We take a pause here from our feverish activity in collating WCWW reports. We arrived home from our recent trip to find that, while we were travelling, the wader world suffered the very sad loss of Clive Minton in a car accident.
Others will be writing much more qualified obituaries than we can here but what impressed us most about Clive was how he was always ready to reach out and lend a helping hand to those who needed it. Wader Quest is a tiny minnow in the world of wader conservation and yet Clive always answered our emails with a friendly kindness, in a way that showed that his care for and love of waders was far reaching. Clive encouraged anyone who would or could, become a champion of these wonderful birds to do so. He even took the time and trouble to write about how he was personally inspired, by a Sanderling on a beach in Northumberland, leading to a life of wader study, for our book An Inspiration of Waders, a kindness that we shall never forget.
Clive was a great but humble man who touched the lives of many waderologists in a vast array of ways, and whose enthusiasm has rubbed off on so many others. The world is a better, safer place for waders thanks to this man’s dedication and passion. He will be greatly missed by many people involved in waders and their conservation around the world; even those of us who never had the privilege to meet him in person.
Our thoughts too are with Clive’s wife Pat and the couple’s friend, both of whom are still in hospital following the accident in which Clive died, and whose suffering and loss will be greater than we can imagine.
Clive Minton RIP