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Biography

Gerald Durrell OBE is Notable.

Gerald Durrell OBE is an English Author.

Gerald Malcolm Durrell (1925-1995) was the youngest son of Lawrence Samuel Durrell, an engineer and Louisa Francis Dixie. He was born in Jamshedpur, Bengal, British India and was of Anglo-Irish descent. ^[1]

In 1928, the family moved to Upper Norwood, London, England. His father died shortly afterwards, and his widow took the children and moved to Corfu in 1935 to join Gerald's brother, Lawrence (Larry).

Gerald was home-schooled by several tutors, including Theodore Stephanides, who became a family friend. ^[2] He moved back to England at the beginning of World War II and was 'called up' in 1943, but was exempted on medical grounds. He began work at Whipsnade Zoo, then left three years later to join wildlife expeditions in Cameroon and British Guiana.

He married in 1951, and at first lived in his sister Margo's boarding house in Bournemouth, Dorset, England. When he returned from one of his expeditions, he had to keep the animals in Margo's garden and garage.

Gerald founded the Jersey Zoo (Channel Islands) in 1959 in a 17th century manor house and grounds. This was followed in 1963 by the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust and in 1971 the Wildlife Preservation Trust International in the United States. In 1972 the World Conference on Breeding Endangered Species in Captivity as an Aid to their Survival was started by the Fauna and Flora Preservation Society, with its patron as Princess Anne. He was awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1982. ^[3]

Gerald Durrell had several health issues, including arthritis and liver problems. He died of septicaemia aged 70 on 30th of January 1995 in the General Hospital, Jersey, Channel Islands. His ashes are buried in the grounds of Jersey Zoo. ^[4]

Bibliography

For complete bibliography, please see freespace page

• Novels
  • My Family and Other Animals (Rupert Hart-Davis, 1956)
  • Encounters with Animals (Rupert Hart-Davis, 1958)
  • A Zoo in My Luggage (Rupert Hart-Davis, 1960)
  • The Whispering Land (Rupert Hart-Davis, 1961)
  • Menagerie Manor (Rupert Hart-Davis, 1964)
  • Two in the Bush (Collins, 1966)
  • Birds, Beasts, and Relatives (Collins, 1969)
  • Fillets of Plaice (Collins, 1971)
  • Catch Me a Colobus (Collins, 1972)
  • Beasts in My Belfry (A Bevy of Beasts) (Collins, 1973)
  • The Garden of the Gods (Fauna and Family) (Collins, 1978)
  • The Picnic And Suchlike Pandemonium (The Picnic and Other Inimitable Stories) (Collins, 1979) (with some fictional short stories)

Sources

1. ↑ "Chapter One of Gerald Durrell: The Authorized Biography By Douglas Botting". New York Times. 12 December 1999. Archived from the original on 28 March 2014.
2. ↑ Theodore Stephanides, Island Trails, Introduction by Gerald Durrell (London: Macdonald, 1973)
3. ↑ OBE: London Gazette
4. ↑ Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/11644359/gerald-durrell : accessed 14 May 2019), memorial page for Gerald Durrell (7 Jan 1925–30 Jan 1995), Find A Grave Memorial no. 11644359, citing Jersey Zoological Park Grounds, Trinity, Jersey ; Maintained by Find A Grave .

See Also:

• The Peerage.com (M, #431816)
• Wikipedia:Gerald_Durrell