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William Fassnidge

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William Fassnidge
Born(1888-01-07)7 January 1888
Chesham, Buckinghamshire, U.K.
Died19 April 1949(1949-04-19) (aged 61)
Southampton, Hampshire, U.K.
Occupation
Years active1922–1949

William Fassnidge (7 January 1888.[1] – 19 April 1949[2]) F.R.E.S. was a British entomologist and language teacher.

Fassnidge's main interest area was Microlepidoptera, most particularly researching varieties of the moth Peronea cristana[2] (now known as Acleris cristana).[3]

BMNHE 1079561, a specimen of the butterfly Papilio machaon britannicus Seitz, 1907 collected by William Fassnidge at Wicken Fen in June 1937

Biography

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Fassnidge was the third son of a carpenter and joiner, Samuel Fassnidge and his wife Annie (née Mary Ann Holloway) of Chesham, Buckinghamshire[4]

On 11 May 1913 Fassnidge married Hilda Caroline Vasey (1884–1967) of Dunston on Tyne.[5] They had one son,[2] Claude William (1915–1995).[6][7]

He was educated at St. Mark's College in Chelsea, London.[2]

Fassnidge's regular employment was as a Modern Language Master at the King Edward VI School in Southampton (from c.1915–1945).[2] One of Fassnidge's pupils for French was the future entomologist John Heath.[8]

Fassnidge served as a Lieutenant in the King's Liverpool Regiment during WW1.[9][2]

Fassnidge was a Francophile and made several study trips to France. In 1925 he travelled with his friend A.E. Burras to collect moths in the then-understudied and hard-to-access village of Auzat, returning again in 1927.[10][11] Fassnidge also spent the Easter Holiday of 1930 in Dieulefit searching for the larvae of Aegeriadae (now Sesiidae).[12]

Before the outbreak of World War 2, Fassnidge and his wife acted as hosts for refugees fleeing Germany, and during the conflict he served in the Home Guard.[2]

'Friendly fire' accident and decline

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In 1942, while on his Home Guard duties Fassnidge was badly injured during a demonstration Spitfire flight on Imber Down, Salisbury Plain when the pilot mistook a line of spectators for targets,[13] shooting Fassnidge in a lung and the main artery of his left arm.[14] Fassnidge was initially given two years to live,[2] but recovered enough to continue with some entomological work, although he was only able to use his right arm while collecting.[15] Hilda Fassnidge sometimes accompanied her husband on study trips in an attempt to prevent him straining himself, but Fassnidge's poor health after his injuries eventually resulted in his death.[14]

Legacy

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After his death, Fassnidge's Microlepidoptera collection was purchased by the entomologist Stanley N.A. Jacobs,[14] while his Macrolepidoptera collection was purchased by the British Museum.[10] The Natural History Museum, London Library and Archives holds field notebooks[16] and correspondence relating to Fassnidge's work.[17]

Selected publications

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  • Fassnidge, W. 1923. List of the Macro-lepidoptera, including the Pyrales, Crambi and Pterophorina of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. The Entomologist's Record and Journal of Variation 35 (1-12): 1-16[18]
  • Fassnidge, W. 1926. A Month's Collecting in the Pyrenees. The Entomologist's Record and Journal of Variation XXVII (new series) (4): 49-52[11]
  • Fassnidge, W. 1928. Birds as enemies of mining larvae in South Hampshire. The Entomologist's Record and Journal of Variation XL (new series) (5): 70-78[19]
  • Fassnidge, W. 1931. Notes on three insects bred from Galls on Juniper. The Entomologist's Record and Journal of Variation XLIII (1): 34-36[12]
  • Fassnidge, W. 1938. Lepidoptera at Uvernet, Basses-Alpes, from 29 July to 8 September 1937. The Entomologist's Record and Journal of Variation L (12): 153-158[20]
  • Fassnidge, W. 1945. A Dorsetshire Locality for Peronea Cristana Fb. (Lep.) Journal of the Society for British Entomology 2 (7): 240[15]

References

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  1. ^ The National Archives; Kew, London, England; 1939 Register; Reference: Rg 101/6925a
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Jacobs, Stanley Norman Aflalo (15 May 1949). ""Obituary" [William Fassnidge]". The Entomologist's Record and Journal of Variation. LXI: 58–59 – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
  3. ^ "Acleris cristana (Denis & Schiffermüller), 1775". www.gbif.org. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  4. ^ 1901 England Census: Class: RG13; Piece: 1333; Folio: 11; Page: 13
  5. ^ "Marriage". Buckinghamshire Examiner. 16 May 1913. p. 3.
  6. ^ General Register Office; United Kingdom: Civil Registration Death Index 1916-2007: Registration District: Southampton: Inferred County: Hampshire: Register Number : D49A: District and Subdistrict: 5002D: Entry number: 16: Claude William Fassnidge
  7. ^ "Births Jun 1915". Free BMD.
  8. ^ Goater, Barry (31 January 1988). "In Memoriam: John Heath (1922-1987)". Nota Lepidopterologica. 10 (4): 200–201 – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
  9. ^ The National Archives; Kew, London, England; Reference WO 374/23719
  10. ^ a b Corke, David (25 March 2003). "The Butterfly Fauna of Central Ariège, Pyrenees, France in the 1920s and 2002". The Entomologist's Record and Journal of Variation. 115 (1): 79–80.
  11. ^ a b Fassnidge, William (15 April 1926). "A Month's Collecting in the Pyrenees". The Entomologist's Record and Journal of Variation. XXVII (new series) (4): 49–52 – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
  12. ^ a b Fassnidge, William (15 February 1931). "Notes on three insects bred from Galls on Juniper". The Entomologist's Journal and Record of Variation. XLIII (1): 34–36 – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
  13. ^ Riley, Norman Denbigh, ed. (1949). "William Fassnidge". The Entomologist. 82: 216.
  14. ^ a b c Jacobs, Stanley Norman Aflalo (25 March 1994). "Life Cycle of a Bughunter (The Late S.N.A. Jacobs)". The Entomologist's Record and Journal of Variation. 106 (1–2): 62 – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
  15. ^ a b Fassnidge, William (30 November 1945). "A Dorsetshire Locality for Peronea Cristana Fb. (Lep.)". Journal of the Society for British Entomology. 2 (7): 240 – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
  16. ^ "Manuscript Notebook Collection of William Fassnidge (1888-1949) [circa 1922-1935]".
  17. ^ "Manuscript Collection of William Fassnidge (1888-1949)] [circa 1926-1935]".
  18. ^ Fassnidge, William (1923). "List of the Macro-lepidoptera, including the Pyrales, Crambi and Pterophorina of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight". The Entomologist's Record and Journal of Variation. 35 (1–12): 1–16 – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
  19. ^ Fassnidge, William (15 May 1928). "Birds as enemies of mining larvae in South Hampshire". The Entomologist's Record and Journal of Variation. XL (new series) (5): 70–73 – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
  20. ^ Fassnidge, William (December 1938). "Lepidoptera at Uvernet, Basses-Alpes, from 29th July to 8th September, 1937". The Entomologist's Record and Journal of Variation. L (12): 153–158 – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
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