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Tony Soper

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Tony Soper
Born(1929-01-10)10 January 1929
Southampton, Hampshire, England
Died18 September 2024(2024-09-18) (aged 95)
EducationHyde Park Junior School
Devonport High School for Boys
Occupation(s)Author and broadcaster
EmployerBBC
Known forOrnithology
SpouseHilary
ChildrenTwo sons

Tony Soper (10 January 1929 – 18 September 2024) was a British naturalist, author, and broadcaster.[1][2]

Life and career

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Soper was born on 10 January 1929, in Southampton, Hampshire, the son of Ella (nee Lythgoe), a former shop assistant and member of the local Townswomen's Guild, and Bert Soper, a shipping agent. Soon after Soper's birth the family moved to Plymouth where he attended Hyde Park Elementary School and Devonport High School for Boys.[1] He joined the BBC at age 17 as a "youth-in-training", subsequently graduating by way of studio manager to features producer in radio, then moved into television. Among the radio programmes that he produced were Birds In Britain.

Soper co-founded the BBC Natural History Unit as its first film producer, with Patrick Beech the then South West Controller. Cutting his teeth on the LOOK series he organised far-flung wildlife filming projects. He presented live television programmes, including Birdwatch, Birdspot, Discovering Birds, Discovering Animals, Beside the Sea, Wildtrack and Nature. Soper also co-presented Animal Magic with Johnny Morris for a few years in the 1960s. He also had a supporter of the RSPB.[3][4]

As Expedition Leader and a pioneer of wildlife cruising, he spent twenty years between 1992 and 2012 exploring both the North and South polar regions.[1] He held a British yachtmaster's certificate and was a qualified compressed-air and oxygen hard-hat diver.[5]

Soper's wife Hilary is a wildlife painter, and they had two sons. Soper died on 18 September 2024, at the age of 95.[1]

Honours

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Soper was a recipient of the British Naturalists' Association's Peter Scott Memorial Award.[6] He was awarded the British Trust for Ornithology's Dilys Breese Medal in 2009.[7][8]

DVDs

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A single 23-minute episode of Wildtrack is available as a bonus feature on the DVD and Blu-ray release of David Attenborough's 1979 series Life on Earth.[5]

Selected bibliography

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  • The Bird Table Book (1965, several editions to 2006)
  • The Shell Guide to Beachcombing (1972)
  • Wildlife Begins at Home (1975)
  • Everyday Birds (1976)
  • Wildlife of The Dart Estuary (1982)
  • Discovering Birds (1983)
  • Penguins [with John Sparks] (1987)
  • A Passion For Birds (1988)
  • Owls [with John Sparks] (1995)
  • Wildlife of the North Atlantic (2008)
  • The Arctic: A Guide to Coastal Wildlife (2012)
  • The Northwest Passage (2012)
  • Antarctica: A Guide to the Wildlife (2013)[9]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Moss, Stephen (19 September 2024). "Tony Soper obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
  2. ^ "Tony Soper, BBC birdwatching and wildlife pioneer who co-presented Animal Magic in the 1960s". The Telegraph. UK. 19 September 2024.
  3. ^ "Tony Soper – Part of Sutton Coldfield Local Group History". group.rspb.org.uk. UK: RSPB. 22 September 2024. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
  4. ^ "Getting to know birds with Tony Soper RSPB Video". YouTube. August 2021. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
  5. ^ a b "Tony Soper: Broadcaster, exhibition leader, writer". tonysoper.com. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
  6. ^ "The Peter Scott Memorial Award" (PDF). bna-naturalists.org. British Naturalists' Association. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  7. ^ Whitby, Max. "A Gong For Barclay". BirdGuides. Archived from the original on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 15 January 2011.
  8. ^ "Dilys Breese". WildFilmHistory. Wildscreen. Retrieved 15 January 2011.
  9. ^ Chalfont St Peter: Bradt Travel Guides. ISBN 9781841624839
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