(1940). He took the title from Edmund Spenser's Prothalamion: "Sweete Themmes! runne softly, till I end my Song". His observations and wood engravings of the countryside, the river and its natural history, were the fruits of gentle months spent on the Thames, accompanied by sketch pad and microscope. Written at a time of great insecurity, the book captivated readers, acutely aware that the world it portrayed was in imminent danger of being wiped out. Thomas Balston wrote of Gibbings: "Few readers in these harassing days escape the longing for a simpler life, and Gibbings is very much a modern Thyrsis." He had captured a moment shared by many other people at the time, and over 140,000 copies of the book were printed. Coming down the Wye (1942) and Lovely is the Lee (1944) followed, based on the familiar pattern of personal encounter and anecdote, and historical and cultural research, all illustrated by his wood engravings. In August 1945 he set out for Polynesia again. He visited many of the islands and spent six months in New Zealand (including Dunedin and Napier), returning in late 1947. He recounted his travels and experiences in Over the Reefs (1948). He returned to Ireland for Sweet Cork of Thee (1951), and then crossed the English Channel to write Coming down the Seine (1953). Trumpets from Montparnasse (1955) was based on his travels in France and Italy. His final book, based on the area around Long Wittenham, was Till I end my Song (1957). The somewhat prophetic title is the second half of the couplet from Spenser's Prothalamion that begins: "Sweet Thames run softly ...". Writing his own books and producing the wood engravings for them kept him busy, but he did illustrate other books too, the most notable being an edition of The Voyage of the Beagle by Charles Darwin (1956). The bearded figure of Gibbings became as familiar on British television as was his voice to radio listeners. David Attenborough remembers Gibbings as being one of the inspiring influences at the start of his career. Gibbings's private life retained the turbulent nature that it had always had. Elisabeth came back to Waltham Saint Lawrence with the two girls in summer 1945, keen to have another child. Gibbings left for the South Seas after a very few weeks, leaving Elisabeth, who was by now pregnant, with their children. Their third child, Shaun, was born