Charles Morris Lansley

Dr Charles Morris Lansley has strong connections to the Isle of Wight through his father's side of the family who lived on the Island, his Stark and Morris ancestors having had grazing rights in 1425 in the reign of Henry VI. He still maintains his connection to the Island through his home in Shanklin and his interest in Island family and social history.

After discovering his late father's manuscript of his autobiographical novel forgotten in a trunk for almost 60 years, Charles Lansley edited the notebooks by piecing together the stories and by providing annotations to give background information on the villages and villagers in the 1920s. The book was first published by Beachy Books in 2021 but it became out of print when the publishers ceased trading. It is due to be re-published as a second edition in 2025 by Austin Macauley: 'Pon My Puff! - A Childhood in 1920s Isle of Wight'.

Charles Morris Lansley's other research interests are in eighteenth and nineteenth century natural history, science and literature. He was awarded his PhD by the University of Winchester in 2016 for research into Charles Darwin and his book 'Charles Darwin's Debt to the Romantics: How Alexander von Humboldt, Goethe and Wordsworth Helped Shape Darwin's View of Nature' was published in 2018 by Peter Lang. Prior to his research on Darwin, he worked in education and training before retiring. He is a Fellow of The Linnean Society of London.