Malcolm Crowder 1933 – 2026

Malcolm Crowder, Honeyguider and trustee of the Honeyguide Wildlife Charitable Trust, died on 19 July. His death, aged 92, followed a time of care in Salhouse, Norfolk, at home with his wife Helen Crowder.

The majority of Honeyguiders will have met Malcolm and Helen, given the number of Honeyguide wildlife holidays that they were on. Helen recently reminded me that in July 2019 I gave them a certificate to mark 100 Honeyguide holidays between them – 50 each. After then there were six more, bringing Malcolm’s total to 56. This included one Norfolk break during the ’Covid years’, during which time Malcolm was also on 35 local Honeyguide events, mostly morning or all-day walks in Norfolk. Their most recent holiday was to South of Salamanca in Spain in 2023.

Malcolm Crowder releases a ringed chiffchaff. Pego Marsh, Valencia, March 2018

Malcolm was instrumental in setting up the Honeyguide Wildlife Trust in 2004. It came out of a conversation, over a beer in the French Pyrenees, about how to make the most of the donations to conservation projects that are part of Honeyguide’s ethos. His suggestion was a charitable trust, to enable us to claim Gift Aid on donations, which we have done ever since. Malcolm’s work as a surveyor and project manager in the restoration of historic buildings, especially those with a community benefit, meant he knew the mechanics of setting up a charitable trust. Naturally I asked if he’d do it for us, which he was happy to do.

My connection with Malcolm goes back further, to my student days at the University of East Anglia in the 1970s. I had opinions about how the university campus should be managed for wildlife, such as leaving areas uncut and not clearing up fallen timber. All perfectly valid, though seeking out someone to hear my perspective in the university’s administration may not have been the best way to tackle this. Malcolm, as number two in the university’s estates department, calmly listened to and tolerated my undergraduate opinions. We’d bump into each other in Norwich from time to time in the following years, then again when the RSPB used his surveyor’s skills to check over the new regional office building at 97 Yarmouth Road, Norwich.

Helen and Malcolm saw an article in the Eastern Daily Press about Honeyguide in The Lot department, France, a regular destination during the 1990s. When we moved this French holiday to the Dordogne in 2001, this became a favourite destination, with Helen and Malcolm happy to return to Cathy and Keith’s hospitality at Castang on several occasions. After more than 50 holidays, there weren’t many that Malcolm hadn’t been on, though I should also note Berdún in the Spanish Pyrenees as another favourite to which Malcolm and Helen were always happy to return.

Helen and Malcolm Crowder in 2019 (Jean Dunn).

Malcolm continued working into his eighties, and often said that he enjoyed not having to think for the week or so that he was away. In his quiet way, he enjoyed the company of Honeyguiders, and vice versa. His motto was 'never give up', which applied to his gentle enjoyment of the wildlife and company on holidays.

This blog concentrates on Malcolm’s links with Honeyguide and is far short of a biography. Put his name into a search engine and you’ll find information about his work for the Norwich Preservation Trust, London Historic Buildings Trust and North Norfolk Historic Buildings Trust (e.g. Langham Dome). In 2000, he was awarded an OBE for his services to historic building conservation.

Chris Durdin