Born in Newton, Worcestershire. His obituary in EMM, 38, 1902, 134-135 states that he lived in comparatively humble circumstances following the occupation of a working glover, but ‘he was a man of rare intelligence, and, as his letters showed, of considerable education, albeit, probably largely self taught’. He was ‘retiring and reserved in the extreme’ and ‘did not mix with others of similar tastes, even in his own locality’.
Fletcher's interest in entomology is said to have begun when he was about fifteen years old and to have remained his major concern throughout life. He worked on all orders and made numerous additions to the British fauna amongst which was the remarkable terrestrial Trichopteron Enoicyla pusilla Burm.. Fletcher published nearly sixty articles, but only two related specifically to Coleoptera: ‘Coccinella eating Lepidopterous ova’ (EMM, 11, 1874, 85) and ‘Food adaptability in the genus Cis’ (ibid., 31, 1895, 99-100), so that his major work was probably his list of the Coleoptera of Worcestershire in the VCH.
Fletcher's extensive collections (which included specimens from W.W.Fowler) passed to the Museum at Worcester. (Harry Green reported to me (September 2010) that his son had recently seen some of his specimens there) and I have also seen specimens bearing his name in the Blatch collection at Birmingham Museum. Apart from the obituary mentioned above there is also a notice in Proc.ESL., 1902, lviii (by W.W.Fowler). (MD 12/02, 1/22)