1961: Mr. Geoffrey E Hutchings

Updated August 2023

Geoffrey Hutchings' background was in fieldwork, which is surprisingly rare amongst GA Presidents, given the nature of the subject. 

More recent Presidents with this as an interest include Sidney Wooldridge of course, and very recently, we have had Nick Lapthorn, who has also been associated with some of the same Field Centre experiences as Geoffrey. Nick self-identified as an accidental geographer though during his Presidential lecture. More to come in a future post.
Hutchings was elected as President by the GA Council in 1960, in place of George Joseph Cons, who sadly died prior to taking up office, and who I described in recent blog posts, along with his work for the BBC.

Announcing his appointment in the GA's Annual Report of 1960, it says of Geoffrey Hutchings that:
"this will be the first occasion when we shall welcome as our President a distinguished field geographer and teacher"

Hutchings was the Warden and geography tutor of Juniper Hall centre in the Weald during the late 40's and early 50's.
At the time, it was run by the Council for the Promotion of Field Studies which later became the Field Studies Council.
He wrote a lot about the scenery of this area, and these were often illustrated books too as Hutchings was an accomplished illustrator.



A book on fieldwork was also published, co-written with another former President, S. W Wooldridge in 1957.

This book had a focus on London's Countryside, a reminder of the connection with the regional and local studies that was a feature of Geography at this time. It's a lovely looking volume as well.

He also published a book called 'Landscape Drawing' in 1960 which had plenty of information on field sketches and examples of the craft.





I was also interested to read about the influence of Geoffrey Hutchings on the development of the Field Studies Council., which celebrated its 75th anniversary recently.

A Cambridge University Geography department alumni page provides more detail on this relationship with the FSC. There is an image in the Balchin book too, which I have included above. Images are hard to come by.

This section is taken from the document and describes his role in developing the FSC's offering for students and teachers which have remained so important.

Source: Freeman and Pinchemel, 2016

I like the description of the GA Presidency as 'the culmination of his career".

Hutchings felt that his selection as President could not have been for services to the Association as, like many members, he felt he benefitted more from being a member than vice versa.

Unsurprisingly, his Presidential Address was on the theme of field teaching, and is well worth reading - follow the JSTOR link in the references section. It was given at the LSE in January 1962 (when the conference was still held at that time of year, as it was until relatively recently).


In the address, he provides lots of useful guidance for those preparing for fieldwork such as:

 "It is a mistake to conduct an instructional expedition which has not been thoroughly rehearsed. Teaching does not go smoothly if the leader has trouble in finding his way, or if the timing goes wrong. There may be something appealing in the idea of teacher and students joining together in the spirit of exploration and discovery, but a teacher who tries to break new ground in company with his students can be putting himself to a severe test. He may come out of it well as a companion but he will seldom in such circumstances be able to give a first-class piece of teaching".

He also talked about the importance of drawing:

Hutchings located landscape drawing in a tradition of geographical field teaching which sought to challenge students who seemed “to accept the rural scene as something inevitable, immutable, earthy, picturesque,” and “build up for themselves the geographical picture of the piece of country they were exploring,” both in itself and to extend their visual experience.

“Without such pictures they could not consider the operation of physical processes, organic relations and human activities” (Hutchings 1962: 3–4).

He is remembered here by a Cambridge graduate who he spoke to while a grammar school pupil.


Brendan Conway also sent an image he had created including a field sketch done in the 1950s.

A wonderful 1950s #FieldSketch of chalk hills twd #BoxHill by the late Geoffrey Hutchings @The_GA president; warden @FSCJuniperHall
Cross-fade w my 2017 photo incl #BeltedGalloway @dorkingmuseum @livingkt22 @ManorFarmWotton #GeographyTeacher
Source: https://t.co/5nnYCdbOCq pic.twitter.com/iCu0OnNJeX

— BC (@mildthing99) March 30, 2020

References

Some book links

'Geographers: Some biobibliographical studies Vol 2' - T. W. Freeman, Philippe Pinchemel
Bloomsbury Publishing, 28 Jan 2016
This has an image and some very useful biographical detail on Geoffrey.

 

 HUTCHINGS, GEOFFREY E. “Geographical Field Teaching: Address to the Geographical Association.” Geography, vol. 47, no. 1, 1962, pp. 1–14. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40565627

David Mattless:
Landscape and Englishness: Second Expanded Edition (2018) also mentions him, as do other books.

This is an excellent book by the way, and well worth getting a copy of.

He wrote a regional study of part of Kent. (ABE Books)

http://www.colinsackett.co.uk/thetrueline.php - features some of Hutchings' drawings.

There is also a mention of Hutchings on the excellent Some Landscapes blog, which is also well worth checking out for those interested in writing on landscapes.
https://some-landscapes.blogspot.com/2007/10/true-line.html

He was also referenced in this presentation here by Tim Burt, who was one of my lecturers, and also tutor of my dissertation at Huddersfield Polytechnic, and went on to Durham University, and to become President of the Field Studies Council. He was also mentioned at the recent 75th Anniversary of the FSC which I was privileged to be able to attend, at the Linnean Society in London.

Tim Burt – Curious about nature: A passion for fieldwork from IES / IAQM

Also mentioned in this chapter: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/content/bpl_images/content_store/ThumbNail/LONGHURST9781405126458/9781405175654_028.PDF

"In the face of the increasing popularity of photography in geography texts, and what he saw as its limitations as a medium of landscape interpretation (as opposed to reproduction), Hutchings set out a series of basic graphical guidelines, including advice on materials as well as techniques. 
Allied to the arts of drawing maps, sections, and profiles, landscape drawing could portray articulations of structure and scenery, land and life, and with annotations, specify details of land use, vegetation cover, and settlement pattern. Geographical drawing did not just reflect an informed knowledge of what is seen, it was itself an act of observation."

From 1960s Geography journal, comes this ad:


A relatively brief entry - would love a few more images of Geoffrey at work if possible, and any more memories from his time working with the GA.

Updated May 2020

"Jacket design by G. E. Hutchings", 1957. pic.twitter.com/376GwN0wlj

— Uniformbooks (@Uniformbooks) May 28, 2020

Updated August 2020

I came across a book on the history of fieldwork in geographical education, which can all be read in full on this link.
In the 1940s we get a mention for Geoffrey Hutchings, and the opening of Flatford Mill centre.

Ideally Hutchings thought that "educational field work should continue through the whole of a child's school life. If it did so the curiosity of the young child and his joy in the world of nature, would never end abruptly as they so often do, but would lead in later youth to a critical interest in his environment and a capacity to gain reliable and usable knowledge from what he sees around him [sic]." 

Hutchings transmitted his expertise and enthusiasm for the study of geography by first-hand observation and deductive methods to the many teachers and pupils who came under his influence. Under his guidance field-work activities grew rapidly. 

As president of the Geographical Association in 1960, Hutchings realized the unique opportunity within his reach to further geographical field-work. 

The title of his address "Geographical Field Teaching" outlined the theme of the Association's Annual Conference. Methodology related to outdoor work dominated the entire conference. Papers on related topics were read by some of his colleagues, and an exhibition in field work in schools was successfully organized. Geographical field activities, therefore, were firmly established by the 1960s, and prospered under enthusiastic guidance. 

Source: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED331742.pdf