It is now 100 years since Ted Ellis, the inspiration behind our trust, first began writing and sketching the wildlife journals which inspired a life-long passion in the natural world.
Although Ted, arguably Norfolk’s most famous naturalist, died in 1986, his life’s work lives on in his wildlife journals.
They document his observations and detailed drawings of what he saw growing up around Norfolk, including the shores of Great Yarmouth and Gorleston, and his beloved home at Wheatfen which he moved to later in life.
As a child, Ted lived in Great Yarmouth, he left school aged fifteen and went to work in a factory making false teeth. At nineteen he started working at the Castle Museum, Norwich, where he developed his enthusiasm for wildlife. Ted stayed here until 1956, as Keeper of Natural History, writing his daily notes on the countryside for the Eastern Daily Press, and broadcasting on the local radio station.
Ted’s meticulous attention to wildlife and the natural world at his home here at Wheatfen Broad meant that our small pocket of Norfolk became known as perhaps the ‘best-studied area of fenland in the entire world.’
Follow along
At the moment, Ted’s archive is not widely accessible to the public. This project, led by the Broads Authority and with support from Monika Swiat, an intern from NUA, aims to open the archives up and share his work with a wider audience, offering access to his early journals, building enthusiasm for wildlife journaling and encouraging engagement with wildlife and the natural world.
The project will eventually digitise some of Ted’s journals, but the first step is launching a new ‘digital museum’ over on Instagram and running events such as the recent journaling workshop led by Prof. Suzie Hanna, Ted’s daughter.
The account will pick out interesting snippets, drawings and observations, as well as visiting some of the places that Ted frequented to see how they have changed in the last 100 years.
Follow the account here: @tedellis_journals
Read more about the project on the BA website: 100 years of Ted Ellis
We will announce more events and developments in due course, so keep an eye out on our social media feeds for updates.
