CHRISTINE Pawling died peacefully at her home in Bishopstoke on February 21 and her funeral was held on March 5. She was very well known and respected throughout Hampshire for her work in wildlife conservation.

Chris and her husband Mike have been the mainstay of the Hampshire Bat Group for as long as most of our members can remember. By the mid 1990s our newsletters were listing them as the people for anyone in Hampshire to phone if they needed advice and help concerning bats. They have tackled every aspect of bat conservation work.

Chris was the warm, welcoming face of bat conservation in Hampshire for many years. Chris was there to greet us and make the refreshments at our meetings. Linked to their involvement in badger conservation in the Winchester and Southampton areas, Chris organised the joint Bat and Badger Christmas Parties that were a fun addition to our annual programme.

Chris and Mike ranged over the whole county with their roost visits and bat rehabilitation work. They represented us at innumerable shows and events and gave a vast number of talks to the public about bats. Chris was very creative in the children’s activities that she devised for our displays and school visits.

For about 20 years Chris ran our bat hospital from her home in Bishopstoke. If anyone wasn’t sure of the address, they only had to spot the bat door knocker! Many of us have fond memories of her enthusiastic and knowledgeable support while training with her in the rehabilitation of injured bats. Smiling and patient, she always knew how best to support her patients. In addition to travelling all over the county rescuing bats and caring for them well into the night, Chris contributed to the after-hours national phone helpline of the Bat Conservation Trust.

As well as all this, Chris was a very active member of the Hampshire Bat Group committee for 19 years. She edited our newsletter, Bat Droppings from 2007 to 2017, contributing many lively articles and editorial comments.

As licensed batworkers, Chris and Mike’s roost visits ranged over a huge area, from Lymington and Ringwood in the west, to Andover and Highclere in the north, to Hook in the north east, to Petersfield and Portsmouth in the south east. Keeping thorough records, their work contributed nearly 900 distribution records to our county database.

Chris and Mike participated in the National Bat Monitoring Programme surveys for many years, including a Waterways transect along the River Itchen at Lords Wood and a brown long-eared bat roost count near Ower. On the retirement of other members, they took over the leadership of many of our activities, including the annual surveys of Winchester Cathedral.

Nationally recognised, Chris and Mike were shortlisted for the Bat Conservation Trust’s Pete Guest Award in 2015, 2016 and 2017. Locally, we acknowledged their contributions by awarding them the status of Honorary Members of the Hampshire Bat Group at our 30th anniversary celebrations in 2014. Now our committee has decided to commemorate Chris by naming our annual student bursary after her.

Christine requested that donations in her memory should be given to Marie Curie Cancer Care.

Nik Knight

Chairman and County Bat Recorder

Hampshire Bat Group