Union Medal of the British Ornithological Union explained

The Union Medal is a medal of the British Ornithologists' Union, given "in recognition of eminent services to ornithology and to the Union and ornithology."^[1] From 2019 it is to be known as the "Janet Kear Union Medal", after Janet Kear, with a new medal design.^[2]

In his history of the BOU, History of the Union, Guy Montfort wrote:^[3]

The BOU introduced the Godman-Salvin Medal, awarded "to an individual as a signal honour for distinguished ornithological work.", and nowadays the Union Medal recognises people "who have given distinguished service to the Union itself".

Medallists

Medallists include:^[4]

• 1912 Walter Goodfellow, C. H. B. Grant
• 1948 Willoughby P. Lowe
• 1953 A. W. Boyd
• 1959 W. B. Alexander, E. A. Armstrong, David Armitage Bannerman, Evelyn Baxter, Peter M Scott
• 1960 C. W. Benson
• 1967 Salim Ali
• 1968 J. M. M. Fisher, Charles R. S. Pitman
• 1969 C. W. Mackworth-Praed
• 1970 L. H. Brown
• 1971 Stephen Marchant, Henry Neville Southern, Bernard Stonehouse
• 1972 Derek Goodwin, Norman W. Moore
• 1973 Beryl Patricia Hall
• 1975 Karel H. Voous
• 1976 Ken Williamson, G. C. Shortridge, Alexander F. R. Wollaston
• 1979 Ken E. L. Simmons
• 1980 Geoffrey V. T. Matthews
• 1984 Stanley Cramp, Philip A. D. Hollom, Guy Mountfort
• 1987 Ian Newton
• 1988 James F. Monk
• 1989 Robert Spencer
• 1991 F. B. M. Campbell
• 1992 Michael Philip Harris
• 1993 Ronald M. Lockley
• 1995 R. Tory Peterson
• 1996 Christopher J. Mead
• 1997 Robert A. F. Gillmor, John Sidney Ash
• 1998 Janet Kear
• 2004 Gwen Bonham
• 2008 Christopher J. Feare
• 2011 Peter Jones
• 2012 Andy Gosler
• 2013 Neil J. Bucknell
• 2015 John Croxall
• 2016 Chris Perrins
• 2017 Prof Jenny Gill (former BOU President)

See also

• Alfred Newton Lecture
• Godman-Salvin Medal
• List of ornithology awards

References

1. Web site: Medals and awards . British Ornithologists' Union . 10 September 2019.
2. Web site: The Janet Kear Union Medal . British Ornithologists' Union . 10 September 2019 . 28 May 2019.
3. Mountfort . Guy . Guy Montfort . One Hundred Years of the British Ornithologists‘ Union . . 1959 . 101 . 1 . 8–18 . 10.1111/j.1474-919X.1959.tb02352.x . en . 1474-919X. free .
4. Web site: About the BOU . https://web.archive.org/web/20170331172205/https://www.bou.org.uk/about-the-bou/administration-and-people/medals-and-awards/ . 31 March 2017 . British Ornithologists' Union .