Through A Level Plain : An exploration of the Great Ouse

The manuscript for this book was found shortly after the author's death in 2017 but was completed in the early 1950s.

It explores the course of the Great Ouse, describing in detail aspects of natural and social history.

The text contains references to wildlife sightings from the late 1940s and early 1950s which would have been taken from the detailed field notes that he always made.

There is also mention of the severe winter in early 1947.

The writing invites the reader in, encouraging them to picture the river, its geography, flora and fauna, as well as remember a way of life that is partially lost in modern times.

However, many of the features described remain for one to explore and the landscape continues to tell its own story.

The Bedfordshire Natural History Society, founded in 1946, kindly read the original and supported the publication of Through a Level Plain.

We believe that some of the original members would have been John's contemporaries, sharing a deep interest in the natural history of Bedford and Bedfordshire.