J.D. Romer, Hong Kong herpetologist, in 1940s London and then Hong Kong

Recently I found a few popular articles by John Romer (1920-82). Two were written in the months before he left U.K. for Hong Kong in August 1947.

The first was an article on monitors for the Aquarist magazine of June 1947 while the second was a letter on the longevity of the Natterjack Toad, also in the Aquarist, written in reply to an article by Eric Hardy. Romer reported that he had kept an adult for ten years and that it ‘died an unnatural’ death.

Then, from Hong Kong, he wrote an article on geckos for the Aquarist. That included his observations on what happens to the common house gecko of Hong Kong in winter together with notes on the importation of the Tokay into Hong Kong during the winter for human consumption.

Although, I lack a few copies of the Aquarist of the late 1940s and early 1950s, the final article, as far as I have information, appeared in 1951. This was an account of his visit to the snake temple in Penang in September 1950 while the ship taking him on long leave to U.K. was briefly in the port. 

You can read these articles on the Downloads page of my other blog site here.

I met John Romer a few times. The first time, early 1966 I think, we went to see him in his office in the Central Government Office, West Wing, through the entrance on Queen’s Road Central. The office, with its dark furniture, was immaculate with not a loose sheet of paper to be seen. On one side desk was a lighted tall cabinet. It was vivarium and in it was a superb White-lipped Pit Viper.

We had been warned by colleagues in the zoology department that John could seem diffident and unsure of himself with people from the university. I suspect that in his past he may have suffered from the condescending attitude then all too common of those who had university degrees to those who did not. I also saw him at the Hong Kong Natural History Society when I gave a talk in 1967. I think the last time I saw him was in the corridor of the old Zoology Department of HKU as he was heading out of the building.

John Romer died shortly after his retirement, before he could write a comprehensive book. His papers are in ZSL's Library. But what happened to all the preserved specimens he collected over the years, some of which are referred to in his published work?

Romer JD. 1947. Notes on the monitors. Aquarist 12 (3, June 1947), 70-71.
Romer JD. 1947. Longevity of Natterjack toads. Aquarist 12 (5, August 1947), 137.
Romer JD. 1948. Notes on the geckos. Aquarist 13 (3, June 1948), 86-87.

Romer JD. 1951. A temple of snakes. Aquarist 16 (7, October 1951), 150.