D o r s e t   O t t e r   G r o u p

Peter Irvine 1946 - 2007
reproduced with the kind permission of James Crowden (Blackmore Vale Magazine May 25th 2007 Edition 1494)

Yesterday I went to the funeral of Peter Irvine, a man whom I had known well since the 1980's. He was steeped in Dorset always made it his business to find out about the odd and interesting facts about this rich county. If you wanted to find out about the Oozer toad doctors, Roman pottery or family history in Dorset, Peter was the man for you. Many will hove come across him in the Dorset Record office in Dorchester where he worked for a good number of years. He was always patient and took a genuine interest in people's queries.

His own background was as a librarian and archaeologist. Born in Scotland he first came to Dorset when he was 21 in 1967 and took part in a dig on Pilsdon Pen. At this time he got to know Kenneth Allsop's daughter Amanda. Kenneth lived in West Milton and campaigned tirelessly for Powerstock Common and the retention of that wonderful eccentric ancient woodland which was about to be gobbled up by an uncaring softwood obsessed Forestry Commission. Indeed Peter Irvine was a great championer of natural rights and was always campaigning in his own subtle and understated way for otters badgers, footpaths, flints, archaeological sites and quirky human habitats.

Peter was a great eccentric and at one stage worked for Element Books in Shaftesbury. He left his job one day because the firm decided to stop the Friday cream buns at elevenses. He felt passionately right about this and he was proved right. Element went up and then came crashing down again~ Cream buns were important and in those days they came from Ansteys the bakers on the corner of Barton Hill.

Peter lived in Shaftesbury. Child Okeford, Dorchester and Blandford. He was very much attached to Hambledon hill and had an intimate knowledge of its archaeology. Many others will have known Peter from working in the two bookshops in Blandford. His own small house was crammed full of small treasures and artefacts that he had found or made. Little vignettes of life in Dorset. He become his own museum curator and this is how I like to think of him with his vast array of old books about Dorset, bird feathers, bits of pottery, carved wooden objects, Small mirrors and a real delight and thirst for knowledge.

In his own way he influenced my own work and showed me over 20 years ago, the Poor Low Commission Reports which were written on Dorset in the 1840s and 1860s. These showed verbatims from farm workers and their wives talking honestly about the state of their employment and the conditions of their homes and daily life. It was this that gave me the inspiration to make all the recordings that eventually culminated in Dorset man and Dorset Woman.

Peter was always very generous with his time and often did much work voluntarily whether it was Dorset Wildlife Trust, the Dorset Otter Group “Spraints R Us”, or as a volunteer at Springhead garden.

Many of you will remember his letters in the Blackmore Vale Magazine about fox hunting. He always took the side of the underdog or in this case the fox. Dorset will be sadder for this sudden loss and the rare with which he gathered his knowledge and the boyish enthusiasm with which he shared his vast knowledge.

Personal tributes
'We have worked with Peter in a professional capacity for many years, exchanging information regarding otters particularly on the Stour and preparing articles for the newsletter and later the excellent Holt. Peter was also a major contributor to the DOG report "Dorset Otter Records (1700 -1999) which looked at otter populations over the last 300 years. A journey with Peter was always an interesting and entertaining event: his knowledge was broad and anecdotes funny. He was a passionate defender of the countryside and we will all miss him greatly.' Emma Rothero and Sandie Moors, Fisheries. Recreation and Biodiversity Team, Environment Agency

'I met Peter in my first week as Rivers & Wetlands Officer at his home in Blandford. He first brought out the tea and cake, and then his otter spraint collection, each individual poo kept in a meticulously labelled matchbox. I remember thinking that I was rather going to like this job, if this was how business was conducted. Peter was an extremely intelligent, kind and humble man, and I will miss him professionally and personally~. Rachel Jones, Rivers & Wetlands Conservation Officer, Dorset Wildlife Trust

Even those who only knew Peter through the Otter Group Newsletter, which he edited from the inception Of the Group, were saddened to hear of his death. Peter's cartoon otter alter-ego 'Potter' first appeared in newsletter no.2 and popped up regularly thereafter, often reading a rival publication 'The Daily Spraint'. Irascible, egotistical obsessed with fish, qualities which Peter did not at all share, Potter would complain about the newsletter ("all talk and no fish”), or his lack of prominence within it, and enter into rancorous exchanges on this matter with the editor. Potter was predictably incensed when the synonymous Harry usurped his global popularity. Potter's partisan criticisms aside, Peter had a genius for rooting out obscure bits of ottery arcana from local records and historical sources, and his Inquiring researches resulted in articled on diverse ottery subjects from palaeontology to heraldry. The new format as 'The Holt' was Peter's conception, to allow a greater range and depth of topics to be featured As well as being newsletter editor and a regional co-ordinator, Peter took the Otter Group stall to public events, and to local schools all to spread the word about otters.

The last issues of the newsletter saw the appearance of Potter's friend 'Ottley' Peter had many more friends than this and will be missed by us all ~ Stephen Carroll, Otter Group Committee Member and Target Area Co-ordinator

And finally, from Peter as Editor of DOG Newsletter Number 7 Winter 1999

1.“incidentally being Editor must give me some privileges so here is a photocopy of the first spraint I found (River Stour, May 2 1998) Yes, you can photocopy spraint, but don't let anyone catch you doing it...I found it was rather hard to explain.”