Gerald Durrell O.B.E.

7 January 1925 - 30 January 1995

Gerald Durrell was born in Jamshedpur, India, on 7th January 1925. Following the death of his father in 1928 the family moved back to the UK, but spurred on by Gerald’s oldest brother, Lawrence, they soon returned to a warmer climate, this time the island of Corfu.

Here Gerald Durrell’s interest in animals and all things living blossomed, fuelled by a friendship with Dr Theodore Stephanides, whose fascination with the animal world inspired the 10-year-old Gerald.

To learn more about Gerald and the Durrell family in Corfu, please see Durrell School of Corfu.

In 1939, with a war looming, the Durrell family moved back to the UK and settled in the coastal town of Bournemouth.  Gerald started working in a local pet shop and then as a stable-hand and riding instructor. After the war, he became a student keeper at the Zoological Society of London’s Whipsnade Park to gain experience with a wider variety of animals.

On his 21st birthday, Gerald inherited £3000 which he used to finance his first animal collecting expedition. For the next ten years he travelled the world collecting animals for the major British zoological gardens. Encouraged by his older brother Lawrence, he took up a second career as a writer, publishing his first book, ‘The Overloaded Ark’, in 1953. In his lifetime he wrote 37 books, including the best-seller ‘My Family and Other Animals’, which humorously documented his childhood years in Corfu. The book, which has never been out of print since it was published in 1956, has been translated into 31 languages and sold millions of copies worldwide.

In February 1951, aged 26, Gerald married Jaqueline Rasen, who accompanied him on numerous expeditions. Although the couple separated in 1976, it was Jaqueline who encouraged Gerry to follow his dream and create his own zoo with the animals he collected.

In the mid-50s, to the despair of local neighbours, Gerald filled his sister’s back garden in Bournemouth with exotic animals, but without having anywhere to take them.  Following an unsuccessful two-year search for a site in England, Gerald eventually came to the Channel Islands where a retired major’s house turned out to be the perfect place for his zoo. The Jersey Zoo opened to the public on 26th March 1959.During his youth, Gerry spent his time learning as much as he could from the animal kingdom and built up a collection of all manner of creatures, assembling everything from minnows to woodlice, eagle owls to scorpions. School and Gerry did not agree, and he was educated by private tutors, who concentrated on natural history subjects, finding it much the easiest way to hold his attention. In 1945 he became a student keeper at the Zoological Society of London's Whipsnade Park to gain experience with a wider variety of animals.

At the age of 21 he inherited £3,000 with which he financed, organised and led his first animal collecting expedition – to the British Cameroons. For the next ten years he travelled to many lesser known parts of the world, acquiring animals for the major British zoological gardens. 

During brief interludes between expeditions, Gerry launched his second career. Encouraged by Lawrence, he began writing stories of his animal escapades for magazines and radio broadcasts, publishing his first book, The Overloaded Ark, in 1953. He eventually wrote 33 books, including the best-selling The Bafut Beagles, A Zoo in My Luggage, Catch Me a Colobus, The Stationary Ark, The Ark’s Anniversary and, his final book, The Aye-aye and I, published in 1992.

Gerry’s unique insight into the animal kingdom and the engaging humour with which he described his adventures made him one of the most widely read authors of animal stories. His humorous account of his Corfu childhood, My Family and Other Animals, has sold millions of copies worldwide and his books have been translated into 31 languages.

Gerry also hosted seven television series as well as making numerous appearances on television and radio programmes. His early years of collecting expeditions were filmed by the BBC Natural History Unit. Later series, including The Amateur Naturalist and Durrell in Russia, were filmed by independent producers for Channel 4 and subsequently sold to networks and satellite stations in over 40 countries, reaching 150 million viewers.

Gerald Durrell died on January 30th 1995, in Jersey, aged 70. He left an indelible mark on the conservation world and a valuable legacy for future generations. Gerry’s mission and vision continue through the tireless work of Durrell’s dedicated conservationists throughout the world.

“His most important contribution to zoology was in the field of animal conservation and what became known as Durrell’s Army – the people he trained from around the world to go back to their own countries and save animals for themselves.” Desmond Morris

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