Love Blossoms on the Amazon: The Unlikely Romance Between a Botanist and a Captain

Strategic Insights -

Love blossomed between a Glasgow botanist and the war hero captain of a passenger cargo liner after it nearly left her behind after sailing 1,000 miles up the Amazon. Blodwen Lloyd, a talented botanist, had embarked on her Amazon adventure after spotting a newspaper advertisement for the trip. When the Hilary liner was due to leave, its captain, James Binns, became worried and launched a search to find her. Their romance blossomed, and the couple married the very next year, with James retiring from the sea and Blodwen continuing her teaching career at the Royal Technical College in Glasgow.

As Blodwen's career continued, she became a renowned botanist, producing a dictionary of Malawi's plants and setting up a national herbarium. Her husband, James, passed away in 1962, but Blodwen persevered, returning to work at the University of Limbe in Malawi at the age of 63. She eventually retired again, continuing to work on the Scouler Herbarium Collection at the University of Strathclyde and writing a botanical dictionary in Welsh.

Key Takeaways:

  • Blodwen Lloyd, a Glasgow botanist, embarked on an Amazon adventure in 1951 after seeing a newspaper advertisement for the trip.
  • James Binns, the captain of the Hilary liner, became smitten with Blodwen and launched a search for her when the ship was due to leave.
  • The couple married the very next year and settled in Glasgow, where James retired from the sea and Blodwen continued her teaching career at the Royal Technical College.
  • Blodwen became a renowned botanist, producing a dictionary of Malawi's plants and setting up a national herbarium.
  • After James's passing in 1962, Blodwen returned to work at the University of Limbe in Malawi at the age of 63 and eventually retired again.
  • Blodwen continued to work on the Scouler Herbarium Collection at the University of Strathclyde and wrote a botanical dictionary in Welsh.

Statistics:

  • Blodwen Lloyd traveled 1,000 miles up the Amazon in 1951.
  • The Hilary liner was the largest ship in the Booth Line fleet, built for its key route between Liverpool and Manaus in Brazil.
  • Blodwen Lloyd taught botany and bacteriology at the Royal Technical College in Glasgow for 36 years.
  • Blodwen Lloyd became professor of botany at the University of Limbe in Malawi at the age of 63 and worked for 7 years.
  • Blodwen Lloyd died in 1991, aged 89.

Sources:

  • Elizabeth Allen, vice-chair of Glasgow's Tall Ship Glenlee Trust
  • The Scotsman
  • https://www.scotsman.com/topic/glasgow-city
  • https://www.scotsman.com/topic/university-of-strathclyde
  • https://www.scotsman.com/topic/malawi