George Waterston

George Waterston (1911 - 1980) was an ornithologist and conservationist in Scotland. He was Director of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds in Scotland, and co-founder of what was the Midlothian Ornithologists' Club and is now the Scottish Ornithologists' Club; he was their President, Secretary, Treasurer and Hon. President at various times. He also founded the Scottish Arctic Club with its Waterston Arctic Library.

Fair Isle

George Waterston is probably best known for his interest in Fair Isle which he first visited in 1935 as a young man. He had great plans for the island, but these were interrupted by WWII. Whilst a prisoner of war, he laid plans for a bird observatory and birdwatchers' hostel, but also for other aspects of island life, e.g. a marketing scheme for the island's products, including Fair Isle knitwear.

He bought the island in 1947 and sold it for the same sum of money to the National Trust for Scotland in 1954.

Tributes

George Waterston tried to encourage other conservationists, among them Donald Watson, the wildlife artist; the Art Gallery at Waterston House is named after him.

Two bird-related centres bear George Waterston's name:

* Waterston House, the headquarters of the Scottish Ornithologists' Club at Aberlady, East Lothian and its Local Nature Reserve

* George Waterston Memorial Centre and Museum on Fair Isle

ee also

*List of places in East Lothian
*Category:ornithologists