Dangos 302 canlyniad

The file contains a diary, itinerary and bird list compiled during a visit to France, made in response to the challenge of a BBC producer to search for a bird previously unseen, on a subsistence allowance of #25, (Condry's choice being the Black Woodpecker), list of garden butterflies, notes on Llyn Tegid and Bala, covering the bird life, geology, and history, especially the Roman road, the climate, history and bird life of Bardsey, with outline plans for talks and a newsletter, deleted observations on the African landscape and proposed discussion of afforestation in the Snowdonia National Park with official organisations.

The file includes deleted list of birds and places in Shropshire, brief notes, some of them deleted, about hillside embankments, Caradoc, Dinas Oleu, Cippin Bach and Pen Yr Afr, explorations of prehistoric dwellings, other ancient monuments and spectacular views of the Lleyn peninsula, deleted account of a walk in the local uplands.

The series consists of personal letters to Condry, from Ray Perry and others, on subjects relating to wild plants, bird and animal life, identification of insects, birdwatching in Britain and abroad, ornithological records, fundraising efforts for a conservation project, publishing, appreciation of Condry's 'Country Diary' articles and his books, A Welsh Country Diary and Thoreau, life during the Second World War, personal news from friends, Condry's connnections with Birmingham and enclosures of occasional printed items. Correspondents include Ronald Lockley, Ray [Perry], Morrey Salmon, H[arold Wright], Irene (`Benjamin') Vaughan, R.S. Thomas and his wife Mildred Elsie Eldridge (Elsi). There is also a letter from Condry to his niece, Chris (Christine Demmar), enclosing a story about his pet jackdaw, 1971.

The file comprises letters from correspondents who include Ronald Lockley, 1948, reporting the situation prior to formation of the Kite Committee, and inviting Condry to write a book on Thoreau, and Sylvia Lloyd, widow of Bertram Lloyd, 1951, responding to Condry's request for information on the ornithological records of Tregaron Bog (Cors Caron) prior to its designation as a nature reserve, and enclosing typed copies of relevant portions from her husband's journals of 1921-1923

Letter from William Condry to Ray Perry, [March 1946], written in the form of a spring journal recording walks and bike rides in and around Ponterwyd, and remarking on the weather, bird life and scenery.

Personal letters and greetings cards mainly to Penny Condry and occasionally to William Condry from Mildred Elsie Eldridge (Elsi), wife of R.S. Thomas, written at Manafon rectory, Argaliers in France, Aberdaron vicarage and Sarn y Plas, Y Rhiw, Pwllheli, They are mostly dated 1953-1988, with a gap from 1954 to 1967 when R.S. Thomas was vicar of Eglwys-fach, living near to the Condrys. The letters discuss mostly the correspondents’ mutual interest in gardening, ornithology and other wildlife, and are sometimes illustrated with delightful sketches of mice and plants. In addition they reveal aspects of Elsi’s life with R.S. Thomas, their son, Gwydion, Elsi’s own art work, William Condry’s work at Ynyshir, conservation and heritage issues in North Wales, particularly the future of Bardsey Island and the garden at Plas yn Rhiw. Several letters mention mutual friends such as Mary and Bow Behrend, Monica Rawlins and Germaine Hunter. The file also contains a piece of creative writing by Elsi called ‘A Night Garden’, July 1950, occasional letters from R.S. Thomas, 1978-1979, and letters from Monica Rawlins of Ystrad Meurig, 196[?]-1982, and Germaine [widow of Norman Charles Hunter] of Pantlludw, Machynlleth, 1972.

The series consists of biographies, obituaries, notes, articles, correspondence, scripts for radio talks and lectures, index cards, a poster, illustrations, press cutting and extracts from the work of other naturalists, mainly in Wales, but also in other areas of Britain and in Africa.

The file consists of an obituary of Arthur Brook, ornithologist and bird photographer, of Builth Wells, reprinted from British Birds, October 1957

The file contains a partially deleted draft obituary of the Worcestershire naturalist, Cecil Lambourne.

The file comprises typed and photocopied articles about the life, career and writings of Sir Roderick Impey Murchison, the Scottish geologist, who was renowned for his investigations of the rocks of South Wales and the border lands, and was acknowledged as founder of the Silurian system.

The file is a printed booklet describing the life, career, natural history studies and literary interests of John Ray, the seventeenth century Essex naturalist, who had some influence on the work of Edward Lhuyd.

The series comprises loose, printed magazine articles, 1943-1995, newspaper articles 1944-1997, letters, 1952-1999, newsletters, circulars, information leaflets, notes relating to Thoreau's life, the Walden pond and woods, Condry's book on Thoreau (published in 1954) and a lecture which he gave to the Thoreau Society in Concord, Massachusetts, 1981. Recurrent themes include Thoreau's rejection of the conventional values of capitalist society, his life in a cabin by Walden Pond, his friendship with Ralph Waldo Emerson, his writing, admirers and imitators, activities of the Thoreau Society, environmental pressures and conservation of wildlife in Walden and Concord.

The file consists of articles from American newspapers, covering all aspects of Thoreau's life and activities of the Thoreau Society, some of the more notable topics being the opening of a Thoreau Lyceum, Condry's address to the Society in July 1981, a reprint of a newspaper article which he wrote about Walden and Concord, August 1981, his meeting with Lillian Lund Files, the bluebird expert, the controversial contribution of Don Henley to the Walden Woods Project, the preservation of Thoreau's birthplace, and the death of Walter Harding, founder of the Society.

Natural history diaries, 1935-1998, field notes, 1952-1994, typescript and published articles, 1947-1998, notes and correspondence relating to his books, 1933-1998, and to various natural history and historical subjects, card indexes, 1930-1998, and printed pamphlets, papers and books relating to Henry Thoreau, 1943-1999. There are several files of general personal correspondence, 1938-2016, including letters from R.S. Thomas. Inevitably, there are considerable overlaps between the various subsections of the archive, since Condry's interests, professional duties and literary activities were inextricably linked. Additional correspondence and papers, 1948-2020, including the files of letters from R. S. Thomas and his wife Mildred Elsie Eldridge (Elsi), 1968-1998, were transferred to NLW in December 2015, May 2018 and June 2020; a further letter, [c. 1946], by William Condry to Ray Perry, was donated in January 2016; a letter by Condry to his niece, Christine Demmar, enclosing a story about a pet jackdaw, was donated in August 2016; and transcript of a speech given by Chris Fuller at the opening of the William Condry centenary exhibition at MOMA, Machynlleth, in September 2018., donated in October 2018.

The series comprises drafts of newsletters of the West Wales Field Society (later West Wales Naturalists' Trust), entitled Field Notes, produced more or less quarterly between 1950 and 1954, containing information on the evolution of the Society, its work, annual meetings, ornithological and botanical notes, wildlife and conservation issues

The file comprises material for an unpublished book about Penny Condry's garden at Ynys Edwin and includes three sets of typescripts, respectively labelled 'WWG Version I 'Gutted Remains', 'Carbon Copy', 1991 and 'Ms.of Last Planned Book', 1998, author's own comments and impressions, publisher's rejection letter, 1991, notebooks containing a bibliography and progress report, 1997-1998, and loose, handwritten notes on weeds, bee keeping, pests, and wild plant and animal species.