Coins of Elizabeth I from the Collection of the late Walter Wilkinson (Part III)

Walter Wilkinson

Walter Wilkinson: devoted husband and father. Cosmopolitan. A perfectionist with an amazing eye for detail, scientist and artist, collector, creator, researcher, cataloguer. My Father had a full and varied life, making the most of his time in India, Africa and England to enrich and broaden his incredible knowledge. He had a deep but quiet faith; he was compassionate, intelligent, adventurous, adaptable and interested in so much – people, places, cultures, flora and fauna, coins, glass, wood, etc. He was a caring and modest man and consequently few knew how varied his great knowledge, talents and interests were.

As children my sister, Helena, and I enjoyed nature walks with our Father, looking at butterflies and beetles, fungi and flowers or shells and wildlife on the beach. At home his study was full of jars of termites (including the big queen), boxes of beetles, bugs, moths and butterflies and a few animal skulls. He designed and created beautiful, interesting gardens from nothing in Muguga, Wokingham and Barton-on-Sea and made my bedroom furniture. He inspired in me a love of gardening and woodwork and taught me to paint and decorate with a...