Charles Rawcliffe worked as a volunteer in the Royal
Botanic Garden Edinburgh for several years in the early 2000s,
compiling a handwritten catalogue listing the two major
series of Walker
Arnott slides
that the Garden possesses. Initially, Charles was
interested in published records of diatoms for Edinburgh and the
Lothians (the region of
Scotland in which Edinburgh lies) and used the excellent library
collections of Victorian literature to track down observations by early
diatomists such as R.K. Greville and W. Gregory. During this study he
became aware of the collections of old slides in the Garden and set
himself to catalogue some of them. Most weeks, Charles (already an
octogenarian) would come in for a
morning and work through until lunchtime, setting himself to
try to get through a number of trays of slides each time, without
compromising on accuracy. Each Victorian slide label was examined
(often with the aid of a magnifying glass), interpreted with the help
of contemporary books (Walker Arnott's handwriting was cramped and
difficult, making each label a detective story), and transcribed in his
own immaculate and clear handwriting.
Charles was also a keen amateur naturalist and active in local conservation efforts, e.g. at the Duddingston
Loch reserve in SE Edinburgh, and played a major part in the protection
and enhancement of Inverleith Park, Edinburgh. He died in January 2011, just short of his 95th birthday.
David Mann, January 2014
