William Bunting

William Bunting ( – January 1995 He contributed to the discovery of a Bronze Age trackway constructed of wood, buried on the same moors. He died in January 1995 in Doncaster at the age of 82.

Activity at Thorne Moors

In 1952 there were no public footpaths shown across Thorne Moors on the map then published by West Riding County Council. Public rights of way were governed by regulations and laws, for the interpretation of which a knowledge of Latin, Middle English and Law French was required. While employed as an engineer's fitter, he taught himself these languages and legalese to challenge in Court what he saw as an illegal enclosure of Thorne Moors. He is quoted as saying, "What do you think I use them for, picking my bloody nose?" when asked whether he had fired the gun. The footpaths were reinstated on large-scale maps. Bunting wrote strongly-worded letters and reports to the Trust, and pressured its leaders to view the situation on site. In 1969 he also led a group of naturalists in recording the flora and fauna of the Moors. In response, the Trust finally objected to the waste-dumping plan. This was not the only scheme of this type which was defeated by Bunting's tactics; he fought planners, developers and the Nature Conservancy Council as well. In 1983, 180 acres of the Moors were purchased by the Nature Conservancy Council and the site became a national nature reserve as part of the Humberhead Levels.