Eric Edwards, Broads Authority Marshman, retires after 40 years
Eric Edwards, who has cut reed and sedge at How Hill National Nature Reserve for 40 years, is retiring from the Broads Authority on 1 June.
The reed and sedge at the 360 acre reserve will now be cut commercially by self-employed reed and sedge cutters. The reserve is also being used to train the Broads Authority’s reed and sedge cutter bursary holders in an effort to support the industry.
Eric, 67, who began working at the reserve in 1967, has kept the Broads traditions alive with his trademark smock, hat and neckerchief, and is one of only two reed-cutters in the Broads to still use a scythe.
Awarded an MBE three years ago for services to the Broads, he has given thousands of talks and demonstrations to schoolchildren who stay at the How Hill Environmental Study Centre, captivating his audience with his enthusiasm and his personal collection of Victorian marsh tools and traps.
Although he was reportedly ‘very quiet’ when he first came to How Hill, Eric, a former Norfolk County footballer from Ludham, has become a media celebrity. He has appeared in the Generation Game with Bruce Forsyth and Jim Davidson three times, was interviewed by Sir Harry Secombe in Highway, appeared last month in The New Paul O’Grady Show, and is a regular in television documentaries about the Broads.
He has given Margaret Thatcher and Prince Charles lessons in stacking and dressing reed – famously telling Lady Thatcher she was ‘doing it wrong’. Pictures of Eric can also be found on cards and postcards and in paintings depicting the romance of the Broads.
Eric, whose wife Ruby has cooked at How Hill Environmental Study Centre for 30 years, said: ”I shall miss getting up in the morning and going across the river to the marsh. I love my job. I love the outdoor life, the different seasons and the wildlife. And I love mixing with people and talking to children. I enjoy that immensely. It’s been a marvellous 40 years.”
23/05/2007
