Fred J Speakman

Last updated September 04, 2024

Fred J Speakman (born in Essex) was an English naturalist and author. He was one of Britain's best known naturalist-authors in the 1960s.^[1]

Life

Speakman grew up and lived in Epping Forest and became a teacher at Woodside School, Walthamstow.^[2] He spent his later years running a field centre at Roserville, High Beach between 1959 and 1979. A well known popular writer of illustrated guides to the English forests, in the mid 1950s with the support of Walthamstow's Education Office he began to convert Jubilee Retreat, Chingford into a classroom able to take 20 pupils for day visits to the forest.

In 1959 he acquired Roserville, High Beach and converted it into a nature study centre. The borough became a pioneer in childhood environmental education, sending primary school children who often lived in working class urban areas on fortnightly visits to be taught by Speakman at Roserville and Ernie Douse and later Ken Hoy at the Jubilee Retreat.^[3] As demand for trips to the forest increased, the new London Borough of Waltham Forest purchased the Suntrap Centre in 1967, sending all final year primary classes to make eight visits a year to the centre.

After retiring he went on to live in Barbados with his second wife Kit and died there in 1982.^[4]

Bibliography

Speakman, Fred J. (1954). Tracks, Trails, and Signs. London: G Bell & Sons. p. 154. ISBN 0-7135-0965-1. OCLC 9035097.
Speakman, Fred J. (1958). The Young Naturalist's Year. p. 176. OCLC 30218864.
Curtis, A T; Fred J Speakman (1960). A Poacher's Tale. London: G Bell & Sons. p. 200. ISBN 0-7135-0969-4. OCLC 271678045.
Speakman, Fred J. (1962). A Keeper's Tale. London: G Bell & Sons. p. 163. ISBN 0-85115-224-4. OCLC 60048994.
Speakman, Fred J. (1965). A Forest By Night. London: G Bell & Sons. p. 193. OCLC 8019187.
Speakman, Fred J. (1967). Out of the Wild. London: HarperCollins. p. 163. ISBN 978-0-7135-0965-6.
Speakman, Fred J. (1972). Torty of Woodend. London: G Bell & Sons. p. 94. ISBN 978-0-7135-1731-6. OCLC 16199379.

Related Research Articles

Chingford is a suburban town in east London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. The centre of Chingford is 9.2 miles (14.8 km) north-east of Charing Cross, with Waltham Abbey to the north, Woodford Green and Buckhurst Hill to the east, Walthamstow to the south, and Edmonton and Enfield to the west. It had a population of 70,583 at the 2021 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leyton</span> Town in east London, England

Leyton is a town in East London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It borders Walthamstow to the north, Leytonstone to the east, and Stratford to the south, with Clapton, Hackney Wick and Homerton, across the River Lea, to the west. The area includes New Spitalfields Market, Leyton Orient Football Club, as well as part of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. The town consists largely of terraced houses built between 1870 and 1910, interspersed with some modern housing estates. It is 6.2 miles (10 km) north-east of Charing Cross.

Walthamstow is a town within the London Borough of Waltham Forest in East London. The town borders Chingford to the north, Snaresbrook and South Woodford to the east, Leyton and Leytonstone to the south, and Tottenham to the west. At the 2011 census, Walthamstow had a population of approximately 109,424 and is around 7.5 miles (12 km) north-east of Central London.

The London Borough of Waltham Forest is an outer London borough formed in 1965 from the merger of the municipal boroughs of Leyton, Walthamstow and Chingford.

Epping Forest is a 2,400-hectare (5,900-acre) area of ancient woodland, and other established habitats, which straddles the border between Greater London and Essex. The main body of the forest stretches from Epping in the north, to Chingford on the edge of the London built-up area. South of Chingford the forest narrows, and forms a green corridor that extends deep into east London, as far as Forest Gate; the forest's position gives rise to its nickname, the Cockney Paradise. It is the largest forest in London.

Sewardstone is a hamlet in the parish of Waltham Abbey, in the Epping Forest District of Essex, England. It is located south of the main built-up area of Waltham Abbey, lying between Epping Forest, Chingford and Enfield. It is 11.6 miles north-northeast of Central London and is in the London commuter belt.

East London is the northeastern part of Greater London, England, east of the ancient City of London and north of the River Thames as it begins to widen. Containing areas in the historic counties of Middlesex and Essex, East London developed as London's docklands and the primary industrial centre. The expansion of railways in the 19th century encouraged the eastward expansion of the East End of London and a proliferation of new suburbs. The industrial lands of East London are today an area of regeneration, which are well advanced in places such as Canary Wharf and ongoing elsewhere.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walthamstow (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1974 onwards

Walthamstow is a constituency in Greater London created in 1974 and represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Stella Creasy, a member of the Labour and Co-operative Party, in political union with the Labour Party.

Highams Park is a district in the London Borough of Waltham Forest, England, near Epping Forest and 8.1 miles (13 km) north-east of Charing Cross.

Chingford was a local government district in south west Essex, England from 1894 to 1965, around the town of Chingford. It was within the London suburbs, forming part of the London postal district and Metropolitan Police District. Its former area now corresponds to the northern part of the London Borough of Waltham Forest in Greater London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walthamstow Marshes</span> Marsh in London, England, UK

Walthamstow Marshes, is a 36.7-hectare (91-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Walthamstow in the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It was once an area of lammas land – common land used for growing crops and grazing cattle.

Epping was a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament from 1885 to 1974. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.

Whipps Cross is an area of the districts of Leytonstone and Walthamstow in the London Borough of Waltham Forest in London, England. It is most famous for Whipps Cross University Hospital.

Waltham Forest London Borough Council, also known as Waltham Forest Council, is the local authority for the London Borough of Waltham Forest in London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in London. The council has been under Labour majority control since 2010. The council is based at Waltham Forest Town Hall in Walthamstow.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Courtenay Warner</span> British politician

Colonel Sir Thomas Courtenay Theydon Warner, 1st Baronet was a British politician, who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for North Somerset from 1892 to 1895, and for Lichfield from 1896 to 1923.

Waltham Forest Guardian now known as Your Local Guardian, is a weekly local newspaper sold every Thursday in the London boroughs of Waltham Forest and Redbridge.

High Beach is a village inside Epping Forest in south-west Essex, England. Part of the civil parish of Waltham Abbey, the village is within the Epping Forest District and the ward of Waltham Abbey High Beach, and lies approximately 11 miles (18 km) north-east of Charing Cross.

Waltham Forest Town Hall is a municipal building located in Walthamstow, East London. The town hall, which is the headquarters of Waltham Forest London Borough Council, is a Grade II Listed Building.

F. G. Southgate, ARIBA, was the borough architect, engineer and surveyor, for the Municipal Borough of Walthamstow, in Essex, England, in the post-Second World War period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Highams Estate</span> Housing estate in east London

The Highams Estate is a housing estate in Waltham Forest in East London, near to Hale End and Woodford Green. The area was developed by Thomas Courtenay Warner, within the grounds of the former Highams Manor House in the 1930s.

References

↑ British Council; National Book League; National Book Council (1965). British book news. London: British Council.
↑ Suntrap history Archived 2009-03-26 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 20 March. 2009
↑ "Waltham Forest environmental education centres" . Retrieved 27 November 2013.
↑ Friends of Epping Forest p7 Retrieved 30 May 2013

External links

Photo of Speakman

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] British Council; National Book League; National Book Council (1965). British book news. London: British Council.

[2] Suntrap history Archived 2009-03-26 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 20 March. 2009

[3] "Waltham Forest environmental education centres" . Retrieved 27 November 2013.

[4] Friends of Epping Forest p7 Retrieved 30 May 2013

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]