Our Zoo, June Mottershead
Our Zoo, June Mottershead
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Our Zoo

Author: June Mottershead

Narrator: Emily Pennant-Rea

Unabridged: 6 hr 17 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Headline

Published: 11/20/2014


Synopsis

When George Mottershead moved to the village of Upton-by-Chester in 1930 to realise his dream of opening a zoo without bars, his four-year-old daughter June had no idea how extraordinary her life would become. Soon her best friend was a chimpanzee called Mary, lion cubs and parrots were vying for her attention in the kitchen, and finding a bear tucked up in bed was no more unusual than talking to a tapir about granny's lemon curd. Pelican, penguin or polar bear - for June, they were simply family.

The early years were not without their obstacles for the Mottersheads. They were shunned by the local community, bankruptcy threatened and then World War Two began. Nightly bombing raids turned the dream into a nightmare and finding food for the animals became a constant challenge. Yet George's resilience, resourcefulness and tenacity eventually paid off. Now over 80 years since June first set foot in the echoing house, Chester Zoo has achieved worldwide renown.

Here, in her enthralling memoir, June Mottershead chronicles the heartbreak, the humour, the trials and triumphs, above all the characters, both human and animal, who shaped her childhood.
(P)2014 Headline Digital

About June Mottershead

June Mottershead was born in June 1926 and from the age of 4 lived with the rest of her family at Chester Zoo started by her father in 1930. After working as a Land Girl in the latter stages of WW2 she returned to the zoo to become keeper of the aquarium. In 1949 she married Fred Williams who arrived as bear keeper in 1947. Apart from a break of five years in the fifties which they spent in Australia, June and her husband lived and worked at the zoo where they brought up their three children. A widow since 2012, June continues to live within a short walk of her childhood home.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Elizabeth on January 18, 2018

I've been really enjoying the Secret Life of the Zoo on Channel 4 so decided to read this book about how Chester Zoo began. Its a wonderful story about a man determined to make his dream of a zoo without bars come true and who managed to succeed to make it a success against all odds with the help of......more

Goodreads review by Fhsanders54 on February 01, 2018

A fascinating account of Chester Zoo between its founding by her father George Mottershead and her marriage to the Head Keeper Fred Williams in 1950. It was a huge and risky family undertaking, desperately underfunded for years until the local gentry realised that the zoo was a serious zoological pr......more

Goodreads review by James on December 23, 2024

A fantastic book telling the story of how chester zoo started and a great insight to the behind the scenes and some fantastic stories......more

Goodreads review by Claire Reviews on November 16, 2014

Review: Our Zoo by June Mottershead Publication date: 9th October 2014   Publisher: Headline   ISBN: 9781472226358   Source: Publisher, via bobookbridgr/netgalley   Marks: 4½/5   Synopsis: A wonderfully nostalgic memoir detailing the fascinating lives of the working class family behind the phenomenally success......more

Goodreads review by Tessa on June 12, 2015

Imagine growing up living at a zoo with lions, bears, elephants, and so many more exotic creatures. All the while, none of them are behind the bars of a regular zoo. The founder of the Chester Zoo, George Mottershead had always dreamed of having a zoo of his own where there were no bars. During the......more