Building work commenced in July 1998 shortly after my retirement from the directorship in April of that year. By that time I was 68 years old and although I did not feel it, and every dawning day was as fresh and exciting as ever, I felt that I had a duty to what I had created to ensure that it would not be imperilled by anything that might happen to me. I moved from being the director to (I always preferred that traditional title for zoo bosses to fancier ones now so often employed) to honorary director, retaining my role in conservation activities outside the park.
My first successor, Dr Miranda Stevenson, resigned after some two years and has since become very successful as Director of BIAZA, formally Federation of Zoological Gardens of Great Britian and Ireland. It was then that I returned to the full time post of Director, until after an extensive number of interviews, Mark Edgerley, until then Vice-chairman of the Marwell Preservation Trust (MPT), assumed the directorship. When he resigned, Lynne Stafford who's career at Marwell has begun in 1986 when she became my secretary and who by her own talents had risen to become deputy director, took the reins as acting director. A post which she managed extremley well until James Cretney was appointed as Chief Executive in July 2005
Looking back at that time I can see that the then board of trustee's was developing a feeling that the Knowles Influence was something to be reduced or eliminated. The new Chief Executive who did not come from the world of zoo's and conservation had been appointed with help of headhunters and I suspect had been lead to believe that Marwell needed major business surgery. Initially I was able to assist him by showing him exacly where the Marwell boundaries were and donating land still in my possession to the trust. I facilitated the merger of the society and the trust, which was a logical step forward by this time with Marwell's improving finances and inaugrated an ethics commitee which had then become a zoo licence requirement.
For many years I had enjoyed a happy and constructive relationship with the two chairman who served throughout my directorship of the trust, beginning with Tim Walker who took that office at the time of the trusts formation and held it until his tragic and premature death in 1988 and then with Nick Jonas who stepped into that unexpected breach and filled it very well. Trustee's served a three year term which were renewable at there expiry date with the provision that they retired at the end of the term that they turned 70 years old. This meant that by 2006 Nick Jonas had retired and although he was made president because of his great support this was a non voting post. Also gone by this time were all of the trustee's who had supported me through good and bad years and blessed me with their faith.
Naively, I still believed that the newer trustee's, many of whom I did not know well would still believe in my judgement and have some respect for my views. Sadly I was very wrong. At the last trustee meeting that I attended, James Cretney made it clear that Lynne Stafford was to be jettisoned and that he intended with a new team in every non-animal department.
At that meeting I realised that to put in plainly, I too was part of a history destined to be swept away "modernity" This feeling was soon reinforced when the board chose to support a man whom I had nurtured from studenthood into the postition of head of Conservation and Wildlife Management, but who had for sometime sought to escape my authority and destroy initiatives that I had espoused. This happend at a meeting I could not attend, but to which I submitted a paper requesting with sound reasons that Marwell should continue to support my Swaziland initiave by sending one more shipment of Roan Antelope to that country. In my absense the board was told that doing so would violate guidelines imposed by the Roan studbook keeper and EAZA, WAZA and Marwell should not discredit itself by doing so. The opputunity to fufill one of the often-stated reasons for zoos breeding endangered species was denied. The board sent me a very clear message by supporting a staff member rather than myself. In November 2006 I wrote to the then Chairman, James Weatherall resigning my own and Margaret's (Knowles) connections from that which was the result of our life endeavours.
