Richard Williamson: Family and friends pay their respects to much-loved nature expert at his funeral

On Saturday, June 18 Chichester Crematorium was filled with people who gathered to pay their respects to the former Observer columnist with many tributes, memories and warm words shared.

Mr Williamson died at his home on Saturday, May 21 surrounded by his wife Anne and children Brent and Bryony.

For 57 years, Richard, had been sharing his love of flora and fauna and his favourite walking routes with readers with his first column published in the Observer on December 4, 1964.Richard, who was born in Devon, moved to Chichester from Norfolk in September 1963 to work as the manager of Kingley Vale Nature Reserve – arriving on his BSA motorbike with a couple of tins of baked beans and £5.While Kingley Vale was his base, his role with The Nature Conservancy saw him work on reserves across the South Downs, including Castle Hill and Lullington Heath in East Sussex, until he retired, aged 60, in 1995.He started his weekly column for the Chichester Observer series and several of its sister titles aged 29 after pitching the idea to then editor Graham Brooks, and only stopped writing in April of this year due to illness.