Powys director of RSPB and Newtown Rugby Club founder dies

Roger Lovegrove OBE made a large impact in the county for his work in the conservation work through his work as the director of the RSPB in Wales as well as his work in sport-  being a founder member of Newtown Rugby Club.

According to his family, Roger’s love of “wildlife, cross-country running and Carlisle FC was a result of a youth spent in rural Cumberland” but he went on to spend most of his life in Montgomeryshire.

In 1964, he moved to mid Wales, firstly as head of PE at Newtown High School. During this time as a teacher, he went on to be a founding member of Newtown Rugby Club and led international youth expeditions.

Sean Weekly's picture of a red kite for the County Times Camera Club

However, he later landed his “dream job” in 1971, when he opened the first Wales office for the RSPB – retiring 27 years later when he was awarded an OBE for his conservation work as Director of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) in Wales.

Roger was most associated with the protection of the small red kite population which was, for a century, confined to central Wales.

He played an “integral role” in the reintroduction of kites to England and Scotland, a project which has seen these birds of prey return to much of their former haunts.

Roger was also one of a small group of naturalists who formed the Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust in 1982 and six years later a founding member of the Welsh Ornithological Society.

Tributes have praised his “boundless energy, knowledge and enthusiasm” which has “inspired a whole generation of conservationists”.

Roger was later co-author of “Birds in Wales” - the first comprehensive ornithological record of the country.

This was followed up with his much-acclaimed, best-selling work “Silent Fields” documented the long decline of British wildlife.

Roger died in Shrewsbury aged 88 on June 22, 2023 after a long illness.

He is survived by his wife Mary and his daughters Sian and Polly.