council is an educational charity based in the UK. It opened its first Field Centre in 1947 at Flatford Mill, and now operates 17 Field Centres in various locations in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland offering both residential and non-residential field courses...
's Flatford Mill Field Centre, and from 1950, founder and director of the Monks' House Bird Observatory in Northumberland
Northumberland
Northumberland is the northernmost ceremonial county and a unitary district in North East England. For Eurostat purposes Northumberland is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "Northumberland and Tyne and Wear" NUTS 2 region...
, which he wrote about in The House on the Shore.
His son, Hugh is also an accomplished artist.
Publications
- Adventurers Fen, Methuen (1942) ASIN B000X8EB86
- The British Bird Oxford University PressOxford University PressOxford University Press is the largest university press in the world. It is a department of the University of Oxford and is governed by a group of 15 academics appointed by the Vice-Chancellor known as the Delegates of the Press. They are headed by the Secretary to the Delegates, who serves as...
(1943) - The story of migration, G.G. Harrap (1947)
- Life on the Sea Shore, Oxford University Press (1948)
- East Anglia, Issue 6 of The new naturalist (1949)
- The Lapwing, Methuen (1949)
- Cambridgeshire Huntingdonshire and the Isle of Ely, Robert Hale (1951)
- Field Study Books, (1952)
- Ornithological report for Northumberland and Durham for 1956, Natural History Society of Northumberland, Durham and Newcastle upon Tyne (1957)
- Bird study in a garden: a book for bird watchers, Penguin (1958)
- The House on the Shore: The Story of Monks' House Bird Observatory, Routledge and Kegan PaulRoutledgeRoutledge is a British publishing house which has operated under a succession of company names and latterly as an academic imprint. Its origins may be traced back to the 19th-century London bookseller George Routledge...
(1960) - Birdwatching, Pelham (1963)
- Tracks, Clarendon (1967)
- The Clue Book BIRDS Oxford University Press (1968 - reprinted with corrections 1970, 1973)
- Birds and Seasons (introduction by Bob Walthew) Arlequin Press (1994) ISBN 0-9522019-2-5
- The Living Birds of Eric Ennion ( Victor Gollancz Ltd, London 1982 ISBN 0-575-03157-3
Biography
- Eric Ennion: A Life of Birds by Bob Walthew; introduction by Robert GillmorRobert GillmorRobert Gillmor is an ornithologist, artist, illustrator, author and editor, from England. He is a founder member of the Society of Wildlife Artists and has been its Secretary, Chairman and President...
, The Wildlife Art Gallery (2003) ISBN 0-9526236-5-X