Harold Frederick Comber ALS (31 December 1897 – 23 April 1969) was an English horticulturist and plant collector who was to specialise in the study of lilies Lilium sp. The eldest child of three, and only son of James and Ethel Comber, he was born at Nymans, Staplefield, Sussex, where his father was Head Gardener. He was educated at Handcross Council School until aged 12, when he entered Ardingly College for two years.[1] He did not excel academically, failing his Oxford Local examinations, but was noted for his keen powers of observation and a retentive memory.[2]