William John Caparne

Birth registration: Newark 7b 254

The career of this distinguished artist and horticulturalist is told in Robin Fenner's book, "A Genius Undeclared".

There is a large collection of his paintings - mainly watercolours - in the Guernsey Museum, showing landscapes, seascapes around the Bailiwick, and flowers. He was a Fellow of the Royal Horticultural Society, and was a specialist in Irises, whown world-wide.

In his early life he taught at Oundle School, married, his two children were born, and his wife died.

He settled in Guernsey, establishing a nursery, and spent many years growing irises and painting, using an old tramcar as his studio. Frequently in very straitened circumstances, his daughter Winifred "kept house" for him and after his death in 1940 became custodian of much of his work.

There is a website dedicated to WJC with a biography and shows many of his paintings too: http://www.caparne.org/Caparne_biography.htm