Veitch Memorial Medal Explained

The Veitch Memorial Medal is an international prize awarded annually by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS).

Goal

The prize is awarded to "persons of any nationality who have made an outstanding contribution to the advancement and improvement of the science and practice of horticulture".^[1]

History

The prize was first planned in 1870, in memory of James Veitch of Chelsea. At first, the prize was issued by the Veitch Memorial Trust and awarded at local horticultural shows, but from 1885 the Medals were awarded at the Orchid Conference. Since 1922, the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), having taken over the Trust, has awarded the Medal.^[2] By 2010 over 500 medals had been presented.

Winners

19th and 20th centuries

• 1883 : John Roberts (1830-1892) (Head Gardener, Charleville Castle, Co. Offaly, Ireland).
• 1886 : Andy Dey^[3]
• 1887 : A. Ives (Gardener to E.C.Jukes)^[4]
• 1891 : John Heal (c. 1841 – 1925), William Watson (Assistant Curator - Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew),^[5]
• 1894 : Victor Lemoine (France) (1823–1911),^[6] George Nicholson (1847–1908).^[7]
• 1895 : Donald McBean (1843-1903)(Scotland) Director Scottish Horticultural Society, Director Glasgow and West of Scotland Horticultural Society, obit. Gardeners' Chronicle 16 May 1903, p.318.
• 1896 : Charles Sprague Sargent (1841–1927) (US)
• 1897 : Liberty Hyde Bailey (1858–1954) (US)
• 1899 : Thomas Francis Rivers (1831–1899)^[8]
• 1901 : Richard Irwin Lynch (1850–1924) Curator of the Cambridge University Botanic Garden,^[9] Thomas Meehan (1826-1901)^[10] (1826–1901) (US)
• 1904 : Lucien Louis Daniel (France)
• 1906 : Ernest Henry Wilson (1876–1930)
• 1907 : John Gilbert Baker (1834–1920) ; Worthington George Smith (1835–1917)^[11]
• 1913 : Sir Trevor Lawrence, 2nd Baronet (1831 – 1913)
• 1921 : Robert Lloyd Praeger (1865-1953) (Ireland)
• 1922 : William Jackson Bean (1863–1947)
• 1923 : Richard Irwin Lynch (1850–1924), Curator of the Cambridge University Botanic Garden (second award)^[12]
• 1924 : William Rickatson Dykes (1877-1925);^[13] John Hoog^[14] Lilian Snelling 1879–1972)(silver medal)^[11]
• 1925 : David Prain (1857–1944)
• 1926 : George Herbert Engleheart (1851-1936);^[15] Matilda Smith (1854–1926) (silver medal)^[11]
• 1927 : George Forrest (1873–1932)
• 1928 : Gertrude Jekyll (1843-1932)
• 1929 : Alfred Barton Rendle (1865–1938)
• 1930 : William Wright Smith (1875–1956)
• 1931 : Otto Stapf (1857–1933)
• 1932 : Leonard Cockayne (1855–1934); Sir Fredrick William Moore (1857–1950)^[16]
• 1933 : Arthur Grove^[17]
• 1934 : Francis Kingdon-Ward (1885–1958)
• 1935 : Sir Edward James Salisbury (1886–1978) (of Radlett);^[18] Arthur Disbrowe Cotton
• 1936 : Robert L Harrow ; Arthur William Hill (1875–1941)
• 1937 : John Hutchinson (1884–1972), George Russell (1857-1951)^[19]
• 1938 : Morley Benjamin Crane (1890–1983)^[20]
• 1939 : Isabella Preston (1881–1965)
• 1941 : Eleanor Malby
• 1945 : William Henry Judd (1888-1946) (of Arnold Arboretum)^[21]
• 1947 : Frederick Chittenden^[22]
• 1948 : Collingwood Ingram (1880-1981);^[23] George Sherriff (1898-1967)^[24]
• 1949 : Amos Perry
• 1950 : Wilfrid Jasper Walter Blunt (1901–1987)^[25]
• 1951 : John Macqueen Cowan
• 1952 : Bertie Thomas Percival Barker
• 1953 : William Bertram Turrill (1890–1961) (of Kew),^[26] Nellie Roberts (silver medal)^[27]
• 1954 : Dorothy Renton (of Branklyn),^[28] Mary Knox-Finlay (of Keillour Castle)^[29]
• 1955 : Vita Sackville-West (1892-1962),^[30] Ralph Peer (1892-1960)^[31]
• 1956 : Albert Burkwood (1890-1978)
• 1957 : Charles Henry Curtis (1870-1958);^[32] Patrick Synge (1884-1967);^[33] Harold Hillier (1905–1985)
• 1960 : Frederick Claude Stern (1874-1967)^[33]
• 1961 : T. Johnson
• 1962 : Frank Reinelt;^[34] Miles Hadfield (1903-1982)
• 1963 : Percy Cane (1881-1976); Frederick Augustus Secrett (1886–1964);^[35] Sir Eric Humphrey Savill (1895-1980)^[36]
• 1964 : Frances Perry (1907–1993), William Thomas Stearn (1911–2001) Christiaan de Wet Meiring (1900-1976 Caledon Botanical Gardens, South Africa)
• 1965 : William Douglas Cook (New Zealand) (1884–1967), A. Nisbet (Silver medal)
• 1966 : Graham Stuart Thomas (1909–2003), Eben Gowrie Waterhouse (1881–1977), John Scott Lennox Gilmour (of Cambridge University Botanic Garden),^[37] Leonard Broadbent (1916-2002)^[38]
• 1967 : Alex J Burnett, Elizabeth Hess (Principal of Studley College)
• 1968 : John Stuart Yeates (New Zealand) (1900–1986), Maurice Mason (1912-1991)^[39]
• 1969 : Sir Thomas Neame (1885–1973), Donald Wyman(1904-1993)^[40]
• 1970 : Mary Pope (Flower arranger)
• 1971 : B.L.Burtt (1913-2008),^[41] Frances Perry,;^[29] Helen Richardson (Daffodil breeder); W. Bishop,; T. Durrant,; A. Westall (silver medal)
• 1972 : Xenia Field (1894–1998),;^[42] Roy Lancaster (born 1938); Mrs T. Rochford; E. Smith (silver medal)
• 1973 : Countess of Haddington^[29]
• 1974 : John Bergmans (Netherlands) (1892–1980); R. Fiske
• 1975 : J. Fraser Thomas Robert Noel Lothian (1915-2004)^[43]
• 1976 : Alice Margaret Coats (1905–1978);^[44] Margaret Stones (silver medal)
• 1977 : Iris Bannochie (1914–1988); A. Gray
• 1978 : Gavin Brown (1910-1987);^[45] Frederick Alkmund Roach (1909-2004),;^[46] B. Fry
• 1979 : Fred Whitsey (1919–2009); Gordon Rowley, J.W. Goodwin (of Pukeiti Gardens); S. Coe
• 1980 : A. Healey, F. Keenan, S. Orr (silver medal), F. Potter,; Robert John Garner^[47]
• 1981 : David Robinson (1928–2004), F. Cleary, David McClintock
• 1982 : P. Teunissen
• 1983 : P.B.J. Joubert (South Africa)
• 1984 : (1921 - 2010), Mary Grierson (1912–2012),^[48] R. Beaumont
• 1985 : Mavis Batey (1921–2013);^[49] K. Andrew,^[50] N. Luitse,;^[50] C. Mitchelmore,;^[50] Margaret Stones^[50]
• 1986 : Ambrose Congreve (1907–2011),;^[50] R. Sagarik^[50]
• 1987 : Rachel Lambert Mellon (1910-1914); K. Beckett,;^[50] Victor Fowler;^[50] R. Mellon^[50]
• 1988 : E. Napier,;^[50] L. Pemberton;^[50] T. Wright^[50]
• 1989 : John Alfred Codrington (1898–1991)^[51] Helen Robinson (1919-2004),^[52] J. Glazebrook,^[50] E. Scholtz,^[50] Ashley Stephenson^[50] Carl Ferris Miller (1921–2002)^[50]
• 1990 : Chen Hang (born c. 1931), M. Arai,^[50] Elizabeth Scholtz^[53]
• 1991 : John L. Creech (1920–2009),^[54] Lawrence James Metcalf (1928 - 2017)^[50]
• 1992 : Patrice Fustier (French),^[50] D. G. Hessayon (born 1928),^[50] Olive Hilliard,^[50] Joy Larkcom,^[50] J. Ravenscroft^[50]
• 1993 : Brent Elliot,^[50] Sir Peter Smithers, Brenda Hyatt,^[55] H. Suzuki^[50]
• 1994 : David C.H. Austin,^[50] R. Birchall,^[50] A. Kenrick,^[50] Dick van Gelderen,^[50] T. Venison,^[50] Wang Dajun^[50]
• 1995 : Gilly Drummond,^[50] Mikinori Ogisu,^[50] A. Paterson,^[50] Jane Pepper (1945-),^[50] B. Self^[50]
• 1996 : Gloria D. Barretto (1916-),^[50] B. Howard,^[50] H. Noblett,^[50] C. Riley,^[50] S. Spongberg,^[50] D. Steed,^[50] Michael Upward (-2015),^[50] R. Waite^[50]
• 1997 : Ray Bilton (1937-2012);^[50] B. Briggs,;^[50] Brian Rittershausen;^[50] Kiat Tan^[50]
• 1998 : Bruce Macdonald (Missouri Botanical Garden); R. Aylett;^[50] J. Bleasdale;^[50] P. Catt;^[50] K. Cockshull;^[50] R. Elliot;^[50] E. Hetherington,^[50] M. Rix^[50]
• 1999 : Sonja Bernadotte (1944–2008); Helen Dillon (1938-);^[50] Christopher Grey-Wilson;^[50] P. Hemsley;^[50] Hugh Johnson;^[50] James H. McColl;^[50] J. Quinlan,;^[50] Brian and Maurice Woodfield^[50]
• 2000 : William Flemer,;^[50] F. Last;^[50] Anna Pavord;^[50] Daphne Vince-Prue;^[50] Jean O'Neill^[56]
• Date unknown : Alfred Daniel Hall (1864–1942)
• Date unknown : Thomas Wallace (1891–1965)
• Date unknown : Werner Rauh (1913–2000)
• Date unknown : Alan Bloom (1906-2005)
• Date unknown : George Hermon Slade AM (1910-2002) (Australian orchid collector)

21st century

(See the Royal Horticultural Society Green Manual^[50] for further reference.)

• 2001 : Francis Higginson Cabot (1925–2011) (US/Canadian), Brian Duncan, Silviero Sansavini (Italy), P. Thoday
• 2002 : Piet Oudolf (born 1944) (Dutch), Stella Ross-Craig (1906–2006),^[57] B. Machin, John Massey, G. Ogden, Martin Rickard, Lady Emma Tennant, R. Williams
• 2003 : Martin John Bukovac, Richard Bisgrove, J. Dowle, J. Moorby, Peter Raven (USA), Shirley Sherwood, Vicompte Philippe de Spoelberch (Belgian)
• 2005 :
  • Anne-Marie Evans (A leading figure in botanical illustration, her worldwide influence has led a resurgence of interest in and greater understanding of the depiction of plants)
  • W.H. Frederick, M. Solomon, Sir Richard Storey (1937-), Timothy Whiteley
• 2006 : Phillip Cribb, Otto Eisenhut, Aljos Farjon, A. Langton, Norman Looney
• 2007 : Rex Dibley, Daniel John Hinkley (born 1953), Lord Charles Howick^[58]
• 2008
  • Dr James B. Beard for his lifelong contribution to the development and application of scientific principles to turfgrass culture. Dr Beard founded the International Sports Turf Institute and has served the international horticultural community for the past 50 years through research, teaching and leadership.
  • John Nelson for his outstanding practical work over many years in the restoration of the Lost Gardens of Heligan, one of Cornwall's best-known tourist attractions.
• 2009
  • David Wheeler (founder and editor of Hortus: A Gardening Journal)^[59]
  • Dr Joan Morgan (writer and historian)^[59]
  • Jozef van Assche (Secretary ISHS)^[59]
• 2010 : Stefan Buczacki, Bob Brown, Arabella Lennox-Boyd, Haruhiko Nagata, Jennifer Owen
• 2011 : Graham Ross (Australia), Christopher Bailes (U.K.), Rosemary Alexander (U.K.), Keshab Chandra Pradhan (Sikkim, India)
• 2012 : Susyn Andrews (U.K.), John Elliott (Singapore), Chris Lane (U.K.), Hugh McAllister (U.K.), Beverley McConnell
• 2013
  • Peter Del Tredici, Peter Furniss, Sue Minter, Alec Pridgeon and Margaret Owen^[60]
  • Dr Keith Hammett, New Zealander whose horticultural interests include Sweet Peas, Dahlias and Clivias
• 2014 : Mark Chase, Martin Gardner, Antonio de Almeida Monteiro, Philip Baulk and Gianfranco Giustina (Italy)^[61]
• 2015 : Gillian Barlow, Bob Berry, Neil Bragg, Fergus Garrett, Charles Nelson, Penny Snell and John Pilbeam^[62]
• 2016 : Sarah Carey, Diana Grenfell, Ernst van Jaarsveld (of Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden), Marco Polo Stufano and Dr Ken Thompson.^[63]
• 2017 : Dominic Cole, Rod Leeds, Philippe Lecoufle, William McNamara and Andrew McIndoe^[64]
• 2018 : Prof Rosemary Collier, Gerald Edwards, Michael Hudson and Dr Douglas Needham.^[65]
• 2019 : Ursula Drioli, Fabio Garbari, John Tan Jiew Hoe and Rachel Lever^[66]
• 2020 : John Anderson, Owen Johnson,^[67] Rosie Peddle,^[68] Derek Spicer^[69] and Ian Young^{[70] [71]}
• 2021 : Junonia Colley, John Hughes, Phil Lusby and Long Yayi^[72]
• 2022 : James Alexander-Sinclair, Dr Matthew Jebb, Harri Lorenzi, Paul Meyer and Thomas Pakenham

See also

• List of agriculture awards

References

1. Web site: Royal Horticultural Society - Awards Nominations . 2009-01-30 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090202074133/http://rhs.org.uk/About/awardsnominations.htm . 2009-02-02 . dead .
2. https://www.rhs.org.uk/NR/rdonlyres/92535A31-A7AA-4863-93DE-2DAE2D93AB96/0/RHSManual.pdf 2007 Manual
3. Banffshire Journal http://www.banffshire-journal.co.uk/Features/Memory-Lane/Improvements-in-the-pipeline-7327819.htm
4. The Veitch Memorial Prize Medal in my possession. Dated November 9, 1887
5. The Gardeners’ Chronicle ser.3:v.10 (1891) p.765.
6. Judith M. Taylor
7. Nicholson, George. 3 . 12-13 . Boulger . George Simonds . George Simonds Boulger . 1.
8. Web site: Thomas Francis Rivers - Summary . Parks and Gardens UK. 18 December 2016.
9. Web site: Richard Irwin Lynch. gerbera.org. 18 December 2016.
10. https://books.google.com/books?id=fi3mAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA446&dq=%22Thomas+Meehan%22 American Horticulture Honoured
11. Web site: 20th century Botanical Artists. BOTANICAL ART & ARTISTS. 25 October 2019.
12. Web site: Richard Irwin Lynch. gerbera.org. 18 December 2016.
13. Ray Desmond
14. Web site: Hybridizer C. G. Van Tubergen, Jr. . 12 April 2020.
15. Web site: George Herbert Engleheart. Wiltshire OPC Project. 18 December 2016.
16. Book: Ainsworth, Geoffrey. Brief Biographies of British Mycologists. 117.
17. Massachusetts Horticultural Society - Forgotten Books
18. Web site: Sir Edward Salisbury, botanist, 1886-1978. Harpenden History. 17 December 2016.
19. News: Simply Loopy . telegraph.co.uk. 24 June 2000. 16 June 2016. Whitsey . Fred .
20. Mather . Kenneth . Lawrence . W. J. C. . Morley Benjamin Crane. 17 March 1890-17 September 1983 . Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society . November 1985 . 31 . 88–110 . 10.1098/rsbm.1985.0004 . 769921 .
21. Web site: The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University. Harvard University. 17 December 2016.
22. Book: Ainsworth, Geoffrey. Brief Biographies of British Mycologists. 41.
23. Book: Als die Gärtner Tweed trugen. 149.
24. Book: Als die Gärtner Tweed trugen. 155.
25. Book: Writers Directory. 120.
26. Web site: Natural History Museum Archives Online Catalogue.
27. Oder. Thomas Allen. March 2009. Nellie Roberts. The Orchid Review. Royal Horticultural Society. 117. 32–38.
28. Web site: Gardens (en). Parks and. Dorothy Graham Renton. 2021-04-03. Parks & Gardens. en.
29. Web site: RHS Veitch Medal. Gardening Women.
30. T. J. Hochstrasser, ‘West, Victoria Mary Sackville- (1892–1962)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 2008 accessed 24 May 2014
31. Web site: A Passion for Camellias . The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens . 19 June 2018.
32. Web site: Brentford Councillors - Charles Henry Curtis. Brentford High Street Project. 17 December 2016.
33. Book: Als die Gärtner Tweed trugen. 156.
34. Book: Visions of Loveliness: Great Flower Breeders of the Past. 9780804040624. Taylor. Judith M.. December 2014. Ohio University Press .
35. Book: Desmond, Roy. Dictionary Of British And Irish Botantists And Horticulturalists. 2676.
36. Book: Als die Gärtner Tweed trugen. 154.
37. Web site: John Scott Lennox Gilmour. 23 May 2013. Wordpress. 17 December 2016. (1906-1986)
38. http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/obituaries/15097639/obituaries-professor-leonard-broadbent-obe-cbe-vmh EBSCOhost Connection
39. Book: Als die Gärtner Tweed trugen. 151.
40. Dr. Wyman Receives Veitch Medal. The Quarterly Bulletin of the American Rhododendron Society. April 1969. 23. 2. Virginia Tech. 17 December 2016.
41. Web site: B. L. Burtt: Plant taxonomist. https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220811/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/b-l-burtt-plant-taxonomist-846272.html . 2022-08-11 . subscription . live. The Independent. 23 October 2011. 17 December 2016.
42. Oxford DNB article: Field, Xenia Noelle. Buczacki . Stefan . Stefan Buczacki . 2004 . 10.1093/ref:odnb/69295. 29 July 2014 .
43. Web site: State Library of South Australia - Thomas Robert Noel Lothian, O.B.E.. 5 September 2011. State Library of South Australia. 12 July 2014.
44. Stearn . William T. . Hadfield . Miles . 1978 . Obituary: Miss Alice Margaret Coats (1905-78) . Garden History . 6 . 3 . 4–6 . 1586637 . 0307-1243.
45. Web site: Our History - Timeline . John Innes. 17 August 2017.
46. Web site: Frederick Roach OBE, horticulturist.. www.telegraph.co.uk. The Telegraph. 16 July 2014.
47. Web site: R. J. Garner . Octopus Books. 17 August 2017.
48. Web site: Mary Grierson.
49. http://www.parksandgardens.org/places-and-people/person/1921 parksandgardens.org, Mrs Mavis Lilian Batey - Summary.
50. Web site: RHS Green Manual. RHS. 23 December 2016.
51. McClintock. D. Obituary : John Alfred Codrington (1898-1991). Watsonia. 1992. 19. 53–54.
52. Web site: Helen Robinson (obituary). The Telegraph. 23 December 2016.
53. Web site: Remembering Betty Scholtz, director emeritus of Brooklyn Botanic Garden . Brooklyn Daily Eagle . 30 April 2020 . 6 October 2021.
54. RHS Honors John Creech. Journal American Rhododendron Society. 1992. 46. 4. American Rhododendron Society. 23 December 2016.
55. Book: Horwood, Catherine. Gardening Women: Their Stories From 1600 to the Present.
56. (Katharine) Jean O'Neill [née Whitaker] Lady O'Neill of the Maine (1915–2008) In O'Neill, Terence Marne, Baron O'Neill of the Maine (1914–1990), prime minister of Northern Ireland]. Mulholland. Marc. en. 10.1093/ref:odnb/39857. 2020-04-17.
57. Web site: Stella Ross-Craig -'Unrivalled' botanical illustrator. https://web.archive.org/web/20121111072250/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/stella-rosscraig-467169.html. dead. November 11, 2012. 20 February 2006. 5 May 2011. The Independent., A. Jellyman
58. 2007 RHS Manual
59. The Garden, August 2009, page 512 (Royal Horticultural Society)
60. Web site: 2013 RHS Awards for Outstanding Contributions to Horticulture . April 11, 2013 . Royal Horticultural Society . December 15, 2014.
61. http://press.rhs.org.uk/RHS-Science-and-Advice/Press-releases/2014-RHS-Awards-for-Exceptional-Contributions-to-H.aspx 2014 RHS Awards for Exceptional Contributions to Horticulture Announced
62. Web site: Outstanding horticulture. RHS. 17 December 2016.
63. Web site: RHS People Awards. RHS. 16 December 2016.
64. Web site: RHS People Awards. RHS. 17 August 2017.
65. Web site: Horticulture Week. 8 October 2019.
66. Web site: RHS People Awards. RHS. 8 October 2019.
67. Web site: The Tree Register Patron and Trustees . The Tree Register . 4 October 2021.
68. Web site: Who We Are . Associação de Plantas e Jardins em Climas Mediterrânico - Mediterranean Gardening Association Portugal . 4 October 2021.
69. Web site: Appleby . Matthew . Obituary: KiIworth Conifers' Derek Spicer . Horticulture Week . 4 October 2021.
70. Web site: Ian Young Awarded Veitch Memorial Medal by RHS . Scottish Rock Garden Club . 4 October 2021.
71. Web site: Appleby . Matthew . Gardiner, Bailes and McColl awarded RHS Victoria Medal of Honour . Horticulture Week . 4 October 2021.
72. Web site: RHS People Awards . RHS . 4 October 2021.

External links

• Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Awards Nominations