The president 101 years ago this year was a geologist, and a cyclist.
This must have been a time of turmoil and change as soldiers returned to their previous life as teachers, and families were reunited, and the GA moved back into peace time. However, it was also a time of great growth in terms of numbers of new members and activity following years of semi-dormancy, and a desire to be creative and 'keep busy'.
Grenville Cole was a geologist by background and was apparently known as the "cycling geologist". You can perhaps guess why.
He undertook many cycling tours around continental Europe and Ireland. These trips were recounted in two early travel books. The Gypsy Road: a Journey from Krakow to Coblentz, published in 1894, which apparently provides a delightful account of a tour undertaken by him on a tricycle and his companion on a penny farthing, across what is now Poland, the Czech Republic, and eastern Germany.
Details here: https://sp.lyellcollection.org/content/287/1/135
In a later slim volume entitled 'As We Ride', co-authored with his wife, a number of expeditions to France and the Balkans are eloquently described. I am going to endeavour to get some copies of those books, certainly the first one at least.
Between 1902 and 1908, Cole organised a week-long geological excursion to various parts of Ireland for his students, and transport was by train and bicycle.
His links to the Geographical Association started at this time, and he became involved with their work in many ways, particularly in the area of Geology. He wrote a good many books on geology, as well as a rare guide to Dublin, which is going for £300 on eBay.
In 1919, his Presidential Address was called “The Narrow Seas and the Arctic Route to Muscovy.” As is customary at the time (before the Bank Holiday arrived and the conference moved to Spring) it was held in the first week of the year.
Not surprisingly he started by talking about the geology of the seas around the country, and the role that they had played in shaping the country's history and destiny.
He also talked about the little-known expedition in the 1550s by Sir Hugh Willoughby and Richard Chancellor, where they headed North into Muscovia, to try to find a great circle route over the Pole to Cathay, and "secure that route for the English."
It didn't end well for Willoughby, with his fate being told in his journals. They were found on the ship in 1554 after he and the crews of the Bona Esperanta and the Bona Confidentia had perished, ice bound in the Varzina River during the winter. Chancellor was separated in a storm off the Lofoten Islands and found safety in Norway. The adventures of Chancellor were recounted in the address, along with 'what happened next'. There were echoes in Willoughby's Arctic disappearance of the tale of 'Erebus' told so well most recently by Sir Michael Palin.
His links to the Geographical Association started at this time, and he became involved with their work in many ways, particularly in the area of Geology. He wrote a good many books on geology, as well as a rare guide to Dublin, which is going for £300 on eBay.
In 1919, his Presidential Address was called “The Narrow Seas and the Arctic Route to Muscovy.” As is customary at the time (before the Bank Holiday arrived and the conference moved to Spring) it was held in the first week of the year.
Not surprisingly he started by talking about the geology of the seas around the country, and the role that they had played in shaping the country's history and destiny.
He also talked about the little-known expedition in the 1550s by Sir Hugh Willoughby and Richard Chancellor, where they headed North into Muscovia, to try to find a great circle route over the Pole to Cathay, and "secure that route for the English."
It didn't end well for Willoughby, with his fate being told in his journals. They were found on the ship in 1554 after he and the crews of the Bona Esperanta and the Bona Confidentia had perished, ice bound in the Varzina River during the winter. Chancellor was separated in a storm off the Lofoten Islands and found safety in Norway. The adventures of Chancellor were recounted in the address, along with 'what happened next'. There were echoes in Willoughby's Arctic disappearance of the tale of 'Erebus' told so well most recently by Sir Michael Palin.
Cole was unwell in 1920 after his Presidency ended, but took up the post of President of the Irish Geographical Association
He delivered a series of Summer lectures entitled "Ireland the Outpost" and these were later turned into a book.
His Presidential Address to the Irish Association was published in 'The Geographical Teacher' in 1920. In this one, he suggested that every geography teacher should "receive a grant for travel... as the world at large is our laboratory"
This is a reminder that there are many national Geographical Associations, and I hope during my Presidency to connect with as many of these as possible.
Grenville Cole sadly died in 1924, relatively young compared to many of the Presidents.
References
http://sp.lyellcollection.org/content/287/1/135 - detail on Cole's career as the cycling geologist
Image copyright: Geological Society of London
Citation:
Grenville Arthur James Cole (1859–1924): the cycling geologist
P. N. Wyse Jackson
Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 287, 135-147, 1 January 2007,https://doi.org/10.1144/SP287.11
Wyse Jackson, P.N. ‘Grenville Cole (1859 – 1924): cycling geologist’ Four centuries of geological travel: the search for knowledge on foot, bicycle, sledge and camel Wyse Jacskson, P.N., ed. London: The Geological Society, 2007: p143
Other images can be seen from this source, including some of the routes that Cole cycled
Presidential Address
Cole, Grenville A. J. “The Narrow Seas and the Arctic Route to Muscovy.” The Geographical Teacher, vol. 10, no. 1, 1919, pp. 4–8. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40555794.
https://www.jstor.org/stable/40555643?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents - Irish connections outlined
Cole, G. A. J. “Presidential Address to the Irish Geographical Association.” The Geographical Teacher, vol. 10, no. 6, 1920, pp. 276–279. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40555713.
Books for sale on ABE Books: https://www.abebooks.co.uk/servlet/SearchResults?sts=t&cm_sp=SearchF-_-home-_-Results&an=Grenville+Cole&tn=&kn=&isbn=
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grenville_Cole - Wikipedia entry
I edited the Wikipedia entry to add the fact that he was the President of the Geographical Association. I shall do that for each President, as hardly any of their entries mentioned that before I started the blog.
Poetry about Cole by Michael McKimm: https://writtenintherocks.wordpress.com/2012/07/04/the-cycling-geologist/
As always, if anyone know any more information about Grenville Cole, please get in touch.
POSTSCRIPT
1919 was also the year that the GA looked to organise a memorial to Professor Herbertson, who was the subject of a previous post.
This was the Herbertson Memorial Lecture, and an endowment meeting the expenses of a lecture and printing.
Update - June 2019
An appreciation, published in 1924 in 'The Geographical Teacher'
“EDITORIAL.” The Geographical Teacher, vol. 12, no. 5, 1924, pp. 329–332. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40556361.
Updated August 2020
While looking for something else, I came across a book called 'Geography and Education' exploring the development of fieldwork education.
It describes Grenville's attempts to bring the same sort of opportunities for fieldwork to Ireland that were being developed in the UK by the GA and other organisations.
Grenville gets a chapter almost to himself, alongside the efforts of John Scott Keltie.
It pulls in mentions for many other former GA Presidents along the way:
Born in London and with a solid background in geology he visited Ireland for the first time in 1884, the year Keltie undertook his eclectic survey on the state of geography education in England and Wales.
In 1890, Cole took a position in the Royal College of Science in Dublin. As a geologist he was a practical field worker, and he conducted many practical geological surveys in Ireland. In 1911, accompanied by Davis the celebrated American Geomorphologist, he undertook an expedition incorporating the Munster Blackwater River Valley. Davies, lecturer in Geography at Trinity College Dublin, said "They went there to see the sininge bend in the Blackwater described by Jukes in l862." Though working and residing in Dublin, Cole maintained a close contact with the Geographical Association in Britain.
His contribution to that organisation culminated in his election as its president in 1919. He worked in close harmony with the guiding intellectuals of the Association in England: Mackinder, Fleure, Roxby, Freshfield and Geddes.
Cole consequently spearheaded a movement to set up and establish an Irish version of the Geographical Association.
The I.G.A. was affiliated with its British counterpart and many ideas and methods which had originated in England were introduced in Dublin by Cole. In 1921, he utilized the Mackinder and Herbertson Summer School idea to promote in-service courses for teachers.
Davies recorded the eleven-day summer school organised by the Irish Geographical Association in that year for geography teachers.
"The programme for that school looks surprisingly modern. There were lectures on landforms and scenery, maps and map reading, field work in biogeography, historical cartography, Ii Industry and power resources, and geographical modelling together with field-excursions to Howth, Dunsink Observatory, the Dublin and Wicklow mountains, Killiney and the Dublin Docks." Indeed the program looked surprisingly modern in the Irish context, yet, on a comparative note, those methods and activities had been integral parts of geography education at third level institutions in Britain for a decade or more.
He delivered a series of Summer lectures entitled "Ireland the Outpost" and these were later turned into a book.
His Presidential Address to the Irish Association was published in 'The Geographical Teacher' in 1920. In this one, he suggested that every geography teacher should "receive a grant for travel... as the world at large is our laboratory"
This is a reminder that there are many national Geographical Associations, and I hope during my Presidency to connect with as many of these as possible.
Grenville Cole sadly died in 1924, relatively young compared to many of the Presidents.
References
http://sp.lyellcollection.org/content/287/1/135 - detail on Cole's career as the cycling geologist
Image copyright: Geological Society of London
Citation:
Grenville Arthur James Cole (1859–1924): the cycling geologist
P. N. Wyse Jackson
Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 287, 135-147, 1 January 2007,https://doi.org/10.1144/SP287.11
Wyse Jackson, P.N. ‘Grenville Cole (1859 – 1924): cycling geologist’ Four centuries of geological travel: the search for knowledge on foot, bicycle, sledge and camel Wyse Jacskson, P.N., ed. London: The Geological Society, 2007: p143
Other images can be seen from this source, including some of the routes that Cole cycled
Presidential Address
Cole, Grenville A. J. “The Narrow Seas and the Arctic Route to Muscovy.” The Geographical Teacher, vol. 10, no. 1, 1919, pp. 4–8. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40555794.
https://www.jstor.org/stable/40555643?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents - Irish connections outlined
Cole, G. A. J. “Presidential Address to the Irish Geographical Association.” The Geographical Teacher, vol. 10, no. 6, 1920, pp. 276–279. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40555713.
Books for sale on ABE Books: https://www.abebooks.co.uk/servlet/SearchResults?sts=t&cm_sp=SearchF-_-home-_-Results&an=Grenville+Cole&tn=&kn=&isbn=
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grenville_Cole - Wikipedia entry
I edited the Wikipedia entry to add the fact that he was the President of the Geographical Association. I shall do that for each President, as hardly any of their entries mentioned that before I started the blog.
Poetry about Cole by Michael McKimm: https://writtenintherocks.wordpress.com/2012/07/04/the-cycling-geologist/
As always, if anyone know any more information about Grenville Cole, please get in touch.
POSTSCRIPT
1919 was also the year that the GA looked to organise a memorial to Professor Herbertson, who was the subject of a previous post.
This was the Herbertson Memorial Lecture, and an endowment meeting the expenses of a lecture and printing.
Update - June 2019
An appreciation, published in 1924 in 'The Geographical Teacher'
“EDITORIAL.” The Geographical Teacher, vol. 12, no. 5, 1924, pp. 329–332. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40556361.
Updated August 2020
While looking for something else, I came across a book called 'Geography and Education' exploring the development of fieldwork education.
It describes Grenville's attempts to bring the same sort of opportunities for fieldwork to Ireland that were being developed in the UK by the GA and other organisations.
Grenville gets a chapter almost to himself, alongside the efforts of John Scott Keltie.
It pulls in mentions for many other former GA Presidents along the way:
Born in London and with a solid background in geology he visited Ireland for the first time in 1884, the year Keltie undertook his eclectic survey on the state of geography education in England and Wales.
In 1890, Cole took a position in the Royal College of Science in Dublin. As a geologist he was a practical field worker, and he conducted many practical geological surveys in Ireland. In 1911, accompanied by Davis the celebrated American Geomorphologist, he undertook an expedition incorporating the Munster Blackwater River Valley. Davies, lecturer in Geography at Trinity College Dublin, said "They went there to see the sininge bend in the Blackwater described by Jukes in l862." Though working and residing in Dublin, Cole maintained a close contact with the Geographical Association in Britain.
His contribution to that organisation culminated in his election as its president in 1919. He worked in close harmony with the guiding intellectuals of the Association in England: Mackinder, Fleure, Roxby, Freshfield and Geddes.
Cole consequently spearheaded a movement to set up and establish an Irish version of the Geographical Association.
The I.G.A. was affiliated with its British counterpart and many ideas and methods which had originated in England were introduced in Dublin by Cole. In 1921, he utilized the Mackinder and Herbertson Summer School idea to promote in-service courses for teachers.
Davies recorded the eleven-day summer school organised by the Irish Geographical Association in that year for geography teachers.
"The programme for that school looks surprisingly modern. There were lectures on landforms and scenery, maps and map reading, field work in biogeography, historical cartography, Ii Industry and power resources, and geographical modelling together with field-excursions to Howth, Dunsink Observatory, the Dublin and Wicklow mountains, Killiney and the Dublin Docks." Indeed the program looked surprisingly modern in the Irish context, yet, on a comparative note, those methods and activities had been integral parts of geography education at third level institutions in Britain for a decade or more.
Cole
simply transferred the techniques and experience to the
Dublin Summer School.
Cole also campaigned for the inclusion of geography in the curriculum of the Universities. He realized that no improvements could come about in the schools unless teachers were properly trained in the new methods. He proposed a motion to that effect in 1923, at a meeting of the Irish Geographical Association, stating that "this meeting instructs the committee of the IGA to take steps to bring the need for higher geographical teaching in Ireland before the authorities responsible for the curriculum of courses for degrees in the several Irish Universities, and to urge the inclusion of Geography among the subjects that may be selected by undergraduates as the principal study of their fmal years for degrees both in science and the arts."
His work had only really begun, when he sadly died in 1924.
Source, where you can read the whole book:
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED331742.pdf
References
https://www.lyellcollection.org/doi/abs/10.1144/SP287.11 - Lyell Collection
Updated August 2023
Many illustrations from this book have been shared on Flickr. They can be downloaded.
Updated September 2023
From 1924 - a new image of Cole.
Wright, W. B., and M. C. Wright. “Grenville Arthur James Cole, F.R.S.” The Irish Naturalist, vol. 33, no. 6, 1924, pp. 57–60. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/25525353. Accessed 16 Sept. 2023.
And some more description of his work.
It describes his travels and wider involvement, including with the British Association.
What's unusual in a piece like this is that the GA is mentioned as part of his work... he "took a keen interest" in the development of geography.
He also wrote poetry it seems, as did a few other Presidents.
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