The biography of Gerald Darrell (1925–1995) - a zoologist, naturalist, writer - was filled with a variety of travels to the separated and most remote corners of the globe.
Childhood and youth
Jerry was the fourth and youngest child of an English civil engineer who worked in India. When his father died, and Jerry was three years old, the whole family, headed by the delicate mother Louise Florence Darrell, returned to her homeland. They lived in the resort town of Bournemouth, one hundred kilometers from London. Compared to hot India, it was certainly uncomfortable: even in the summer it rained and the weather was cold. At the insistence of the oldest brother, Lawrence (Larry), in 1935 the whole family moved to Greece on the island of Corfu, which is now called Kerkyra.
On a greek island
Life on it, like paradise, will fly by like an instant. The biography of Gerald Darrell will be filled with friendly communication with the Greek peasants, Dr. Theodore Stefanidis (1896-1983), extraordinary teachers of the French language and daily walks with his beloved and faithful dog Roger. It looked like ten-year-old Jerry.
By the age of ten, Jerry had not overcome English. Keeping a diary, he managed to make at least two mistakes in each word. The only thing he never made a mistake in was writing the names of animals and insects. This was discovered by Larry, who by this time had become a professional writer and wrote three novels in Corfu. They were published in the same years. The Darrell house was cheerful and noisy. In it, for the slightest reason, and often even without it, picnics and parties were organized. Darrell will describe this wonderful life in My Family and Beasts. And the BBC channel will make a charming serial film that will convey the atmosphere of the book and their lives.
In the photo above - a shot from this film.
The war and the first years after it
The biography of Gerald Darrell, like everyone else, will be broken in World War II. I had to leave the wonderful island. Here is a shot from the film, which perfectly shows what the Darrell family looked like then.
At age 14, immediately after returning to Britain, the teenager went to work in a store. Of course, the zoological, which was called "Aquarium". When the war ended, Jerry began working at the zoo. He did not have a higher education, and therefore the position was the most modest. But then he learned to handle a wide variety of animals and began compiling lists of rare endangered species of animals. He was the first to sound the alarm about them, although for the time being just for himself.
First expeditions
Having received an inheritance in 1947, the young man leaves for Africa. The biography of Gerald Darrell is enriched by experience and meetings in Cameroon and Guyana. But he is a bad financier. All the money spent, and he is penniless. On the advice of his older brother, he sits down at a typewriter. This does not please him, since he is not friendly with grammar and syntax. But the first story, The Hairy Frog Hunt, which Gerald gave on BBC radio, was a success. He was even invited to the studio. Further more. Darrell continues to write, because only with literary works can he earn money for a new journey.
Gerald Darrell: biography, personal life
The life of Gerald Darrell is gaining new experience. In 1951, he marries Jackie (Jacqueline) Wolfenden. Since the candidate for husbands does not have money, the father of the bride categorically objects to this marriage. The girl has to escape from home and marry her beloved against the will of her parents. They will live free of charge in a hostel held by sister Jerry Margaret. Their marriage will last until 1979. During these years, many books will be written and many expeditions organized. Darrell will devote his book “Under the Forest Canopy” to his faithful friend. However, domestic difficulties, Gerald’s passion for work and alcohol, will lead them to divorce after 28 years of marriage.
In 1977, Gerald Darrell, whose biography was always unpredictable, met at a university in Carolina with a young woman who enthusiastically studies the behavior of lemurs. She was then 28 years old, Darrell - 52. He was stunned - a beautiful woman is interested in zoology. Darrell at first simply became interested in Lee. And then he got carried away and offered to marry him. Lee McGeorge Wilson also did not immediately have any special feelings for an elderly zoologist. But after his departure to India, they began to correspond, the interest grew into friendship and love. Now they have teamed up, Lee and a biography of Gerald Darrell. The photo shows the beginning of their life together.
The wife accompanied her restless husband in the last three expeditions. In 1982 - to the island of Mauritius, in 1986 - to Russia and in 1990 - to Madagascar. So they remained a loving couple until the last days of Darrell.
Life and work
But let's continue about the restless zoologist and writer. Gerald Darrell, whose brief biography shows this, never sat in one place for a long time. In 1954, he was already in Paraguay, but because of the coup in the country, the collected collection of animals could not be transported to the zoo. In 1955, Darrell came to Brother Lawrence in Corfu, and the most popular book about childhood was published there, which was published in millions of copies around the world. It has already been said that in England a film was shot on it. Here is another shot of it showing a traveling zoo. In 1959, Darrell creates a zoo on the island of Jersey, in which rare animals have been protected since 1963.
He sought to breed in captivity and then be sent back to their natural habitat. If not for Darrell, then many rare species would have disappeared forever. In 1985, Darrell came to the USSR and made a serial film. In total, during his life the zoologist made thirty-five films and wrote more than thirty books.
In 1995, three weeks after he turned 70, Gerald Darrell died. His wife continued his work, worked at the zoo, wrote books about animals.
Gerald Darrell: biography for children
This will be a story about the activities of a passionate person who uttered his first word in India, because he was born there, and it was not “mother”, but “zoo”. From two years old everything was clear with him - he would become a naturalist-zoologist.
And by the age of ten, when he spent four years in Greece, he wandered through the olive groves and vineyards of the island of Corfu and watched, for example, turtles reproduce, or carefully watched the life of geckos, collected his elder brother in horror scorpions, he already knew his way in life. From every walk on the island he brought home some animals. So, he could run into a bath of harmless, but huge snakes, which all home took for scary snakes. One mother fully understood his fascination with animals. The older brothers and sister still feared his animals, insects and birds. In Britain, in his homeland, about his childhood spent in Corfu, a fun and fascinating film based on Darrell's book “My Family and Animals” was shot.
He did not receive a systematic education and even wrote with errors, but nevertheless Darrell studied all his life. He was an enthusiastic and gifted person. He created a zoo in which he bred rare animals. He shot about forty films about them in the wild and in national reserves around the world, wrote more than thirty books about his travels around the world. Darrell came to our country and made a film, consisting of 13 episodes, and wrote the book "Darrell in Russia." He founded the Wildlife Conservation Fund. All his activities were filled with love for people and animals, which must be guarded and protected.