JOHN A BURTON
1944-2022
Always a rebel, mostly for the right reasons, John A Burton ditched school for an education in the woods, fields and bomb sites around his South London home. He was already a brilliant naturalist by his early teens though eschewed university in favour of fieldwork.
The one institution he loved was the Natural History Museum. Based on his field skills alone, in 1963 he got a job there, as assistant information officer. Then in 1969 he became assistant editor of the partwork Birds of the World. John’s subsequent journey through the world of wildlife journalism and conservation is long and varied, but he was always at the head of the wave.
In 1970 he became a consultant to the fledgling Friends of the Earth, lobbying for changes in legislation. He was also founding chairman of the Bat Conservation Trust. By that point, he was writing and editing natural history books – more than 40 by the end of his life.
He was always at the head of the wave
It was in 1971 that he became assistant editor of this magazine – at that time called Animals – staying in post for a year. He went on to become a long-term contributor – campaigning among other things to bring back the lynx – and eventually joined BBC Wildlife’s advisory board.
In 1975, at the age of 31, he became the first leader of IUCN’s TRAFFIC International – the trade watchdog – and executive secretary (CEO) of FFPS, now Fauna and Flora International – a supporter of on-the-ground conservation groups.
In 1988, he and his wife Viv Burton set up the highly effective World Land Trust, of which he was CEO for 30 years, fundraising through the simple idea of ‘selling’ acres to help local conservation groups buy valuable habitats. He died on Biodiversity Day, 22nd May 2022.
Look out for a full feature on John A Burton and his conservation work next month.