returned to England to take up an appointment as assistant director of the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew. In his talks to visitors to the gardens, his enthusiasm for ecological "improvements" through introduction of more useful species and techniques shone through. He believed without question in the value of changing land use to increase production and would have seen little value in conserving untouched reserves. He was known for his energy combined with careful attention to detail, for his care to ensure that the gardens were always well maintained, and for his interest in the welfare of Student Gardeners. Chipp gained a central position among ecologists as secretary of the British Empire Vegetation Committee, the Imperial Botanical Conference and the fifth International Botanical Congress. He was one of the developers and promoters of a "systems" approach to ecological research. The 1926 Aims and methods in the study of vegetation which he and Arthur Tansley edited for the British Empire vegetation committee was extremely influential not just in defining ecological methods but in highlighting the need for a complete inventory of the empire's "vegetational assets". With this information, it would be possible to efficiently manage the vast natural resources of the empire. In the late autumn of 1928 the Empire Marketing Board made a grant to Kew which enabled Chipp to pay an official visit overseas. Chipp visited the Sudan, then part of the British Empire, where he explored the Imatong Mountains. In February 1929 he climbed Mount Kinyeti, the highest mountain of the range at . Apart from a visit by R. Good to Gebel Marra which had obtained a few specimens, Chipp was the first European botanist to investigate the mountains of this region. Among other specimens, he collected Coreopsis chippii near the summit. On his return, Chipp was faced with a huge administrative workload connected with the gardens, the Botanical Congress and a directory of botanists worldwide that he was helping to prepare. He died prematurely of a heart attack at the end of June 1931, at the age of forty four. In 1924 he had a daughter, Rosemary (18/09/1924 - 17/09/2020), for whom he named a Rhododendron, "Rosemary Chipp". In 1927 he had a son, David Chipp, who became a respected international journalist. Bibliography References 1886 births 1931 deaths English botanists People from Gloucester Alumni of University College London British Army personnel of World War I Recipients of