EAW048021 ENGLAND (1952). East Lighthouse (disused) alongside the River Nene, Guy's Head, 1952

This is the East Bank Lighthouse, or better known as the Sir Peter Scott Lighthouse. He was the son of famous Antarctic explorer captain Scott. Peter came here in 1933 a bit lost as to what to do that he could be so good at that he would be out from under his fathers shadow. The lighthouse made a lasting impression on him and whilst he was here he wrote and illustrated his first two books, became a famous wildlife artist but most importantly, he started a wildfowl collection on land beside the lighthouse. This lead to him travelling the world to find rare specimens and after a few years of doing that he realised that wildlife everywhere was declining and he began work on the ideas for global nature conservation that would lead to him being the most influential naturalist of the 20th century and to founding the Wildlife and Wetlands Trust and the World Wildlife Fund. He went to war in 1939 and when he returned it was to find the marshes being enclosed for farmland that meant he had lost the water and ponds for his collection and the army had let the lighthouse fall into disrepair. He therefore set up the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust at Slimbridge on the River Severn.



This is also the lighthouse that the Snow Goose story is based. The story is a thinly disguised Peter Scott as an artist living in a lonely lighthouse on the marsh with his boat and bird collection. It was written by Peter's friend the American writer Paul Gallico. To get the hero to Dunkirk in one go, he places the lighthouse 80 miles south at a mythical location in Essex. Peter Scott illustrated the English version of the book and the illustrations are all of East Lighthouse. See www.snowgoosetrust.org



This lighthouse is therefore possibly the most important building in the history of global conservation because this is where it all started.



The photographs show the marshes just being recovered after being sealed off. At this time the lease of the lighthouse had just been taken by a Mr Gandy and he has installed the formal garden in the courtyard and refurbished the lighthouse.