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GEOREF RECORD

British military geologists through war and peace in the 19th and 20th centuries

Edward P. F. Rose and Michael S. Rosenbaum
British military geologists through war and peace in the 19th and 20th centuries (in Military geology in war and peace, James R. Underwood (editor) and Peter L. Guth (editor))
Reviews in Engineering Geology (1998) 13: 29-39

Abstract

The first geologists employed in government service in Britain had military appointments: J. MacCulloch from 1809 to 1826 in England and Scotland, and J. W. Pringle followed by J. E. Portlock from 1826 to 1843 in Ireland. The founder of the British Geological Survey in 1835, and his successor as director-general in 1855, both had military origins. Several early influential members of the world"s oldest geological society, founded in London in 1807, had military connections. From 1819 to about 1896 geology contributed to military education in Britain at the East India Company"s military college, the Royal Military Academy, the Royal Military College, the Staff College, or the School of Military Engineering. However, professional geologists were not strictly used as such in the British army until the 1914-1918 world war, and then they were primarily used in response to problems of static battlefield conditions on the western front in Europe. W. B. R. King guided development of potable ground-water supplies; T. W. E. David guided siting of mine tunnels and dugouts, and other geologists served with the Tunnelling Companies of the Engineer Corps. Geologists were used more widely in the more mobile conflicts of the 1939-1945 world war: notably W. B. R. King in France and the United Kingdom, F. W. Shotton in North Africa and northwest Europe, and J. V. Stephens in Italy. These and others were all to some extent concerned with water supply, but increasingly geologists became involved in terrain assessment for military purposes (e.g., airfield sites, ground trafficability, quarrying of aggregates, and effects of aerial bombing). In both wars there were but few British military geologists; most were granted Emergency Commissions in the Royal Engineers for their war service. Only since 1949 has the corps maintained continuity of geological expertise through a small team of reserve army officers. This team now provides support for regular forces in both peace and war.


ISSN: 0080-2018
EISSN: 2169-799X
Coden: GAEGA4
Serial Title: Reviews in Engineering Geology
Serial Volume: 13
Title: British military geologists through war and peace in the 19th and 20th centuries
Title: Military geology in war and peace
Author(s): Rose, Edward P. F.Rosenbaum, Michael S.
Author(s): Underwood, James R., Jr.editor
Author(s): Guth, Peter L.editor
Affiliation: University of London, Department of Geology, Egham, United Kingdom
Affiliation: Kansas State University, Department of Geology, Manhattan, KS, United States
Pages: 29-39
Published: 1998
Text Language: English
Publisher: Geological Society of America (GSA), Boulder, CO, United States
ISBN: 0-8137-4113-0
References: 63
Accession Number: 1999-066797
Categories: Miscellaneous
Document Type: Serial
Bibliographic Level: Analytic
Illustration Description: illus. incl. portrs.
N50°00'00" - N59°00'00", W08°00'00" - E01°30'00"
Secondary Affiliation: U. S. Naval Academy, USA, United StatesImperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, GBR, United Kingdom
Country of Publication: United States
Secondary Affiliation: GeoRef, Copyright 2017, American Geosciences Institute. Reference includes data supplied by the Geological Society of America, Boulder, CO, United States
Update Code: 199923
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