Gerald Haythornthwaite
Lieutenant-Colonel Gerald Graham George Haythornthwaite TD CBE (24 July 1912 – January 1995) was a retired army colonel, English environmental campaigner and pioneer of the countryside movement.
He co-founded the Council for the Preservation of Rural England Peak District and South Yorkshire Branch (CPRE PDSY) and was a key figure in the national CPRE movement.[1]
In 1963, he was awarded with a honorary degree, MA, by Sheffield University.[2]
He was awarded an CBE in the Queen's New Years Honours List in 1970 for his services to the Peak Park Planning Board.
In 1986, he was awarded with a honorary fellowship by Sheffield City Polytechnic.[3]
Life
Haythornthwaite was born in Bolton, Lancashire to parents Jennie Graham (1874-1930) and Thomas Henry Haythornthwaite (1875-1961).
He married Ethel Mary Bassett Ward in 1937 and they have one son together called Christopher. Haythornthwaite was Ethel's second husband.
They lived together at 22a Endcliffe Crescent, in the Broomhill of Sheffield. Their house and The Stables (behind 22a) become the offices for the CPRE PDSY charity when Ethel's birthplace was demolished.
Countryside protection
Some of his notable achievements to protect the Peak District and South Yorkshire countryside include:[4]
- Prevented a racing circuit near Dovedale
- Stopped a motorway through Longdendale
Through his campaigning, along with his wife, achieved the following:[5]
- the Sheffield Green Belt in 1938,
- shaped govenment policy (National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949),
- created the Peak District National Park in 1951, and
- promoted the use of natural stone for Peak District buildings
He served as Chair of the National Park Planning Committee.[5]
Legacy
In his introduction to the 2001 book Protecting the Beautiful Frame by Melvyn Jones, Sir Chris Bonington wrote:
"Whatever else is forgotten, the Branch [Peak District and South Yorkshire branch of the CPRE] will go down in history as a major force in environmental conservation because of the achievement of its two 'grand purposes': the designation of a national park in the Peak District and the creation of a permanent Sheffield Green Belt. But there were so many more equally successful campaigns in the wider countryside and urban fringe that the reader gasps with admiration. And at the head of this crusading society for so long, the tireless, single-minded, and selfless Ethel and Gerald Haythornthwaite were without parallel. We shall not see the likes of Ethel and Gerald again."[6][7]
In celebration of Britain's first National Park, the Friends of the Peak District launched the Peak District Boundary Walk on 17 June 2017. The route broadly follows the park's boundary, as envisaged by Ethel and Gerald.[8]
Death
He died in Sheffield at the age of 82 and is buried at Crookes Cemetery[9], Sheffield with his wife and father-in-law.
See also
References
- ↑ Perry, Julie (2 June 2021). "Leading by example". CPRE. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
- ↑ Sheffield University. "HONORARY GRADUATES". Sheffield University. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
- ↑ Sheffield Hallam University. "Previous recipients". Sheffield Hallam University. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
- ↑ CPRE PDSY. "Our history". CPRE PDSY. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 CPRE PDSY. "Stories from the Archive: Gerald Haythornthwaite's Countryside Campaigns". CPRE PDSY. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
- ↑ "Partners: Friends of the Peak District". Sheffield Adventure Film Festival. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
- ↑ Peak District National Park (9 November 2022). "#70People70Years - Ethel Haythornthwaite". Peak District National Park. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
- ↑ CPRE PDSY (17 January 2020). "Peak District Boundary Walk". CPRE PDSY. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
- ↑ The Newsroom (23 February 2016). "Has Sheffield forgotten its past heroes?". The Star. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
External links
- [1] Stories from the Archive: Ethel and Gerald Haythornthwaite (CPRE)
- [2] Stories from the Archive: Gerald Haythornthwaite’s Countryside Campaigns (CPRE)
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