Hickling, Grace (1908–1986)
Hickling, Grace (1908–1986)
English ornithologist. Name variations: Grace Watt. Born Grace Watt, Aug 10, 1908; died Dec 30,1986; Newnham College, Cambridge, MA, 1934; m. Henry George Albert Hickling (geology professor), 1954 (died a few weeks after wedding).
A Farne Islands wildlife expert in Northumberland, began career as ateacher (1932–36); during WWII, worked as a Ministry of Home Security war room intelligence officer and regional intelligence officer, based in Newcastle (1939–45); met Hancock Museum curator, Russell Goddard; after Goddard's death (1948), combined his notes with hers to create a 22-volume series on Farne Island birds; served as Natural History Society of Northumbria's honorary secretary (1948–86); served on Farne Islands local committee of National Trust (from 1949); led annual Farne Islands bird tagging which eventually tagged 187,600 birds. Wrote The Farne Islands: Their History and Wildlife (1951) and Grey Seals and the Farne Islands (1962); made Member of the Order of the British Empire (1974).