In early April 1942 my friend John Renouf
and I observed about a dozen Large Tortoisehell Butterflies in Onehouse Wood.
They were mostly sunning themselves on bare patches of earth along the main
woodland drove and took off quickly at our approach, only to return after a few
minutes to their favoured basking site. The spring weather allowed us to see
these large tawny insects daily for about a week.
In mid-April the East Anglian
Daily Times published a letter doubting whether another correspondent had
really seen the Large Tortoiseshell he claimed he had: the butterfly was too
rare and probably extinct. I immediately wrote to the paper, describing our
observations, and Claude Morley wrote to me, unaware that I was only eleven
years old. After brief but favourable exchanges with my parents, however, he
next invited me to join the Suffolk Naturalists’ Society and I here append a
copy of his second letter, which, I think, demonstrates his usual kindness to
beginners and his willingness to discuss matters at a serious level. David Chipperfield,
by the way, served with the RAF in the Far East.
Alasdair Aston
© 2003 Suffolk Naturalists' Society