George Edward Lodge – Frimley’s Famous Bird illustrator

In today’s digitally driven instantly-obsessed world it is hard to imagine not being able to see an image of anything that you desired immediately.

It’s all at our fingertips now, but there was a time before the worldwide web where the world was a bigger more mysterious entity. It was during these times that the world and its tech-less inhabitants relied on people like George Edward Lodge to satisfy their curiosity.

George was born in Lincolnshire in December 1860, the seventh child and fifth of his fathers dutiful eleven children, a home education saw George become an accomplish taxidermist by the age of just twelve years old. His first stuffed animal? An owl, a wise choice you might say, it was certainly one that inspired further exploration of bird, he visited Norway, Sweden, the West Indies, and the United States but it was here in Frimley where he would enjoy the more leisurely years of his life and eventual pass away.

There is no doubt that George did possess an incomparable gift to draw these birds in preposterous detail the likes that had never been seen in the early in 1900s. If you wanted to see a falconry in predatory splendour right now, you’d type into your fruit named device or android phone the words ‘action shot of a falcon’ but back in say 1910 this wasn’t exactly a possibility so Edward’s detailed drawings provided both education and entertainment it could be said.

In 1913 Lodge was commissioned by New Zealand Government to document the various types of native wild birds this was to be one of many bird-based books he would work on, although Lodge did study and document other wild animals it was birds where his levels of passion soared the highest and he was not alone one of his brothers became a notable photographer, his subject? Well, Birds of course. The work of George Edward Lodge was massively appreciated during his own life, having passed away sixty-five years ago it is now the devoted work of a trust set up in his honour, the only objective of the charity is to advance education of the public in the artwork, life and skills of George Edward Lodge. Rather fittingly the George Edward Lodge Trust is chaired by falconry expert (falconer) Mr Brian Bird.

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