Leo Pemberton (left) presenting the Arboricultural Association Award to Fred Last in September 1993.
We are sad to announce the death of Leo Pemberton, a former Chair of the Association and a significant figure in arboricultural and horticultural education.
Mr Pemberton was Association Chair from 1992 to 1993. During his long career he was a principal examiner for the Royal Horticultural Society, the Royal Forestry Society, the Arboricultural Association and City & Guilds. He was awarded a Veitch Memorial Medal by the RHS in 1988. The prize is awarded to ‘persons of any nationality who have made an outstanding contribution to the advancement and improvement of the science and practice of horticulture.’ In 1998 he was presented with the Institute of Horticulture award in recognition of his contribution to horticultural and arboricultural education at Kew School of Horticulture. He held the post of Supervisor of Studies at RBG Kew for 25 years and had previously worked at Reading University, Pershore College and Swanley College.
Whilst Supervisor of Studies at Kew between 1965 and 1989 he was responsible for shaping the careers of many horticulturists and arboriculturists on the world-renowned Kew diploma, including Peter Bridgeman, John ‘Log’ Whitehead, Alan Titchmarsh, Peter Thurman, and Tony Kirkham. Tony, who is Vice President of the Arboricultural Association, said, ‘Leo had a good eye and knew if a person was suitable for the Kew diploma. Regardless of whether they had the right qualifications or not he would be prepared to give them a chance on the course. He was a key mentor of mine when I was a student at Kew. He was a listener and never wanted to hear about problems, “Only solutions”.’
This article was taken from Issue 200 Spring 2023 of the ARB Magazine, which is available to view free to members by simply logging in to the website and viewing your profile area.