We were saddened to hear about the loss of Dr Ian Forsyth MBE, a founding member of the Northern Ireland Bat Group in 1985.

Dr Ian (John) Forsyth MBE, known to many as ‘Ian’ was a husband to the late Dr Pamela Allen, a founder member and former committee member of the Northern Ireland Bat Group has died aged 92 years.

Ian joined the Royal Horticultural Society in 1963. He then joined Queen’s University, Belfast, as a lecturer in Natural history in 1966, where he stayed until he retired in 1995. Ian graduated in zoology in 1952 at Aberdeen and after undertaking a postgraduate course at Imperial College London, joined the Colonial Service, working for five years as an agricultural entomologist in Ghana.

Seeking to achieve a life-long ambition of gaining a doctorate and after discussions with Aberdeen’s John Speakman in the late 1990’s, Ian studied colonies of Leisler’s bats in County Antrim’s Lagan Valley and in Country Tyrone. Ian studied around 20 roosts and at one roost in County Tyrone fitted tiny devices known as passive integrated transponders (PITs) to 120 bats. Ian was awarded a PhD at Elphinstone Hall, King’s College, Aberdeen.

Thank you Ian for your passion and dedication to wildlife in Northern Ireland.

You will be sorely missed. Our sincere condolences to Ian’s daughters, family and friends.

May he Rest in Peace