It is with deep sadness that we report the passing of Alan Knight the founder of the reserve in the 1980s and our condolences go to his wife Ursula and family.
The reserve was set up when the then owners of the site Shell Chemicals were intent on extending their operations and dug out the foundations for a large new cracking plant, this was never built and the hole gradually filled with water. The story goes that an employee wanted to start an angling club but was refused by a site director who hated fishing. This may well be apocryphal, but Alan persuaded Shell to allow him to create the nature reserve.
A condition of the lease is that member numbers have always been limited, and Alan gathered together a small group of dedicated volunteers both to record sightings on a daily basis but just as importantly to maintain the reserve. The latter was carried out under Alans strict guidance that were both long and tiring but which saw the development of islands in the pool that were extended over the years to encourage nesting and breeding. One of the great successes of the reserve during this time was the establishment of a small group of breeding Black-necked Grebe which coexisted alongside the Black-headed Gull colony, for obvious reasons this was never publicly announced and the Grebes no longer nest at the pool. This was further followed for a number of years by one or two breeding pairs of Mediterranean Gulls which was an early record if not the first for Greater Manchester.
Joining as a member of the reserve was never a given as Alan didn't tolerate casual members , photographers or twitchers. You had to be willing to participate. and I was interviewed on a Sunday morning for almost three hours, including my views on Ruddy Ducks. Alan oversaw the reserve for many years whilst he worked at Shell and after he retired. Eventually he moved to the South coast near Weymouth and then to Milton Keynes to be near his family, but he always kept in touch.
We have lost members who were with Alan from the start of the reserve, but there still a few who remember him well. We can honestly say the reserve would not have been started or continue to exist without his input and dedication, and it continues to be part of the development planning under the owners of the site Wain Estates.
