Kenneth Williamson

Williamson was born in Bury, Lancashire. After briefly working as a journalist, Williamson started training in biology at the Manx Museum.^[2] He served with the British occupation of the Faroe Islands in World War II from 1941 to 1945.^[2] After the war he continued his biological training at the Yorkshire Museum under Reginald Wagstaffe.^[3] He was employed as a Museum Assistant for Natural History from 1946 until April 1949 when he left to become the Director of the Fair Isle Bird Observatory.^[4] He remained in the role of director until 1957 when he left to be the inaugural Migration Research Officer for the British Trust for Ornithology.^[2]

He served as editor of the journal Bird Migration (1958–1963). He served on the British Birds Rarities Committee (1959–1963).^[2]

On 2 March 1959 Williamson was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. His proposers were George Waterston, Vero Wynne-Edwards, John Berry and James Ritchie.^[1]

He died unexpectedly during the night of 14 June 1977.

He married Esther Louise Rein of Tórshavn in 1944, with whom he had a daughter and a son.

As well as numerous ornithological papers, books authored or co-authored by Williamson include:

• 1937 – The Sky’s Their Highway. Putnam: London. (Illustrated by Charles Tunnicliffe)
• 1948 – The Atlantic Islands. A Study of the Faeroe Life and Scene. Collins: London.
• 1960 – St Kilda Summer. Hutchinson: London. (With J. Morton Boyd).
• 1963 – A Mosaic of Islands. Oliver & Boyd: London. (With J. Morton Boyd).
• 1965 – Fair Isle and its Birds. Oliver & Boyd: London.

• Williamson, Kenneth; & Boyd, J. Morton. (1960). St Kilda Summer. Hutchinson: London.
• Williamson, Kenneth. (1970). The Atlantic Islands. Routledge & Kegan Paul: London. (2nd edition). ISBN 0-7100-6911-1

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