Arthur Elijah Trueman, 1894-1956

Arthur Elijah Trueman was born on 26 April 1894 at Nottingham. He was the son of Elijah Trueman and Thirza Gottee, who were both natives of Nottingham. He lived at various places near the borders of Nottingham which were always within easy reach of the country and he recorded that at an early age he was particularly interested in sketching from nature; this facility he retained throughout his life, many of his papers and books being illustrated by his own sketches and drawings. In later years, he was interested and adept in water-colours, especially landscapes, which gave pleasure to him and to his friends. In 1906, he gained a scholarship to High Pavement School, an old foundation established as a City Secondary School in Nottingham and he remained there for five years under the headmastership of Edwin Francis; before he left he had passed the Intermediate B.Sc. Examination of the University of London; it is indicative of his special interests at this time that he asked for a microscope as one of his prizes. The Field and Camera Club of the school exerted an important influence upon Trueman; he organized field excursions, and took an active part in exhibitions of natural history specimens. He also became secretary of the Nottingham branch of The Young Naturalists’' Association instituted by Percival Westall and visited other schools in the city on behalf of the Association. He took up the study of variation in the shell of the common banded snails, systematically collecting these shells and making careful distribution maps. This work resulted several years later in a short but interesting paper which is based upon a very large number of specimens. His interest in the variation in the form of shells and his assiduity in collecting them, which were to remain unabated throughout his life, were thus developed whilst he was a boy at school.