A Tribute to Margaret Gilmour

Margaret Gilmour, and her husband Jim,
were presented with the Eric Thurston Award in 2010. 

We regret to report that Mrs Margaret Gilmour died in December 2022, aged 90. Margaret was one of the original committee members of Wirral Wildlife, then known as Wirral Group of the Cheshire Conservation Trust. The original committee consisted of Chairman Major Frank White, Margaret Gilmour, Henry Larsen, Nora MacMillan (Mrs Mac), David Mills, Jane Ratcliffe, Richard Smith and Graham Taylor. The first meeting was at Bebington Oval on 7th April 1971.

Margaret served on the committee for over 10 years, then went on to become one of the stalwarts of our biological recording team, doing botanical surveys in great detail. Among other sites, she surveyed Royal Liverpool Golf Course and Caldy Hill, sites which our team has re-done this year, enabling us to look at change over several decades. Mathilde, herself one of our (retired) expert volunteers, wrote `I remember many surveys we did together, although she was the one who could be fully relied upon that the IDs were all correct!  She was so knowledgeable but modest with it and revealing a great love for nature.’ 

Margaret was awarded the Eric Thurston Award for volunteer work with Cheshire Wildlife Trust in 2010. Her husband Jim (secretary of Wirral Wildlife committee for 16 years) was given the award at the same time.

Margaret also was active in forming and supporting the Friends of Gilroy Nature Park in West Kirby, which helped run the then-new nature area.

Margaret suffered from Meniere's disease for a long time, which affected her hearing. We warned new recorders working with her to `always get on the right side of Margaret’ - her hearing being better in her right ear. Margaret retained her interest in wildlife and the activities of Wirral Wildlife even when she had to go into residential care. Only a few weeks before her death she rang Hilary Ash to arrange that a particular botanical book (Stace’s Flora) would go to someone who could use it. (It has been gratefully received by a Plant Science student from Edgehill University who is on placement with us.)

We send our sympathy to Margaret’s husband Jim and children Chris and Joyce.