Lawrence D Hills
Encyclopedia
Lawrence D. Hills was a British
horticulturalist, journalist, and writer, founder of the Henry Doubleday Research Association (HDRA) Bocking, near Braintree, Essex in 1954, now Garden Organic
. By the time he retired in 1986, HDRA was the largest body of organic gardeners in the world and had moved to Ryton-on-Dunsmore, near Coventry.
Whilst researching a book called Russian Comfrey Comfrey
, Hills discovered that this common plant was introduced in the nineteenth century by Henry Doubleday (1810–1902) a Quaker smallholder who was so intrigued by its possibilities that he devoted the rest of his life to popularising it. Hills took up this crusade, finally naming his fledgling society in Doubleday's memory.
Hills suffered from coeliac disease
, which left him in a wheelchair until introduced to a wheat-free diet by Hilda Cherry Hills (d. 1989), a fellow author and noted nutritionist
who became his wife. They had no children, but he once said he considered 'the ever-increasing membership of the Henry Doubleday Research Association is family enough for anyone'.
He started his long career in practical horticulture when he was sixteen and wrote his first book mainly in RAF hospitals before being invalided out on D-Day. He was one of Britain's best-known writers on organic gardening. Gardening correspondent of the Observer for eight years, then of Punch and The Countryman. He was Associate Editor of the Ecologist and Compost Science (USA).
His many publications included Fertility Without Fertilisers, Down to Earth Gardening, and Organic Gardening but he was best known for Grow Your Own Fruit and Vegetables published by Faber & Faber in 1971. It rapidly became a bible for gardeners, self-sufficiency enthusiasts and commercial organic growers. His autobiography was Fighting Like the Flowers (1989).
In 1973, his concern about a piece of European Union legislation outlawing historic varieties of vegetables, would lead to massive loss of genetic bio-diversity led to the setting up of HDRA’s vegetable seed library. Persistent lobbying of government eventually resulted in the world’s first vegetable gene bank where seed was deep frozen and stored forever.
Lawrence D Hills appeared on television, lectured and broadcast on the radio in Great Britain, the USA, South Africa, Belgium, France, Australia and New Zealand. HDRA hosted the 1987 television series on organic gardening All Muck and Magic which became so popular that it was one of Channel 4's top five programmes, attracting 3.5 million viewers a week.
Lawrence Hills died in 1991 but was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Coventry University
the same year.
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...
horticulturalist, journalist, and writer, founder of the Henry Doubleday Research Association (HDRA) Bocking, near Braintree, Essex in 1954, now Garden Organic
Garden Organic
Garden Organic, formerly known as the Henry Doubleday Research Association , is the UK's leading organic growing charity dedicated to researching and promoting organic gardening, farming and food.-History:...
. By the time he retired in 1986, HDRA was the largest body of organic gardeners in the world and had moved to Ryton-on-Dunsmore, near Coventry.
Whilst researching a book called Russian Comfrey Comfrey
Comfrey
Comfrey is an important herb in organic gardening. It is used as a fertilizer and also has many purported medicinal uses...
, Hills discovered that this common plant was introduced in the nineteenth century by Henry Doubleday (1810–1902) a Quaker smallholder who was so intrigued by its possibilities that he devoted the rest of his life to popularising it. Hills took up this crusade, finally naming his fledgling society in Doubleday's memory.
Hills suffered from coeliac disease
Coeliac disease
Coeliac disease , is an autoimmune disorder of the small intestine that occurs in genetically predisposed people of all ages from middle infancy onward...
, which left him in a wheelchair until introduced to a wheat-free diet by Hilda Cherry Hills (d. 1989), a fellow author and noted nutritionist
Nutritionist
A nutritionist is a person who advises on matters of food and nutrition impacts on health. Different professional terms are used in different countries, employment settings and contexts — some examples include: nutrition scientist, public health nutritionist, dietitian-nutritionist, clinical...
who became his wife. They had no children, but he once said he considered 'the ever-increasing membership of the Henry Doubleday Research Association is family enough for anyone'.
He started his long career in practical horticulture when he was sixteen and wrote his first book mainly in RAF hospitals before being invalided out on D-Day. He was one of Britain's best-known writers on organic gardening. Gardening correspondent of the Observer for eight years, then of Punch and The Countryman. He was Associate Editor of the Ecologist and Compost Science (USA).
His many publications included Fertility Without Fertilisers, Down to Earth Gardening, and Organic Gardening but he was best known for Grow Your Own Fruit and Vegetables published by Faber & Faber in 1971. It rapidly became a bible for gardeners, self-sufficiency enthusiasts and commercial organic growers. His autobiography was Fighting Like the Flowers (1989).
In 1973, his concern about a piece of European Union legislation outlawing historic varieties of vegetables, would lead to massive loss of genetic bio-diversity led to the setting up of HDRA’s vegetable seed library. Persistent lobbying of government eventually resulted in the world’s first vegetable gene bank where seed was deep frozen and stored forever.
Lawrence D Hills appeared on television, lectured and broadcast on the radio in Great Britain, the USA, South Africa, Belgium, France, Australia and New Zealand. HDRA hosted the 1987 television series on organic gardening All Muck and Magic which became so popular that it was one of Channel 4's top five programmes, attracting 3.5 million viewers a week.
Lawrence Hills died in 1991 but was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Coventry University
Coventry University
Coventry University is a post-1992 university in Coventry, West Midlands, England. Under the terms of the Further and Higher Education Act of 1992, the institution's name was changed from Coventry Polytechnic to Coventry University...
the same year.