Farewell Fred Booth, Pioneer of Marine Conservation

Conservation was not Fred’s first career; he was initially a serving police officer from 1950 until he retired with the rank of Chief Superintendent in 1982.  However, Fred had long been a keen bird watcher, and retirement gave him the ideal opportunity to pursue his burgeoning interest in wildlife and conservation. He became a stalwart member of the Kent Trust for Nature Conservation and served as its first CEO, stepping down in the mid-80s to become a more hands-on conservationist. He loved spending time out-of-doors in fair weather or foul (he always said there was no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing!) carrying out surveys either as a volunteer with the likes of the Kent Field Club, or as an independent field surveyor with the fledgling Kent Wildlife Trust consultancy, and remained active in this latter role until 2014, when health issues forced him to step down. 

Fred was also a long term and active member of the Trust’s Conservation Committee as well as one of its Vice Presidents. 

While always a keen conservationist and naturalist, Fred’s abiding passion was the marine environment. Having realised that no one was systematically recording the wildlife found around Kent’s coastline he undertook a walk along the shore to record local wildlife. Following its initial success, Fred grew the walk into a large-scale survey, a precursor of the national ‘Shoresearch’ initiative, and established the Kent Marine Group. Fred’s outstanding work led to the discovery of the arrival of the invasive non-native wireweed in Kent and was crucial in identifying the now protected areas of Kent’s Marine Conservation Zones. 

In 2011, he was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for his services to conservation and the environment, and in 2017 Fred was awarded the Marsh Volunteer Award for Marine Conservation, a national award with people nominated from across the 47 Wildlife Trusts. In February 2019 he was honoured by the then Prime Minister Theresa May with a Point of Light Award for his outstanding public service. In a personal letter to Fred, Theresa May said: “Your work with Kent Wildlife Trust has led to the discovery of a new species in the Kent Coastline and has helped to identify the now protected areas of Kent’s Marine Conservation Zones. You should be very proud of the progress you have made by following your passion for marine conservation.” Fred responded by saying, “I am surprised and delighted by such an unexpected honour following my many years recording and monitoring the seaside of Kent.” 

In a personal tribute to Fred, Anne Waite, Project Manager at KWT Consultancy Services said, “Fred taught me so much when I first arrived in Kent. He was an inspiring mentor to all who knew him, always willing to share his knowledge and experience, but always modest about his achievements. He is one of those giants on whose shoulders we stand as we continue to grow the conservation work that he started all those years ago in Kent and he will be sadly missed, but never forgotten by those who had the privilege of working alongside him.”