Ewan Clarkson

Ewan Clarkson (1929–2010) was an English author specialising in books about nature, particularly wild animals.

Born on 23 January 1929,^[1] Clarkson, who before writing worked as a veterinary surgeon, was later to state that "for twenty-five years I laboured under the illusion that I was a scientist. I worked as a laboratory assistant after school to study for my Bachelor of Science. Then I was a veterinarian for the People's Dispensary for Sick Animals. When I realised that I became too emotionally involved with my charges [...] I rebelled against the objective, unemotional approach of the scientist and went to Devon where I could write".^[2]

His first book was Break for Freedom, also published in the United States as Syla, the Mink(1968), telling the story of a mink escaping from a fur farm in Devon, and showing the influence of Henry Williamson's stories about Devon wildlife. Clarkson gave a particular focus to the impact of man's activities on nature, a theme he developed in subsequent works, following Break for Freedom with Halic, the Story of a Grey Seal in 1970, and a number of other novels and non-fiction wildlife books. Clarkson also wrote several books on animals aimed specifically at younger children, as well as many magazine articles about angling: an accomplished fisherman, he was regarded as a pioneer of saltwater fly fishing techniques.

Clarkson, who lived in Newton Abbot, died on 19 April 2010.^[3]

Selected Bibliography

• Break for Freedom (1968) (U.S.A. Title: Syla, the Mink)
• Halic: The Story of a Gray Seal (1970)
• The Running of the Deer (1972)
• In The Shadow Of The Falcon (1973)
• Wolf Country: A Wilderness Pilgrimage (1975)
• The Badgers of Summercombe (1977)
• Many-forked Branch (1980)
• The Wake of the Storm (1983)
• Ice Trek (1986)
• King of the Wild (1990)
• The Flight of the Osprey (1996)

References

Ewan worked as a civilian driver for the Ministry of Defence at Denbury Camp,Newton Abbot a Junior Leaders camp for young soldiers, from 1965 to its closure in 1967