Eric Maurice Staite   1917 – 2006

The sudden and tragic death of Eric on the 7th April due to road accident has been a great loss to those older members of the Institute who knew him, to whom he was not only a colleague but, to many, a close and congenial friend.

Eric was born in Cheltenham in August 1917, the son of Walter and Annie Staite. He was educated at Cheltenham Grammar School and then joined the Town Clerk’s Office with Cheltenham Council. He joined the Territorial Army in the mid-1930s and was called up in August 1939. He served in North Africa where he was taken prisoner in Libya in 1941 – then spent the next 3 ½ years as a POW in Greece, Italy and Germany.

After the war he again took up his previous employment, but in 1951 his interest in fisheries got the better of him. He joined the old Severn River Authority as a fisheries officer. In 1961 Eric made a significant career move when he transferred to the Wye River Authority as Fisheries and Pollution Prevention Officer where, in the following decade he introduced many new ideas and practices. His knowledge and expertise were widely appreciated, which resulted in him being consulted on issues of national importance, such as the effects of a Severn barrage on fisheries, changes to fisheries legislation and inter-regional water transfers – the last coming to prominence following the 1976 drought.

The mid-1960s saw a rapid increase in salmon stocks nationally – but it was in the Wye that the magnitude of this increase was most marked, and in 1967 the river recorded a rod catch of over 7000. Some of these were caught by Eric whose skill as an angler, especially with the fly, was put to good use. This glut of fish brought its problems, a big increase in organised poaching on a national scale by gangs and the appearance for the first time of UDN, which killed many thousands of fish. Dealing with the poaching and the collection and disposal of dead and diseased fish was a particularly stressful time for Eric and his staff. In 1974 the Wye River Authority became the Wye Division of Welsh Water and with it came a large number of changes.

Eric was always approachable and popular with his colleagues and the public but changes in the water industry that affected fisheries and the way they were managed were not always to Eric’s liking. On many occasions he showed the other side of his personality by making his feelings known to the powers-that-be in a forthright manner that did not always meet with approval. In 1981, after experiencing a number of frustrations due to reorganisation, he retired. But this did not stop his interest in fisheries. Eric had always been keen to improve the lot of those who were at the sharp end of fisheries protection and he saw that there was a need for education and training if the efficiency of the service was to be enhanced. The proposal to form a national training programme was first mooted in 1968, which Eric enthusiastically supported. This led to the formation of the Institute of Fisheries Management in 1969 to which Eric was elected as one of its first council members. This was a position he held for many years until taking over the role of secretary in 1981, after retirement. He continued in this role for eleven years until 1997. During this period his fisheries and administrative experience and dedication played a major role in helping lay the foundations upon which the Institute now stands.

Apart from his fishery work Eric had other interests. He was a musician for most of his life, beginning with the Blue Rhythm Band in wartime and, in later years, as the organist for a number of Herefordshire Masonic Lodges for which he was a Past Provincial Senior Grand Warden for the Province of Hereford and founder member of the Dean Waterfield Masonic Lodge.

Eric was married in 1940 to Gladys Morris with whom he shared a long and happy partnership until in 2003, “Glad”, as she was always known, sadly passed away. Glad was also missed by Eric’s friends and colleagues to whom she always showed great kindness. They are succeeded by their two sons, Christopher and Robin, to whom we extend our greatest sympathy. Eric will be greatly missed. May he rest in peace.