AN internationally-renowned ecologist and conservationist has been remembered for inspiring generations of scientists.

The funeral of Dr Dick Potts was held on Tuesday, April 25 at St Mary’s Church in Fordingbridge.

The former director general of the Game Conservancy Trust, now known as the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) which is based in Fordingbridge, died on March 30.

He was born into a farming family in North Yorkshire and from an early age took a keen interest in wildlife. He studied zoology at Durham University, specialising in ecology and entomology.

During his career he was involved with the Game Conservancy’s Partridge Survival Project in 1968. In 1976 the Sussex team moved to the Game Conservancy’s headquarters in Fordingbridge, where Dick became the director of research in 1977.

His passion for partridges continued unabated throughout his life. He wrote two books, the first one in 1986 covering the Sussex story of partridges, pesticides, predation and farming, and the second in 2012 ranging more widely across partridge species and their biology, published in the prestigious Collins New Naturalist series.

He also turned his skills to conservation issues concerning other species including brown hare, red grouse, woodcock and lapwing.

He became director general of the Game Conservancy Trust in 1993 until he retired in 2001.

During that period, he oversaw the transformation of Lord and Lady Allerton’s gift of Loddington Farm into a demonstration farm. He was also the driving force behind the Joint Raptor Project.

In retirement, Dick remained active, continuing to work on his Sussex study area and helping to bring about the recovery of the grey partridge on the Norfolk Estate.

He also worked with the World Pheasant Association, the Cranborne Chase Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and the International Council for Game and Wildlife Conservation.

GWCT director of research Nick Sotherton and deputy director of research Nicholas Aebischer said: “Almost up to his death, you could hear Dick’s laughter and enthusiastic, bubbly personality filling the corridors at the Fordingbridge HQ of the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust.

“Dick’s drive, enthusiasm, vision and ‘can do’ attitude inspired several generations of scientists and his legacy will continue in the GWCT. He will be sorely missed.”