Daily Herald, 10 August 1962

In J.A. Nelder’s statistical analysis, the 60-year period from 1895 to 1954 is divided into two:

• 1895 – 1924
• 1925 – 1954

All the records of rarities for the counties of Kent and Sussex for both periods were included, and the region divided into three parts:

• The Hastings Area
• The rest of Sussex
• The rest of Kent

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Sydney Daily Telegraph, 12 August 1962

The number of rarities in the three regions were compared within each time period and the numbers in each region compared over both time periods.

The results indicated that while the numbers of records for areas other than Hastings remained consistent, the Hastings area had far more rarities recorded in the period 1895 – 1924 than in the succeeding period.

If the Hastings records are accepted as genuine, these results imply that very special circumstances existed during the period 1895 – 1924, not shared by the surrounding areas. The possibilities include:

• More numerous and efficient collectors
• Greater numbers of rare birds

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Il Tempo, 26 August 1962

Suspicions as to the genuine nature of some of the Hastings birds did not originate with the authors of the articles in ‘British Birds’. Mr H.F. Witherby, then editor, wrote expressing doubts to Thomas Parkin, a local collector of birds and eggs, some time before June 1916.

As a result of this letter, Mr George Bristow, the taxidermist who prepared and mounted almost all of the specimens taken locally, wrote to Witherby offering to have the specimens examined in the flesh, by experts, before skinning them. A panel of experts, consisting of some of the most notable ornithologists of the day was duly appointed. The number of rarities declined after this, but it should be borne in mind that in 1916 the First World War was at its height, and everyone involved had other concerns.
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