Horace Dobbs

British scientist, researcher, author, and television producer

Horace Edward Dobbs

Born|  (1933-01-14) 14 January 1933 (age 91)

London, England

Alma mater| John Ruskin School in Croydon, England, United Kingdom
London University (B.SC Chemistry)
Oxford University (PhD)
Occupation(s)| British scientist,
Researcher,
Author
Employer| United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority
Organization| International Dolphin Watch
Known for| Oxford Sub Aqua Club
International Dolphin Watch
Ride a Wild Dolphin
Notable work| Follow a Wild Dolphin
Website| www.horacedobbs.com

Horace Edward Dobbs (born 14 January 1933, in London), and commonly referred to as Horace Dobbs /ˈhɒrɪs dɒbz/ is a British scientist, researcher, author, and television producer, who is regarded as an expert on dolphins and their behaviour.[1][2] In 1978, Dobbs sets up the International Dolphin Watch.[3] He also founded the Oxford Underwater Research Group.[4]

## Early life

[edit]

Born in London, Dobbs attended the John Ruskin School and graduated at the age of 16. After high school, Dobbs worked briefly as a laboratory assistant in the Burroughs Wellcome Research Laboratories Beckenham, Kent.[note 1] At the age of 20, Dobbs married his wife Wendy, and at 23, he graduated from London University with a BSc honours degree in Chemistry via part-time studies.[5]

From the Burroughs Wellcome laboratories, Horace Dobbs moved over to the Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA), where he wrote two research publications, Quenching and Adsorption in Liquid scintillation counting, in 1962,[6] and Dispensing solutions for liquid scintillation counting, published in the scientific and technical Aerospace reports, Volume 3, issue 17 in April 1965.[7] While at UKAEA, Dobbs obtained his PhD from Oxford University. During this time, he developed his passion for diving and also wrote his first book, Camera Underwater.

## Dolphin career

[edit]

Dobbs started chronicling his studies and dolphin interactions with the airing of Neptune's Needle on the BBC One, on 24 June 1965 and 20 March 1966.[8][9] A New York Times article on a dolphin named Fungie reported that Dr. Dobbs spent two years filming the dolphin.[10]

Dobbs is considered an expert in subjects relating to dolphin behaviour, and in the Folkestone trial of two men accused of bothering a dolphin, Dobbs was called in as a defense witness.[11] He was also interviewed by the BBC Radio Cornwall regarding the whereabouts and safety of a dolphin named Beaky of which he had written a book on titled, Follow a Wild Dolphin.[12]

As a wildlife conservationist, Dobbs has argued against keeping dolphins in captivity. In an article by the BBC, Dobbs was quoted as saying that keeping dolphins in captivity at resorts or aquatic parks is akin to torture.[13]

As more and more people interact with dolphins, a growing number of experts, Dobbs included, believe that swimming with dolphins have a therapeutic effect on those suffering from depression.[note 2] A 1994 essay by Hon. David Lloyd Hoare narrated the story of how Dr. Dobbs took some persons to swim with a dolphin named Simo, and the therapeutic effect it had on one of them.[14][note 3]

## Latter years

[edit]

In his latter years, Dobbs moved away from factual writing and film-making to creating a series of fictional children's book about an orphaned Dolphin called Dilo. Although these books are fictional, the stories are all based on actual events that Dobbs had experienced with wild dolphins.

Dobbs lives in North Ferriby in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, near the city of Hull. He is married to Wendy Dobbs (now in a care home). Dobbs has two children Melanie Parker and Ashley Dobbs, five grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.

## Filmography

[edit]

* Horace Dobbs on BFI.[15]
* Dobbs Goosen Films at BFI.[16]

## Discography

[edit]

* Horace E. Dobbs.[17]
* Soundtrack to Wonders of the underwater world Dobbs Goosen Films.[18]

## Award

[edit]

* INTERNATIONAL-PLATFORM-ASSOCIATION-AWARDS.[19]

## Scientific papers

[edit]

* The Radioisotopes, from Nuclear Science Abstracts, Volume 18, Issues 1–7.[20]
* Dispensing solutions for liquid scintillation counting. Published in NASA's scientific and technical Aerospace reports, Volume 3, issue 17. April 1965.[21]
* Quenching and Adsorption in Liquid scintillation counting, August 1962.[22]
* The detection of tritium labelled compounds in Vapour phase chromatography. Journal of Chromatography A, Volume 5, 1961.[23]

## Horace Dobbs' books

[edit]

List of books by Dr. Horace E. Dobbs.[24]

* The Great Diving Adventure, (J.H. Haynes & Co. Limited).[25]
* Underwater Swimming, (Collins Nutshell Books).[26]
* Camera Underwater, (Focal Press).[27]
* Follow a Wild Dolphin, (Souvenir Press).[28]
* Save the Dolphins, with a foreword by HRH Prince Philip (Souvenir Press).[29]
* The Magic of Dolphins, (Lutterworth Press).[30]
* Tale of Two Dolphins, (Jonathan Cape).[31]
* Dance to a Dolphins Song, (Jonathan Cape).[32]
* Snorkelling and Skin Diving, with a foreword by HRH Prince Charles (Oxford illustrated Press)[33]
* Classic Dives of the World, (Oxford illustrated Press).[34]
* Journey into Dolphin Dreamtime, (Jonathan Cape).[35]
* Dilo and the Call of the Deep, (Watch Publishing).[36]
* Dilo Makes Friends, (Watch Publishing).[37]
* Dolphin Healing, (Piatkus Books).[38]
* Dilo and the Treasure Hunters, (Watch Publishing).[39]
* Dilo in Lighthouse Bay, (Watch Publishing).[40]
* Dilo and the Isle of the Gods, (Star Books).[41]
* Dilo and the Mystery of Atlantis (awaiting publication)[42]

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ Horace Edward Dobbs was part of the team that discovered etorphine, an opiate. This opiate was used to develop a veterinary drug called Immobilon, which is an analgesic used to sedate animals. The development of Immobilon revolutionised veterinary medicine and it is still used today to sedate large wild animals. Immobilon has been credited with saving animals a lot of distress when they need veterinary attention. This is because the animals do not need to be constrained. For example, when a stallion is being castrated or an elephant is receiving veterinary treatment, a dart injection of just 2–4 mg could knock it out. See Effect of Cyprenorphine by Dr. Horace Dobbs.
2. ^ An account of how a mother of two used Dolphin Dreamtime to have pain free births is reported in DOLPHIN. Dec 2002, page 9.
3. ^ Dr. Dobbs started a charity called Operation Sunshine Family Therapy Programmes Archived 23 May 2009 at the Wayback Machine. The charity offers children and young adults with severe physical and mental disadvantages the opportunity to fulfill their dream of swimming with dolphins in their natural environment, as well as giving the parents respite in a supportive and caring environment. The objective of the project is to enable the whole family to benefit from the activities on the programme to relax the body, relieve tensions, release of emotions, frustration, loss, fear, and anger. See Granta Article on the Dolphin of Amble. As part of the programme's data collection technique, participants are asked to complete questionnaires following the programme, and according to the charity, collated results have suggested that the programme stimulates the mind, increased confidence and self-esteem, aides concentration, and increases learning ability for those with cognitive or emotional disadvantage. The charity supports community projects pioneered in schools by Dr. Horace Dobbs with the concept of IDEAL (Integrated Dolphin Education and Learning).

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Dolphins seen in Humber estuary". 21 November 2008 - via news.bbc.co.uk.
2. ^ "Horace Dobbs – National Portrait Gallery". www.npg.org.uk.
3. ^ "About Us". www.idw.org. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
4. ^ "Horace E. Dobbs Books". www.hachette.com.au.
5. ^ "Dolphin Healing: The extraordinary power and magic of dolphins to heal and transform our lives by Horace E. Dobbs – Books". www.hachette.com.au.
6. ^ "Nuclear Science Abstracts". Oak Ridge Directed Operations, Technical Information Division. 24 June 1963 - via Google Books.
7. ^ "Scientific and Technical Aerospace Reports". NASA, Office of Scientific and Technical Information. 24 June 1965 - via Google Books.
8. ^ "BBC One London – 24 June 1965 – BBC Genome". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk.[permanent dead link]
9. ^ "BBC One London – 20 March 1966 – BBC Genome". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk.[permanent dead link]
10. ^ Cushman, Kathleen (26 February 1989). "Forget Flipper; Here's Fungie" - via NYTimes.com.
11. ^ "Dolphin Dave 'was disturbing men'". 16 April 2008 - via news.bbc.co.uk.
12. ^ "Beaky the Dolphin". www.bbc.co.uk.
13. ^ "Is it wrong to swim with dolphins?". 19 March 2010 - via news.bbc.co.uk.
14. ^ "Counselling Articles". www.counsellinghelp.co.uk.
15. ^ "Horace E. Dobbs". BFI. Archived from the original on 25 June 2020. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
16. ^ "Dobbs Goosen Films". BFI. Archived from the original on 27 June 2020. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
17. ^ "Horace Dobbs". Discogs. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
18. ^ "Jezz Woodroffe – (Soundtrack From The Film) Wonders Of The Underwater World". Discogs. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
19. ^ "INTERNATIONAL PLATFORM ASSOCIATION AWARDS Named after famous IPA members of the past and present". YouTube. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
20. ^ Nuclear Science Abstracts. Oak Ridge Directed Operations, Technical Information Division. 1974.
21. ^ Scientific and Technical Aerospace Reports. NASA, Office of Scientific and Technical Information. 1965.
22. ^ Nuclear Science Abstracts. Oak Ridge Directed Operations, Technical Information Division. 1963.
23. ^ Dobbs, Horace E. (1 January 1961). "The detection of tritium labelled compounds in vapour phase chromatography". Journal of Chromatography A. 5: 32–37. doi:10.1016/S0021-9673(01)92813-4. ISSN 0021-9673.
24. ^ "Horace Dobbs, Signed - AbeBooks". www.abebooks.com. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
25. ^ Dobbs, Horace E, 1986, ISBN 0 946609 314, Oxford Illustrated Press.
26. ^ Dobbs, H. E., (William Collins Sons and Co. Ltd., 1966)
27. ^ Dobbs, Horace (1 January 1972). Camera underwater: practical guide to underwater photography. Focal Press, distributed in the U.S.A. by Amphoto. ISBN 978-0-240-44876-3.
28. ^ "Follow a Wild Dolphin : The Story of an Extraordinary Friendship by Dobbs, Horace E.: Very Good Hardcover (1977) 1st Edition, Signed by Author(s) | Pages Past—Used & Rare Books". www.abebooks.com. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
29. ^ "9780285624375: Save the dolphins – AbeBooks – Dobbs, Horace E: 0285624377". www.abebooks.com. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
30. ^ "The Magic of Dolphins". www.nhbs.com. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
31. ^ "Tale Of Two Dolphins". www.goodreads.com. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
32. ^ "Dance To A Dolphin's Song The Story of a Quest for the Magic Healing Power of the Dolphins by Dobbs, Horace.: Very good+ Paperback (1991) Reprint. | Primrose Hill Books BA". www.abebooks.co.uk. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
33. ^ "Horace Dobbs, Signed – AbeBooks". www.abebooks.com.
34. ^ "Author:Dobbs, Horace". powellbooks.co.uk. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
35. ^ "Journey Into Dolphin Dreamtime : by Horace Dobbs: Fine Soft cover (1992) 1st Edition | Sapphire Books". www.abebooks.com. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
36. ^ "Dilo and the Call of the Deep – AbeBooks". www.abebooks.com. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
37. ^ "9780952238928: Dilo Makes Friends – AbeBooks – Dobbs, Horace; Rico,: 0952238926". www.abebooks.com. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
38. ^ "Dolphin Healing: The Extraordinary Power and Magic of Dolphins to Heal and Transform Our Lives". www.nhbs.com. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
39. ^ "Dilo and the Treasure Hunters". www.goodreads.com. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
40. ^ "9780954172145: Dilo in Lighthouse Bay (Dilo Collection) – AbeBooks – Dobbs, Horace Edward: 0954172140". www.abebooks.com. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
41. ^ Update, COVID-19. Dilo and the Isle of Gods.`{{cite book}}`: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
42. ^ "LOOKING BACK AT HIGHLIGHTS DURING 2015 AND LOOKING FORWARD TO 2016 WITH DOLPHIN JOY" (PDF). International Dolphin Watch.

## External links

[edit]

* Horace Dobbs Website Archived 7 August 2020 at the Wayback Machine
* International Dolphin Watch

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF
* FAST

National|

* United States
* Czech Republic