About Mr A Darby OBE
Adrian Marten George Darby has lived in Kemerton since 1949. He writes:
I am an economist by training and taught the subject at Keble College Oxford from 1963 to 1985. I took over the family farm in 1964; dividing my time between Oxford and the family home at Kemerton Court until I gave up academic life to involve myself more fully in nature conservation which has always been my lifelong passion.
I joined the council of the RSPB, Europe’s largest nature conservation organization, in 1981, subsequently becoming its chairman (1986–1993), and was made an honorary vice-president in 1996. After giving up the RSPB chairmanship I held a number of similar voluntary posts in other national and international conservation organisations. I was chairman of Plantlife International 1994-2002, and have been its president since 2005. I served as chairman of the UK Committee of the World Conservation Union (1996–1999).
I also did some work for the public sector. From 1997-2001 I sat on the board of the government’s Farming and Rural Conservation Agency. From 2004-2007 I served as chairman of the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, which advises the government on UK and international conservation issues.
I was appointed OBE for services to nature conservation in 1996.
On my own farm I have been active in promoting wildlife conservation and in 1989 I founded the Kemerton Conservation Trust, a charity to promote wildlife and landscape conservation in the three counties of Gloucester, Hereford and Worcester.
The work of this charity can be seen on the Trust’s website www.kemerton.org
I first became a member of Kemerton Parish Council in the 1960s and have served, on and off, ever since. I was also a member of Evesham Rural District Council before it was amalgamated into Wychavon. Since 1998 I have been the Liberal Democrat councillor for the South Bredon Hill Ward of Wychavon District Council, which covers the villages of Westmancote, Kemerton, Overbury, Con