Countrymen
and Naturalists:
David and Kim Stewart
WRIT TEN BY MARK BEILBY
‘He was one of those rare
boys in whose presence
one felt perfect manners,
seriousness of mind and
gentleness of spirit.’
At the end of the third year of Ralph Townsend’s
headmastership a boy who had made a very
great impression on him was tragically killed as
a passenger in a road accident. Duncan Stewart,
a Philite (G, 2003-08), and the eldest of four siblings,
was just eighteen. He was working as a marine
biologist in his gap year in the autumn of 2008.
His parents, David and Kim Stewart, have worked
together with Winchester to endow the Duncan
Louis Stewart Natural History Fellowship in his
memory. ‘He was one of those rare boys,’ reflects
the Head Man, ‘in whose presence one felt perfect
manners, seriousness of mind and gentleness of spirit.’
Duncan’s parents first met when she was involved in
making an IMAX nature film, To Fly. David has had
a lengthy career as a senior executive in the Media and
Cable Television industries, and has always been a keen
amateur ornithologist and naturalist. ‘When we met I
soon realised that David knew everything I wanted to
know about birds’ migration, locations and weather,’
said Kim, ‘and the rest is history!’ During her career, Kim
worked with the visionary director/producer Francis
Thompson on several IMAX films and became acquainted
with Chris Parsons at the Bristol Natural History Unit
in 1986. Parsons was Editor of the BBC 2 series The World
About Us which ushered in a new era of television,
as colour transformed natural history programmes.
Technological evolution and the development of a
growing team of specialist film-makers at the Natural
History Unit gave rise to a project that became a
landmark of the genre; it was an idea originated
by Parsons himself, and became the benchmark of
wildlife programming Life on Earth. With Chris
Parsons, Kim brought the IMAX Corporation
together with the BBC Natural History Unit for
the purpose of producing the very best wildlife films
26 The Wykeham Journal 2015