Trevor James BEM

We were sad to hear the news that Trevor James died last week following a long illness. The following item was written shortly after Trevor received the much deserved accolade of BEM. A truly remarkable person who contributed so much to biological recording.

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We are delighted to hear that Trevor James, the NBN Trust Development Officer within the BRC from 2001 to 2014, has been awarded a British Empire Medal (BEM) in the New Year’s Honours list.

The contributions Trevor has made to biological recording across the UK are inspiring. Many people within recording communities and beyond have benefitted from Trevor’s expertise over the years. Indeed on a personal note I had the pleasure of working with Trevor in my early days of involvement as volunteer scheme organiser for the UK Ladybird Survey from 2004. Trevor was instrumental in establishing the Coccinellidae Recording Scheme as an on-line survey following the arrival of the harlequin ladybird Harmonia axyridis. I have very fond memories of lunchtime walks in Monks Wood in pursuit of various insects (mainly ladybirds) with Trevor.

Trevor’s vision and ambition for biological recording was evident through his role with the NBN and BRC. However, the BEM is awarded for services to the local community and Trevor has been recognised for his services to nature conservation in Hertfordshire where he had been recording plant and beetle species for decades. Indeed he has been county recorder for over 40 years and his meticulous approach and commitment to recording is exemplary.  Trevor has collated more than one million biological records, including 90,000 plants and 20,000 beetle genera. He has also published two books, ‘Flora of Hertfordshire’ in 2009, and ‘Beetles of Hertfordshire‘ in 2018.  Trevor is currently Hertfordshire’s chief beetle recorder, and serves on the British Naturalists’ Association, and Hertfordshire’s Natural History Society.

We would like to congratulate Trevor on being awarded the BEM and to thank him for all his contributions to the biological recording. We are extremely proud to have worked alongside Trevor within the BRC and delighted to continue to benefit from his expertise and guidance.

Helen Roy (Zoology, Biological Records Centre) on behalf of BRC