Sir Anthony Milbank who passed away in 2016 was a lovely man whose family’s grouse moor is at Barningham on the North Yorkshire/Durham border. He started this project, a photographic record of the impressive wildlife of his grouse moor, and the book was completed by the family after his passing. The words are by Sir Anthony and they are good, and the photographs by David Williams are very fine indeed.
Sir Anthony was the first Chair of the Moorland Association at a time when it was much more highly respected than it is now, and that was very largely because we all knew Sir Anthony to be a real gentleman who was torn at times, it seemed, between his love of grouse shooting as a sport and his abhorrence of wildlife crime. Sir Anthony spent two periods on RSPB Council where he was much-liked and respected by staff and his fellow council members alike.
I remember a visit to Langholm with Sir Anthony which was great fun and we had a long, enjoyable, private and memorable chat in his car as we travelled away from there. And I’ve seen him a couple of times since leaving the RSPB, a chance encounter in the Tube in London and a quick friendly chat at the (last real) Game Fair in 2015. I have very fond memories of the man – but how about his book?
There is a wide variety of birds featured here; many of them are moorland species such as the two species of grouse one would expect, Ring Ousel and Short-eared Owl, but the variety of species is large with water birds such as Dipper and some ducks, farmland species such as Lapwing and a range of woodland species. Birds predominate but there are plenty of views, habitat shots and portraits of buildings and Sir Anthony himself.
Barningham was the home for almost a decade, from the mid-1990s, to a pair of Eagle Owls which raised over 20 owlets. The female was an escaped bird wearing the remains of jesses but the male was unringed and the possibility is raised here that it might be a bird of wild origin (which, personally, I find very unlikely). There are some fascinating images of the birds (by a variety of photographers) and their nesting habitat and the point is made that the birds majored on rabbits as their prey (as would be expected) and that no remains of Red Grouse were ever found in their nest (which must have been something of a relief to their hosts). Four of the ringed fledgling owls were recovered over the years (two in Scotland, one in Shropshire and the last nearer to home).
This is a lovely book – it is a coffee table book – and not a cheap one – but the production qualities are very high and it is a pleasure to hold, flick through and to read. It reminded me of my visits to this grouse moor but more than that it reminded me of a very engaging and charming man who is missed by many even if they have very differing views on the future of grouse shooting.
A Wild Life by Anthony Milbank is available from Lady Milbank and profits from sales will go to Marie Curie .
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I agree with you Mark, this is a lovely book by a lovely man whom, like you, I was privileged to know. And to have a phone conversation with him not long before his cancer claimed him. The cost of the book is indeed high, £75 if I remember correctly, but purchasers will have the double bonus of the book itself and knowling that they will have made a healthy donation to the Marie Curie Trust.
Barningham shows the standard of management all estates, whether primarily sporting or otherwise should aspire to.
As a private estate, with an emphasis on grouse production, it is all the more impressive, the key is having an owner with real interest in the wider world, and not just for PR reasons.
There is no earthly reason, that the National Trust cannot achieve a similar outcome in the Peak.
As others have already commented, Sir Anthony Milbank’s stewardship of his estate shows what our uplands could, and should, look like. This book should be required reading for those on all sides of this subject, including the Secretary of State and his team at DEFRA. But this comment makes it sound like reading it would be a chore, whereas the website extracts at http://www.calicoimages.co.uk/pdf/A_Wild_Life_Copyright.pdf show what a pleasure it will be.
My time on RSPB Council (2004-09) overlapped with Anthony’s second term and I was impressed that he always wanted to talk to anyone to glean ideas for management of his estate, even me with no practical experience of the subject. Best of all, I missed a Council members’ event at Barningham, for reasons that now escape me, and was thrilled that Anthony invited me for a private visit instead. This book will be a great memento, with the proceeds going to a good cause, and I have my cheque book at the ready.
I don’t regard Grouse shooting as a sport.
The pursuit, in its varied forms, of fur, feather, or fin, was termed “sport” long before the word was
Missappropriated, to describe “games” such as football.
Grouse shooting won’t go away soon no matter what you call it.
I think you are writing utter cold-blooded, game-shooting rubbish:
“game involving physical exercise, first record in 1520s”
sport (n.)
early 15c., “pleasant pastime,” shortening of disport “activity that offers amusement or relaxation; entertainment, fun” (c. 1300), also “a pastime or game; flirtation; pleasure taken in such activity” (late 14c.), from Anglo-French disport, Old French desport, deport “pleasure, enjoyment, delight; solace, consolation; favor, privilege,” related to desporter, deporter “to divert, amuse, please, play” (see sport (v.)).
Original sense preserved in phrases such as in sport “in jest” (mid-15c.). Meaning “game involving physical exercise” first recorded 1520s. Sense of “stylish man” is from 1861, American English, probably because they lived by gambling and betting on races. Meaning “good fellow” is attested from 1881 (as in be a sport, 1913). Sport as a familiar form of address to a man is from 1935, Australian English. The sport of kings was originally (1660s) war-making. Other, lost senses of Middle English disport were “consolation, solace; a source of comfort.”
sport (v.)
c. 1400, “to take pleasure, to amuse oneself,” from Old French desporter, deporter “to divert, amuse, please, play; to seek amusement,” literally “carry away” (the mind from serious matters), from des- “away” (see dis-) + porter “to carry,” from Latin portare “to carry” (from PIE root *per-(2) “to lead, pass over”). Restricted sense of “amuse oneself by active exercise in open air or taking part in some game” is from late 15c. Meaning “to wear” is from 1778. Related: Sported; sporting.
Very interesting Keith, I stand corrected, not for the first time.
I have given you a like, as it warmed my circulation no end.