Draft:Gerald Haythornthwaite

Lieutenant-Colonel Gerald Graham George Haythornthwaite   (24 July 1912 – January 1995) was a retired army colonel, English environmental campaigner and pioneer of the countryside movement.

He co-founded the Council for the Preservation of Rural England Peak District and South Yorkshire Branch (CPRE PDSY) and was a key figure in the national CPRE movement.

In 1963, he was awarded with a honorary degree, MA, by Sheffield University.

He was awarded a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 1970 New Year Honours for his services to the Peak Park Planning Board.

In 1986, he was awarded with a honorary fellowship by Sheffield City Polytechnic.

Life
Haythornthwaite was born in Bolton, Lancashire to parents Jennie Graham (1874-1930) and Thomas Henry Haythornthwaite (1875-1961).

He married Ethel Mary Bassett Ward in 1937 and they have one son together called Christopher. Haythornthwaite was Ethel's second husband.

They lived together at 22a Endcliffe Crescent, in the Broomhill of Sheffield. Their house and The Stables (behind 22a) become the offices for the CPRE PDSY charity when Ethel's birthplace was demolished.

Countryside protection
Some of his notable achievements to protect the Peak District and South Yorkshire countryside include:


 * Prevented a racing circuit near Dovedale
 * Stopped a motorway through Longdendale

Through his campaigning, along with his wife, achieved the following:
 * the Sheffield Green Belt in 1938,
 * shaped govenment policy (National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949),
 * created the Peak District National Park in 1951, and
 * promoted the use of natural stone for Peak District buildings

He served as Chair of the National Park Planning Committee.

Legacy
In his introduction to the 2001 book Protecting the Beautiful Frame by Melvyn Jones, Sir Chris Bonington wrote:

"'Whatever else is forgotten, the Branch [Peak District and South Yorkshire branch of the CPRE] will go down in history as a major force in environmental conservation because of the achievement of its two 'grand purposes': the designation of a national park in the Peak District and the creation of a permanent Sheffield Green Belt. But there were so many more equally successful campaigns in the wider countryside and urban fringe that the reader gasps with admiration. And at the head of this crusading society for so long, the tireless, single-minded, and selfless Ethel and Gerald Haythornthwaite were without parallel. We shall not see the likes of Ethel and Gerald again.'"

In celebration of Britain's first National Park, the Friends of the Peak District launched the Peak District Boundary Walk on 17 June 2017. The route broadly follows the park's boundary, as envisaged by Ethel and Gerald.

Peak District Boundary Walk
In celebration of Britain's first National Park, the Friends of the Peak District launched the Peak District Boundary Walk on 17 June 2017. The route broadly follows the park's boundary, as envisaged by Ethel and Gerald.

Restoration of Graves


In February 2016, a local resident reported that he found the graves of two of Sheffield's most generous philanthropists were neglected.

Councillor Sioned-Mair Richards, cabinet member for neighbourhoods at Sheffield Council said:

“The maintenance of privately bought memorials is always the responsibility of the family or purchaser. The graves of Sir Stuart Goodwin and Lt Col Gerald Haythornthwaite are private memorials and therefore their families are responsible for maintaining them.

“We acknowledge the significant contributions they made to the city and those of the many others buried in our cemeteries who gave generously, fought bravely and were champions for Sheffield.

“And whilst we would like to be able to maintain all neglected memorials, we have never funded private graves because budget pressures make it impossible for us.

“We have no objections to repairs being carried out and should the family or purchaser wish to instruct a stone mason we can provide information to help them do this.”

Following a public appeal in 2018, the graves of Haythornthwaite and his wife as well as his father-in-law and mother-in-law were restored.

A new plaque and monument at the site marks this event and explicitly acknowledges some of the achievements of Haythornthwaite.

Death
He died in Sheffield at the age of 82 and is buried at Crookes Cemetery, Sheffield with his wife and father-in-law.