national press (the
Guardian
,
Telegraph
and
Times
), in other ornithological journals, and on the
websites of the Ramsar Bureau, the African-Eurasian Waterbird Agreement (AEWA),
Wetlands International and the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust. So here we dwell on his long
service to
Wildfowl
, which he edited to an incredibly high standard for 21 years. He took on
the role of editor for
Wildfowl
19 in 1968, with Malcolm Ogilvie as co-editor, and continued
overseeing the journal up to and including
Wildfowl
39 in 1988, the year in which he retired.
Prior to Geoffrey becoming editor, the journal was published as the
Wildfowl Trust Annual
Report
and was divided into two parts: an account of the Trust’s activities for its Members, and
scientific papers on various aspects of wildfowl biology. The name changed to
Wildfowl
in
1968, the thinking behind the change (as described by Geoffrey and Malcolm in the editorial
at the time) being that the journal should focus on the study and conservation of wildfowl
(without “annual report” aspects included), in which case a title was required that reflected its
contents more accurately. By this stage
Wildfowl
was already established, regularly publishing
papers on the biology and conservation of ducks, geese and swans by authors other than
Wildfowl Trust staff, but under Geoffrey’s stewardship it became an acknowledged highly-
rated international publication, attracting papers from leading researchers of the day. An
overview of
Wildfowl
volumes 19–39 indicates that an impressive
c
. 420 papers were reviewed,
edited and published during this time, excluding progress reports from the Trusts’ various
research programmes. Moreover, in addition to his editorial responsibilities and his
2
©Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust
Wildfowl
(2013) 63: 1–3
Photograph:
Geoffrey Matthews with Russian scientist Prof. Valdimir Flint (holding the Bewick’s Swan
named “Flint”) at a swan catch at Slimbridge in January 1979.
