[2][3] Born in Talawakelle, Sri Lanka,[1] Marjorie Blamey was the daughter of Arthur Day, a doctor, and Janette Newton-Baker, a nurse.
An editor from a London publishing house spotted her work at a display of amateur art in Cornwall and her career as a full-time book illustrator was born.
Another early book, and Marjorie Blamey's first major success, was Wildflowers Of Britain And Ireland, published by Collins in their famous Pocket Guide series.
She illustrated this book and the text was written by Richard Fitter, probably the most successful author of natural history field guides ever.
[5] Over the years, the Blameys' built up an archive of more than 10,000 paintings of flowers from the Arctic Circle to the Mediterranean, which were used in publications worldwide.
Cassell's Wild Flowers Of Britain And Northern Europe was selected as Book of the Year by the journal Natural World in 1989.
[6] She felt that a trip to Buckingham Palace would be too tiring and was presented with her award for services to illustration by Lady Mary Holborow, the Lord Lieutenant of Cornwall, at the Fowey Hotel.
A group of 20 family members, including grandchildren, children and my aunt and uncle, met at the hotel to see Lady Mary hand my mother the award, and read a citation.