Background
He was born on 24 August 1921, the youngest of three brothers, in London, where his father was head gardener at the private gardens in Ladbroke Square.
He was born on 24 August 1921, the youngest of three brothers, in London, where his father was head gardener at the private gardens in Ladbroke Square.
Merton College; sound recording and reproduction.
He was called up, joining the Royal Air Force in 1941 and by 1943 was a Leading Aircraftman, and was then commissioned as a pilot officer on probation in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve on 19 March 1943, serving as a bomb aimer and second pilot in Lancaster bombers, in which he flew 27 raids over Germany. On 14 November 1944 he was awarded Distinguished Flying Cross, the citation praising his "skill and determination which have been an inspiration to the crews with which he flies" and a "complete disregard for danger in the face of the heaviest enemy defences". He then worked for the British Broadcasting Corporation, initially as a wildlife sound recordist, before making more than 7,000 radio broadcasts and hundreds of television appearances.
He is credited with starting the Countryside radio programme in 1952.
As a guest on Desert Island Discs in 1976, one of his eight choices was a recording of a blackbird he had made near his London home. Simms also appeared in Sir John Betjeman"s 1973 television documentary Metro-land, about the Metropolitan Railway line running northwest out of London.
He was featured birdwatching in Gladstone Park, near to his home in Dollis Hill. He died on 1 March 2009.
Thelma had died in 2001.
He was a passionate believer in bringing natural history to a wider audience, and was a resident naturalist at the British Broadcasting Corporation.