Dr. Wilfred Edward Shewell-Cooper, M.B.E., N.D.H., F.L.S., F.R.S.L., F.R.H.S., Dip. Hort. (Wye) (1900 - 1982) was a British

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...

 organic gardener and pioneer of no dig gardening. He was the author of Soil, Humus and Health (1975) , The Royal Gardeners (1952), Grow your own food supply (1939), The ABC of Vegetable Gardening (1937) and many other books on gardening. He was the founder in 1966 of the Good Gardeners Association. For many years his gardens at Arkley

Arkley

Arkley is a village in the London Borough of Barnet. It is located north north-west of Charing Cross, and at above sea level is one of the highest points in London....

 Manor were open to the public so his no dig methods, symbolised by a robin resting on a spade handle, could be seen first hand.

Family

He married Irene, with whom he wrote a cookery book Cook what you grow (1940). He had two sons Ramsay and Jeremy. His son Ramsay continues to promote his no-dig gardening approach, and a demonstration plot may be seen at Capel Manor College in Enfield in conjunction with the Good Gardeners' Association as of 2008.

Childhood

He was born at Waltham Abbey, Essex

Waltham Abbey, Essex

Waltham Abbey is a market town of about 20,400 people in the south west of the county of Essex, in the East of England region. It is about 24 km north of London on the Greenwich Meridian and lies between the River Lea in the west and Epping Forest in the east. It takes its name from The Abbey...

 in 1900 where his father was a major in the Royal Artillery

Royal Artillery

The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery , is the artillery arm of the British Army. Despite its name, it comprises a number of regiments.-History:...

 and at the time the assistant superintendent of the gunpowder

Gunpowder

Gunpowder, also known since in the late 19th century as black powder, was the first chemical explosive and the only one known until the mid 1800s. It is a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate - with the sulfur and charcoal acting as fuels, while the saltpeter works as an oxidizer...

 factory there. Moving from there to Blackheath

Blackheath, London

Blackheath is a district of South London, England. It is named from the large open public grassland which separates it from Greenwich to the north and Lewisham to the west...

 then Penarth

Penarth

Penarth is a town and seaside resort in the Vale of Glamorgan , Wales, 5.2 miles south west from the city centre of the Welsh capital city of Cardiff and lying on the north shore of the Severn Estuary at the southern end of Cardiff Bay...

. Then before the outbreak of the first world war the family set sail on the Galaka for South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

 where they lived in Rondesbosch. While there he went to school at Diocesan College, Rondesbosch then to Monkton Combe School

Monkton Combe School

Monkton Combe School is an independent boarding and day school of the British public school tradition, near Bath, England. The Senior School is located in the village of Monkton Combe, while the Prep School, Pre-Prep and Nursery are in Combe Down on the southern outskirts of Bath...

 outside Bath in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

.

Arkley Manor

In 1960 he moved to Arkley Manor, as recommended by Sir John Laing, which was to be his home for the rest of his life.

Career

Over the course of his life, Shewell-Cooper held a number of positions, some of which are listed below:

• Fellow of the Horticultural Society of Vienna
• Director of The Horticultural Educational and Advisory Bureau
• Principal of the Horticultural Training Centre
• H. Superintendent of the Swnaley Horticultural College
• Horticultural advisor to the Warwickshire and Cheshire County Councils
• Garden editor of the B.B.C. North Region
• Command Horticultural Officer, S.E. and Eastern Commands 1940-48

See also

• Organic gardening