DONORS:

James Pollard, Nicholas Pollard, S. Kent Carnie, North

American Falconers Association

With his good friends Stephen Frank and Roger Upton,

this threesome has long been recognized as leading the

revitalization of game hawking in the U.K. following

World War II. Geoffrey’s long-term (since 1965) honorary

membership in NAFA recognized the fact that he also played

a signiﬁcant role in the development of the sport in North

America —inspiration! Geoffrey was, from the early 1960’s,

an icon to those who were trying to see falconry on this

continent go from a having to a hunting sport. Here was a

falconer actually doing what those in this country wished to

emulate; not only doing it but doing it to perfection.

In Geoffrey Pollard we found the consummate falconer, a

man much admired, emulated, even envied by his peers.

Though he had an interest in guns and, in university, in

boxing, anything outside falconry was peripheral for him.

First trained as a barrister and later as a successful solicitor,

his legal career was simply a means to an end—to enable him

to hawk at a standard that he felt appropriate: the best!

A “hard-core long-winger,” a term that brought chuckles

when I used it to describe him at his funeral, even that

Americanism hardly does justice to his commitment to the

sport. He had spent almost twenty seasons -- every season

-- devoted solely to pursuit of red grouse by the time I ﬁrst

carried his cadge in 1967. And he continued to so spend

every season since. He prized passage peregrines obtained

post-season from the Middle East, ﬂying ﬁrst over setters and

then, when he could no longer ﬁnd his beloved Humphrey

Laverack Llewellins, English pointers on the moors of

northern Scotland. Early on I came to believe that with his

single-minded commitment, should he break a leg while

one of his dogs was on point, he would ﬂy the point before

worrying about the leg. I never saw him break a leg but,

bitten by an adder on the moor, his reaction was as I had

suspected. An ambulance was awaiting him at the end of the

tarmac, after he ﬂew the point.

At his memorial service, I surprised some, describing

Geoffrey as only half the falconer we all considered him.

Surprised that is until we consider the whole Pollard team.

It is doubtful if Geoffrey could ever have achieved all that he

did in our sport without the constant support and assistance

of his wife Diana (who predeceased Geoffrey by 10 months)

and of their two sons Nicholas and James. Diana spent their

honeymoon at a French falconers meeting and by the time I

met them, she and the boys had never had another “holiday”

(vacation) except carrying a cadge or on the end of the leash

of a setter, pointer, or pair of ﬂushing spaniels. That pattern

continued throughout all their lives together. Diana served

us lunch in the mews everyday, spent all afternoon totally

engaged in the sport on the hill, then hurried home and while

we had a beer or cider putting up the hawks, cooked delicious

suppers, closed to the gratitude of all with her famed LMP

(lemon meringue pie).

I like to remember Geoffrey as when we ﬂew the last eight

days of the 1969 season. With ﬁve peregrines on the cadge,

in those eight days the team killed forty red grouse. Geoffrey

-- with Diana -- set a new mark: not just with signiﬁcant bags

but in the level of passion and dedication -- a total devotion

-- shown to our sport. With his passing, British falconry,

American falconry, and indeed all the world’s falconry, lost a

great FALCONER.

GEOFFREY ALAN POLLARD

Renowned British falconer Geoffrey Pollard passed away at his home, “Endlands,” outside London on the

morning of Sunday, 15 October, 2006.

Consummate falconer, admired, emulated and an inspiration for the signicant

role in developing the sport in North America, Geoffrey is missed by all.