‘When Steve Madge first saw the light of day at Torpoint, Cornwall, in the winter of 1948, his mother gained what must have been the prototype bundle of joy and British ornithology one of its more colourful characters.’ If those words seem familiar to long-standing BB subscribers, it’s because they were the opening words, penned by John Mather, to an entry in the ‘Personalities’ feature, published in August 1978. Steve passed away in early July 2020, but leaves a remarkable legacy in the books that he wrote, the information that he imparted to those who travelled with him and in the effect that he had on all those who were privileged to know him.