Bernard Acworth

Captain Bernard Acworth (3 February 1885– 16 February 1963) was an English submariner, writer, evangelical Christian and creationist.

Biography

Acworth was educated at Stubbington House School and trained at the Royal Naval College, Greenwich, becoming a submariner during the First World War and being awarded the DSO. After retiring from the Royal Navy he became a journalist and unsuccessful parliamentary candidate (in 1931 as a Liberal at Pontypridd and as an Independent at Putney in 1942). In 1932 Acworth, Douglas Dewar and Sir Ambrose Fleming launched the Evolution Protest Movement (later named the Creationist Science Movement), which was dedicated to opposing the teaching of evolution as a scientific fact. Acworth also corresponded with C. S. Lewis regarding his views on the incompatibility of evolution and Christianity.

Acworth published some idiosyncratic views on biological matters. He claimed that birds, and other aerial migrants such as butterflies, do not migrate purposefully over particular routes, but wander aimlessly, their apparent routes a result of the prevailing winds at different seasons. He also believed that parasitic cuckoos are hybrids between male cuckoos and the females of the host species.

Bibliography

Books authored by Acworth include:

• 1929 – This Bondage. A study of the migration of birds, insects and aircraft, with some reflections on evolution and relativity.
• 1930 – The Navies of Today and Tomorrow. A Study of the Naval Crisis from Within. Eyre and Spottiswoode: London.
• 1932 – Back to the Coal Standard: The Future of Transport and Power. Eyre and Spottiswoode: London.
• 1934 – The Navy and the Next War. A Vindication of Sea Power. Eyre and Spottiswoode: London.
• 1934 – This Progress: The Tragedy of Evolution. Rich & Cowan: London.
• 1935 – The Restoration of England’s Sea Power. Eyre and Spottiswoode: London.
• 1937 – Britain in danger: an examination of our new navy.
• 1940 – How the War Will Be Won. Eyre and Spottiswoode: London.
• 1940 – What We Are Fighting For. Eyre and Spottiswoode: London.
• 1940 – The Navy’s Here! Raphael Tuck Books: London.
• 1940 – Life in a Submarine. Raphael Tuck Books: London.
• 1944 – The Cuckoo and Other Bird Mysteries. Eyre and Spottiswoode: London.
• 1947 – Butterfly Miracles and Mysteries. Eyre and Spottiswoode: London.
• 1947 – Swift: A Study. Eyre and Spottiswoode: London.
• 1955 – Bird and Butterfly Mysteries: Realities of Migration. Eyre and Spottiswoode: London.

References

• Acworth, Bernard. (1944). The Cuckoo and Other Bird Mysteries. Eyre and Spottiswoode: London.
• Acworth, Bernard. (1955). Bird and Butterfly Mysteries: Realities of Migration. Eyre and Spottiswoode: London.
• Ferngren, Gary B. (1996). C. S. Lewis on Creation and Evolution: The Acworth Letters, 1944-1960. PSCF 48 (March 1996): 28-33. Accessed 28 July 2007

External links

• Creation Science Movement