Rex Whitta MBE
Date of birth: 24.3 1928. Place of birth: Cambridge.
Mr
Rex Whitta was head Ranger at Thetford Forest before he retired. He played a
major roll in many research projects, and worked extensively with universities,
the R.S.P.B and Wild Life Trusts.
He came to live in Brandon at a very early age, attended Brandon school and
enjoyed his time there. When he left school at fourteen, he went to work at
Calders, the timber merchant on the Weeting Road. Later he got the job with the
American forces at the Elveden Camp. From there he joined the army when he was
eighteen in 1945. After leaving the army in 1948 he started work with the
Forestry Commission at the old central Brandon depot, where they used to convert
the trees into pit props.
IN 1960 Rex had the opportunity to become a Deer Warden. He was keen to do
this, because he was always interested in birds, bird watching, and animals in
the forest long before he was offered the job. The trouble was that whilst he
was at the depot, he earned quite good money doing piecework: between £12 &
£15 a week, he found out that wages for the job offered was about
£3.10shillings! (£3.50 now)
Rex was very glad that Betty, his wife, gave him her full support, in spite
of the fact that it was a seven days a week job, long and uncertain hours and
financial sacrifices. They both agreed that it was better for Rex to do
something he really enjoyed; Betty decided to take a part time job. Rex was
often out all night or early in the morning, often late for meals.
When Rex first started, there were two areas to supervise. The northern part
was his territory. The job entailed censes work, trying to count all the deer in
the forest. He had to inspect the new planting areas for damage, and assess the
number of deer that would have to be culled to control the numbers in order to
maintain the quality of the stock, to prevent disease, and protect the crops.
Rex says: "We had 4 species of deer in the forest, the big magnificent
Red Deer,(probably some of the best wild deer there are in the country)we had
Fallow Deer, to the south of the forest towards Bury St. Edmunds, the Roe Deer
which were by far the largest number, on both sides of the forest and the
Muntjac that started to creep in".
Rex was one of the key figures in the monitoring programmes to determine the
movement of the deer, specially the Roe. In order to help with control work
involved a catch up project that was carried out by Rex, the Forestry Research
Team from Alice Holt and volunteers. The Santon Beat was selected, the area near
Santon Downham village. The deer were weighed, blood samples taken and collars
fitted. Some were radio collars others were fitted with different coloured
collars. After several days, Rex and his team would try to locate these animals.
The furthest a deer had roamed from the catch up site was four miles.
Rex recognised the importance of involving the public from the outset, and
this was one of the key element to insure that volunteers were recruited to make
all the projects successful.
As far as Rex is aware, the Red deer have always been in this area (escapees
from various hunts that existed here) The Munjac Deer are thought to have bred
from escapees from Woburn Abbey. During the World Wars the fences became
dilapidated, and the deer escaped and spread. The Roe Deer thought to have been
imported by Col. Macanzie's brother when he occupied Downham Hall. He imported 6
pairs from Wittenberg in Germany and released them in the wood known as Risbeth
Wood up behind the old leper house at Thetford. The fallow deer escaped from
various southern estates.
The ideal conditions in the forest caused a rapid population increase. This
necessitated a severe culling programme. Rex was responsible for this. Later,
the number of staff was increased to six. In about 1959, a club called
St.Hubert's became involved in the culling and control of the deer herds. Their
membership and methods are very carefully monitored, maintaining high standards.
They were responsible for an area of about 7or 8 thousand acres on the northern
side of the forest.
Prior to the employment of rangers, there were about 18 warreners. Their sole
job was to control the rabbits and hares. They were gradually retired and
replaced by rangers who took on their jobs as well.
The damage done by deer to the young trees is quite different to that done by
rabbits and hares. At first, deer were often blamed for damage done by rabbits
and hares until Rex was able to point out the difference. Rabbits and hares tend
to eat the growing shoot whereas the deer damaged trees by bending and breaking
the plant in a jagged manner.
Rex says that the other project he was involved with was with the native Red
Squirrel, which inhabited the whole of the forest. When he first started, the
Greys hadn't even put in an appearance. A few inhabited the outskirts of the
forest in the hard wood area. Later there was concern that the Greys were
starting to come into the forest. Unfortunately the Red Squirrel suffered with a
viral infection at that time which decimated the population tremendously. This
calamity coincided with the increase in the number of Greys, and the Reds never
recovered from that time. People say that Red and Grey squirrels fight; but this
is only true when there is a shortage of food. The Grey squirrel forages for
food and adapts to different conditions quite easily, the Red Squirrel doesn't.
This is a disadvantage against its survival.
The Forestry Commission decided to try and conserve the Red Squirrel in
Thetford Forest. Rex and his team had to do a survey. Two areas were selected
for this. High Lodge and Red Neck Forest that is between Brandon and Thetford.
In order to conduct the survey volunteers were asked to come once a year to
help with the work. At one time there were as many as 150 people coming early on
a Saturday morning. The volunteers were given a breakfast of venison sausages,
tea, coffee or any other beverage of their choice. This encouraged them to come
back each year! They were split up into groups. Each group was led under the
direction of a Ranger, a Forester, or somebody from one of the Wildlife
Societies. Each group was allocated four or five compartments. They walked
through and looked for squirrel drays, and any damage. They would record all
this and any cones that were on the ground were counted and recorded onto data
sheets. All the information collected would go to Rex at the Santon Downham
Office.
The survey used to take about three or four hours. Every thing that was seen
in the way of animals, or birds was also recorded. The survey started in about
1975, and continued for fifteen years. The largest number of Red Squirrels
counted on a single morning was twenty-one. When Rex retired, some of the
volunteers who helped him and the team were from the original groups. During
this time the number of the Red squirrels continued to decline. Around the
survey area it became necessary to control the growth of the Grey Squirrel
population.
As time went on, the Nature Conservancy became involved with the project, and
it was decided to reserve an area solely for Red Squirrels. This became too much
for the Commission to do, so that the Nature Conservancy set up a project
whereby they employed a student Mr. John Girton to do all the research work at
Southampton University whilst the volunteers and Forestry Commission continued
with surveying.
Since Rex's retirement, several students have continued the project. A
breeding programme in two pens over an acre in area with a high fence to keep
the squirrels safe and all the necessary elements are provided. When the
squirrels are able to survive, they are released into the surrounding forest.
Bird protection was another of Rex's tasks. Mr. Ron Hoblin, who was the
Forester at the time, was also involved in this project with the RSPB. The
Woodlark, Stone Curlews, Goshawks and Nightjars were the main bird under
protection. A student was researching the Nightjars and Woodlark. Rex says that
the Goshawk just appeared. It is believed to have been released by someone
possibly because they wanted it to breed, so that they could milk the nest.
Although some of the nests were robbed, the majority of them were protected. The
task of protecting the birds was a long and tiring one, needing constant
vigilance and a dedicated team of volunteers including members of the RSPB.
The alarm system terminated at Rex's house, so that he could be called out at
any time of night or day. The teams were constantly changing with each team
doing four to five hours. Betty, Rex's wife, bore all the upheaval with good
humour, and they were all rewarded with the survival of the chicks to adulthood,
after about three months of patience and perseverance.
Another of the Forestry Conservation projects was the Bat Project started in
the 1970's. Rex says that John Goldsmith was "a big mover in this". He
worked at Norwich Museum and was associated with the Norfolk Nature Society. He
suggested that bat boxes could be put up to encourage them to come into the
forest. In this way the bats species, diet and their beneficial effects could be
studied. Within several years of the project starting, six hundred boxes were
made and put up in various locations, Red neck, High Lodge, Brandon Park and the
northern side of the River Ouse.
Once again recruited volunteers willingly monitored the boxes four times a
year, early Spring, Summer, Autumn and late Autumn. Four species of bats were
recorded: Common long Eared, Pipistrelle, Natterer's and the largest was the
Noctule bat. Rex says it was quite amazing how the bats used to get into the
boxes. There was a tiny quarter of an inch slit underneath the box where they
could get in. The board was serrated so that they could grip when they landed on
the box and make their way in. The largest number of bat recorded in one box was
65 Common Long Eared Bat. One bat had been caught and recorded 18 times! People
had to have a special licence from the Nature Conservancy to handle the bats.
They are weighed, measured and numbered with a little tag. The project has been
on going for over 20 years in which time quite a record has been built up about
their breeding, life span, areas they inhabit and their benefit to the forest.
Some of the original volunteers are still involved with the survey.
Rex says that one of the problems that occurred when people know that you are
involved with deer is that people pick up supposedly orphaned animals and very
often during the early days we used to have people knock on the door sometime in
May or June. They would be standing there with little Roe fauns. Although we
tried to explain to people that they mustn't pick them up, they still do it
because they think they are doing good and saving the life of a young faun. In
fact they were causing a lot more problems for Rex as the faun would have to be
hand reared, usually by Betty his wife. The little creatures were so small they
needed feeding every two hours with baby food. Betty successfully reared three
deer. The first one was called Bambi, who used to go out with Rex on the truck
and followed him like a dog. He liked to go out for a walk like a dog on a lead.
Bambi sometimes ate the flowers and the dog would follow suit. Rex says that
they learned a lot from the deer, as it seemed to respond instinctively to the
weather conditions. When the deer were about three months old there were usually
taken to live in wild life parks.
Over the years Rex has won many awards for his work. One of the most
important was when on March 21st. 1989 he went to Buckingham Palace with Betty
his wife and Jenny his daughter to receive the MBE, in The Queen's New Years
honours list. Rex is modest about these awards. He says that a lot of people
help you and you are very lucky to be selected. The experience was an
awe-inspiring occasion and one that the whole family enjoyed.
Rex's other awards include the Courtier Trophy for outstanding service to
wildlife management by Sparsholt College, Hampshire. The Balfour-Browne trophy
for his outstanding work in managing the forest's deer herds.
Interview and transcript by Veronica Moran 2000