Tribute to nature expert and writer Richard Williamson

Peter Hughes, ecologist at the Chichester Harbour Conservancy, said Richard was hugely influential to the protection of our local wildlife and that his legacy is long-lasting.

He said: “Richard was a hugely influential character in the protection of Chichester Harbour – he recognised the importance of the mudflats and saltmarshes for huge numbers of ducks, geese and waders that they supported, and the danger that development posed to the area.

"During the 1960s Richard was instrumental in the formation of the wintering bird surveys, a scheme that still runs today.

“Every winter since then up to 2020, when his health started to decline, he was part of the team of volunteers that monitored the birdlife of the harbour. His enormous passion for the natural world and his great depth of knowledge came through in everything he did, and Chichester Harbour has lost one its great champions.”

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

Richard, who was born in Devon, moved to Chichester from Norfolk in September 1963 to work as the manager of Kingley Vale Nature Reserve.

While Kingley Vale was his base, his role with The Nature Conservancy saw him work on reserves across the South Downs 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.

Details of his funeral are yet to be confirmed.