Obituaries

Donald Broadley

Donald Broadley (1932-2016) was possibly Africa’s best-known and most respected herpetologist. He came from UK to the then Rhodesia in 1954 as a draughtsman, but soon developed a passion for reptiles. Some years later he became Herpetologist at the Mutare Museum, moving to the Natural History Museum in Bulawayo in 1981. Don was a prodigious collector of reptiles from across south-central Africa and wrote authoritatively on their taxonomy, describing many new species over his almost 60-year career. He continued to write papers after retirement until he died. Don was a founder-member of the BFA and was closely involved in its establishment, helping put the organisation on a sound scientific base and with strong international links. He contributed a number of technical reviews on the herps of various areas and also detailed annotated checklists. A detailed obituary was published in the UK Times and a book celebrating his accomplishments is being written.

• The Times (2017). Obituary – Don Broadley. The Times, April 7th 2016

Bob Drummond

Robert (Bob) Drummond (1924-2008) was a botanist based for much of his working life at the National Herbarium in Harare (SRGH), which he joined from the Kew Herbarium in UK in 1955. He was probably the foremost authority on the plants of south-central Africa and had a remarkable ability to give names to even sterile scraps brought in from the field. Bob was fully involved in the BFA since its inception and contributed checklists as well as identifying species of particular conservation interest. Although not a prolific writer, he described 30 taxa new to science and 13 species have been named in his honour. Further details on his life and botanical accomplishments are given in Timberlake et al. (2008, 2017).

• Timberlake, J.R., Muller, T., Hyde M. & Coates Palgrave, M (2008). Robert Drummond 1924-2008. Kew Bulletin 63: 521-523.
• Timberlake, J. et al. (2017). Robert Drummond (1924-2008) – an appreciation. Kirkia 19: 110-116.