London-born William Roy Branch spent nearly 50 years working as a herpetologist while associated with Port Elizabeth Museum. Bill, as he was known, passed away at home in Port Elizabeth on 14 October 2018, at the age of 72, after battling motor neurone disease. This tribute summarises various aspects of his life, his achievements, and their significance to African herpetology, with special reference to his impact on the Herpetological Association of Africa. It documents his involvement in field work in southern Africa and elsewhere on the continent, which contributed to making the herpetological collection at Port Elizabeth Museum among the largest such collections in Africa. Bill was the most prolific Africa-based herpetologist of his era, having produced an astonishing 659 herpetological publications. He was author of 68 taxon names and had six taxa named in his honour. We also offer personal recollections of our associations with a man we were honoured to know and collaborate with.

出生于伦敦的威廉·罗伊·布兰奇（William Roy Branch）与伊丽莎白港博物馆（Port Elizabeth Museum）联系在一起，曾担任爬虫学家近50年。众所周知，比尔在与运动神经元疾病作斗争后于2018年10月14日在伊丽莎白港的家中去世，享年72岁。此致谢总结了他的生活的各个方面，他的成就及其对非洲爬虫学的意义，并特别提及了他对非洲爬虫学协会的影响。它记录了他参与南部非洲和非洲大陆其他地区的野外工作，这有助于使伊丽莎白港博物馆的爬行动物学收藏成为非洲最大的此类收藏。比尔（Bill）是当时他的非洲最多产的爬行动物学家，他制作了659种惊人的爬行动物出版物。他是68个分类单元名称的作者，并以他的名字命名了六个分类单元。我们还与一个很荣幸认识并与他合作的人一起提供与协会的个人回忆。