Over a century ago, an expert and exceptional botanist and gardener from Peckham, London, UK, wrote a limerick that won him a substantial first-place prize of €250. 

21-year-old Archibald, known as Archie, Charles Budd used his prize money to relocate to the prairies of southwest Sask. in 1910.

Matthew Biggs is a writer, gardener, and broadcaster located North of London in the UK who is currently on a quest to find the missing limerick that ultimately brought Budd to the prairies of southwest Sask. 

"There's references to it and obviously other researchers have looked but not found anything," he said. "To me that limerick is like a nugget of gold, it would be so exciting to find out what the wording was." 

"I'm desperate to find out more about him because I'd like to write an article and I've got a magazine that would be interested." 

Biggs' hunt for the limerick began when he was tasked with finding a Canadian botanist to write about and a friend of his, who worked as a gardener at Highgrove for the current King, recommended Archie Budd. 

“His legacy and his impact in the world of botany is absolutely massive,” Biggs said. 

Following his move to Sask. Budd settled on a homestead south of Rush Lake and began working at an experimental station in Swift Current. 

Budd went on to write significant works including ‘Flora of the Canadian Prairie Provinces' and ‘Flora of the Farming and Ranching Areas of the Canadian Prairies’. He was even featured in several magazines and journals. 

Until his passing in 1960, Budd made major contributions to the advancement of botany and agriculture. 

Since Budd and his wife’s gravestones read ‘father’ and ‘mother,’ Briggs is certain they must have had children and would have living relatives nearby.  

"This family in Swift Current, surely they know the limerick or will have a copy of it somewhere, perhaps people who worked with him," added Biggs.  

“To me, that’s the key to the whole thing.” 

Community members with information on the living relatives of Archie Budd, his family, or the missing limerick, should email matthew-biggs@btconnect.com, call +0044 1582 849020, or +0044 07802 796 783.