Yesterday (1 October), we heard the sad news that long-time recorder at Carsington Water Eddie Walker had passed away the previous day at his home in Belper, surrounded by his nieces and sister Brenda.
Eddie, who was 79 and had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer earlier this year, leaves behind a considerable legacy to Carsington Bird Club and to birding in general – in Derbyshire and beyond. He was one of the founder members of CBC shortly after the opening of the reservoir (his original membership number was 007!), and was on the club’s first committee in 1992 with responsibility as Recorder, a position he held for very many years before handing over to Roger Carrington after deciding to move to Spain.
A number of “firsts” on site and the detailed records over those first dozen years or so of the reservoir’s existence were largely down to Eddie and his recording team of the day.
He lived in Spain for around 20 years, in the small town of Rafal on the Costa Blanca, but came back for extended breaks in the UK – usually to escape the extreme heat experienced during the Spanish summer. We therefore saw plenty of him during those trips back ‘home’and Carsington remained a cherished spot for him throughout those final 20 years, though he enjoyed going to other sites like Wyver Lane, Ogston, Willington, Old Moor and Blacktoft Sands on a regular basis. Several months ago he sold up in Spain and moved back to England for good.
For those wishing to attend his funeral, we will post the time and date on the website.