Let me take you back to the year 1962, for the swifts in the University Museum Tower are about to be introduced to a young Roy Overall, a keen Oxon birdwatcher.

Little does he know this first meeting will result in a love affair lasting 47 years and a great deal of his life dedicated to the care and study of these fascinating ‘screamers of the summer skies’.

These swifts were an original study by the ornithological innovator David Lack when in 1947 he set up a nest box study giving close access to the birds during their brief breeding season.

Other OOS members involved in the early days were luminaries such as John Brucker and Chris Perrins now professor emeritus at Oxford University and Chris was the person who first took Roy into the tower that began his long, but fulfilling association with swifts.

In more recent times, Roy has had the assistance of OOS chairman George Candelin. Both have now stood down as the project under the guidance of the Edward Grey Institute takes on a new and hopefully fruitful phase. George will be devoting his spare time to other projects he is heavily involved in including the OOS tree sparrow Project and the study and ringing of sand martins.

Roy now spends his free time helping out at society events, sitting on committee, giving talks to clubs and societies ranging from the WI to natural history clubs, and in his non-birding roles he transcribes parish records for The Oxford Family History Society and is an active member of The Association of Oxford University Pensioners.

Fortunately for Roy, his late wife Mary was not only very patient and understanding but supported his often long absence in the tower to attend to his swifts from April to September every year.

Well-known naturalists including David Attenborough, Chris Packham and Bill Oddie among others have visited the tower.

After ringing some 5,000 swifts the returned ring rate is low leaving much room for further research, although of course the previous years have contributed a great deal to our understanding of these spectacular high flyers.

I will not go into detail here of the amazing lifestyle of these birds suffice to say this has already been covered in specialist publications including a small book entitled The Museum Swifts co-authored by David Lack’s son Andrew Lack and Roy Overall this publication is available from the OOS secretary tel. no. 01993 852028 priced £3.99.

Perhaps the naming of the door to the tower as the Roy Overall door would be a fitting tribute by the museum to the wonderful service given by Roy to the ‘Screamers of the Summer Skies’