Eric Arthur Simms,DFC (24 August 1921 – 1 March 2009)^[1][2] was an Englishornithologist,naturalist, writer,sound recordist, broadcaster and conservationist,^[1][2] as well as a decorated wartimeBomber Command pilot/ bomb-aimer.

Simms was born on 24 August 1921, the youngest of three brothers,^[2] in London,^[1] where his father Levi Simms from Cheshire was head gardener at the private gardens in Ladbroke Square.^[1] His mother Amy Margaret was the daughter of Henry Coles from Oxford.

He won a scholarship toLatymer Upper School^[1] and in 1939 began to read history atMerton College, Oxford,^[1][3] where he also took upbird ringing^[1] and joined theUniversity Air Squadron, and, without completing his studies, was sent for aircrew training in Canada and the United States in 1941. He wascalled up, joining theRoyal Air Force in 1941^[1] and by 1943 was aLeading Aircraftman, and was then commissioned as apilot officer on probation in theRoyal Air Force Volunteer Reserve on 19 March 1943,^[4] serving as a bomb aimer and second pilot inLancaster bombers,^[1] in which he flew 27 raids over Germany.^[1] On 14 November 1944 he was awardedDistinguished Flying Cross,^[3][5] the citation praising his "skill and determination which have been an inspiration to the crews with which he flies" and a "complete disregard for danger in the face of the heaviest enemy defences".^[2]

After demobilisation, he worked as a teacher inWarwickshire,^[1] and served on the research committee of theWest Midland Bird Club.^[1]

He then worked for theBBC, initially as a wildlife sound recordist,^[2] before making more than 7,000 radio broadcasts and hundreds of television appearances.^[1][2] He was a passionate believer in bringing natural history to a wider audience, and was a resident naturalist at the BBC. He is credited with starting theCountryside radio programme in 1952. The theme tune used for the programme wasRivers of the North of England byLambert Williamson.^[6] As a guest onDesert Island Discs in 1976, one of his eight choices was a recording of a blackbird he had made near his London home.^[2] He narrated the 1972 BBC LP "A Year's Journey" (catalogue number RED135M), which was subtitled "Wildlife recordings from the BBC TV Series for schools".

Simms also appeared in SirJohn Betjeman's 1973 TV documentaryMetro-land,^[2] about theMetropolitan Railway line running northwest out of London. He was featured birdwatching inGladstone Park, near to his home inDollis Hill.

In 1980 he and his wife Thelma (who was Section Officer Thelma Jackson,WAAF,^[7] when they married) retired toSouth Witham, nearGrantham, Lincolnshire.^[2] He died on 1 March 2009. Thelma had died in 2001.^[1] They had a daughter and a son, Amanda and David,^[3] and four granddaughters.^[2]

Simms was a prolific writer of over twenty books and numerous articles.

• —— (1952).Bird Migrants. Some aspects and observations. Cleaver-Hume Press.
• —— (1957).Voices of the Wild. Putnam.
• —— (1969).Witherby's Sound-Guide to British Birds (2 ed.). Witherby. (With Myles North)
• —— (1971).Woodland Birds. Collins.ISBN 0-00-213259-1. (New Naturalist series no.52)
• —— (1974).Wild Life in the Royal Parks. HMSO.ISBN 0-11-670573-6.
• —— (1975).Birds of Town and Suburb. Collins.ISBN 0-00-219126-1.
• —— (1976).Birds of the Air: The Autobiography of a Naturalist and Broadcaster. Hutchinson.ISBN 0-09-126070-1.
• —— (1976).The Public Life of the Street Pigeon. Hutchinson.ISBN 0-09-133150-1.
• —— (1978).British Thrushes. Collins.ISBN 0-00-219670-0. (New Naturalist series no.63)
• —— (1979).Birds of Town and Village. RSPB.
• —— (1979).A Natural History of Britain and Ireland. Dent.ISBN 0-460-04372-2.
• —— (1979).Wild Life Sounds and Their Recordings. Paul Elek.ISBN 0-236-40134-3.
• —— (1982).Natural History of Birds. Weidenfeld & Nicolson.
• —— (1983).A Natural History of British Birds. Dent.ISBN 0-460-04469-9.
• —— (1985).British Warblers. Collins.ISBN 0-00-219404-X. (New Naturalist series no.71)
• —— (1989).The Song Thrush. Shire Publications.ISBN 0-7478-0023-5.
• —— (1992).British Larks, Pipits and Wagtails. Collins.ISBN 0-00-219870-3. (New Naturalist series no.78)

• 1921 births
• 2009 deaths
• Alumni of Merton College, Oxford
• English nature writers
• English ornithologists
• People educated at Latymer Upper School
• Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)
• Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II
• Wildlife sound recordists
• New Naturalist writers
• 20th-century English zoologists
• Royal Air Force officers
• English naturalists
• English conservationists
• English broadcasters

• Pages containing London Gazette template with parameter supp set to y
• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from April 2022
• Articles with hCards