Members at our 2007 BBQ

Cardiff
Naturalists' Society


Cymdeithas Naturiaethwyr
Caerdydd

 

 

Gilbert David Shepherd M.B.E, J.P., F.C.A., (1880-1958) 49th President


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For someone so involved with the society for many years we have only this very brief obituary in Volume LXXXVII of the Transactions for 1958

Mr. Gilbert D. Shepherd died on the 6th June, 1958, at the ripe age of 78 years.

We do not think that the passing of Mr. Shepherd should remain unnoticed in our records, as throughout a long life he rendered exceptional service to the Society. He became Assistant Secretary under Mr. Walter Cook in 1901, and later served under Mr. A. W. Sheen, F.R.C.S. A few years later he became the Hon. Secretary.

In these capacities he served the Society for 20 years. Mr. Shepherd was elected President for 1921/22 and then succeeded Mr. H. Edgar Salmon as Hon. Treasurer. He retired from the Treasurer-ship at the Annual Meeting on 11th October, 1951, and at that Meeting he expressed his great pride and pleasure at the fact that his son, Mr. Edgar Shepherd was elected in his place.

He continued as a member of the Society until his death, and his wise counsel and guidance was always welcomed. Mr. Shepherd therefore, served the Society for nearly 60 years. When the former Cardiff Photographic Society became defunct he was instrumental in founding the Photographic Section of the Naturalists' Society. He also took the initial steps towards founding the Junior Section. At different times he became President of both Sections and was Treasurer of each Section from 1923 onwards.

He served as a Justice of the Peace and was a prominent member of the Rotary but it is not for us to record his other spheres of usefulness.

Obituary E. Lewis.

There is no picture of him and neither can I locate extensive newspaper articles about him specifically, but from what I have found it may well be that he was not someone who courted publicity because of family issues. The first mentions of him that I have found relates to his education as an accountant leading to his qualifications in 1900 and 1902

Evening Express 16th January 1902

Evening Express 16th January 1902

However the next set of articles he appears in relate not to him, but to his father who admitted to the embezzlement of a large amount of public money

Dramatic Cardiff Confession, Evening Express 27th September 1904

Dramatic Cardiff Confession, Evening Express 27th September 1904

David Shepherd Before The Bench, Evening Express 11th October 1904

David Shepherd Before The Bench, Evening Express 11th October 1904

Mr. Shepherd In Prison, Evening Express 30th September 1904

Mr. Shepherd In Prison, Evening Express 30th September 1904

The case was covered extensively throughout 1904 and 1905 and resulted not surprisingly in a prison sentence (3 years) and a subsequent bankruptcy case. He was moved from Cardiff gaol to Lewes in Sussex and then onwards with reports of him wearing "khaki-coloured convict cap, a blue overcoat, bearing the Broad Arrow Marks in a greyish colour" for his transportation

Gilbert as recorded above continued to support his father as a dutiful son, but then went on to build his own successful career.

As noted above he does not seem to have been an extensively public figure, but was active in many aspects of Cardiff's cultural life. In 1920 he was an active member of the committee hosting the British Association, and wrote the section on the history of local scientific institutions for the Handbook to Cardiff and the neighbourhood (with map) by British Association for the Advancement of Science which is available on-line

As was noted above, Gilbert Shepherd was a keen Rrotarian and it is noteworthy that his presidency of the local group made it into this US (Chicago) based publication - it is noted in the magazine that Sixty-Seven Thousand copies of this issue were printed

The Rotarian Apr 1921

The Rotarian Apr 1921

I have not found many references to him but have come across this First day cover letter regarding the 1948 Olympic Games Wembley. It is reproduced here courtesy of www.covercollecting.com

1st Day Cover sent to G D Shepherd

1st Day Cover sent to G D Shepherd

As a side note I have located a link between Gilbert Shepherd and Peter Price the founder of the Free Library and 12th President, in a book entitled "The Auditors Talk: An Oral History of a Profession from the 1920s to the Present Day" in which Kathkeen Patterson related her time working for Gilbert Shepherd after she had started her career working for the firm of Wentwood Price, Peter's son.



Back to the 150th Anniversary index

Before this... Daniel Sibbering-Jones (1856-1931) 48th President

Next up... Thomas Andrews Walker, F.C.I.S., (1856-1936) 50th President

See our Full list of Presidents

These pages are part of the Cardiff Naturalists' Society 150th Anniversary celebrations and are about our history and are celebrating the people who developed our Society and helped build the city and the cultural heritage of Cardiff. You can read more about that using the links above

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