RIP Professor Denys Brunsden

Via Anjana Khatwa on Instagram, I heard of the passing of Professor Denys Brunsden, GA President for 1986.

He did a great deal for the Association.

Condolences to Denys' friends and colleagues and particular to his family: Elizabeth, Martin and Judith.

Several people have already been sharing their memories of Denys. Thanks to Philip Anderson.

Updated end of July 2025

The BBC shared this story.

They point out that he was keeping busy with numerous projects.

More obituaries and messages:

https://www.geomorph.org/2024/10/obituary-for-professor-denys-brunsden-1936-2024-the-first-president-of-the-international-association-of-geomorphologists/  

From this document:

In 1956 he was enrolled as a geography student at King’s College of the University of London and had an opportunity to learn from Professor S.W. Wooldridge, one of the most eminent British geomorphologists of that time and a keen follower of the denudation chronology concept. No wonder, therefore, that in the early years of Denys’ research career issues of long-term landscape evolution were also strongly represented and his doctoral thesis was focused on the denudation chronology of Dartmoor. He will be associated with the King’s College for his entire academic career, until retirement.

".......after the funeral ceremony in Chideock in Dorset where he lived, his ashes were scattered onto the coastal landslide of Stonebarrow, going now slowly seaward. It is also necessary to mention the strong support Denys enjoyed throughout his life from his wife Elizabeth."

The Landslide Blog piece:

https://eos.org/thelandslideblog/professor-denys-brunsden

An online condolences book:

https://sendwishonline.com/en/business/group-card/Po3LRD7IsX0gre5JjxkUhwiEVHCF/board

GA Presidential Election for 2025-6

Following the call for nominations for the role of GA President 2025–26, an election is now taking place to discover the next GA President to succeed Hina Robinson, who will be GA President for 2024-5.

Nominations have been received for Catherine Owen and Kit Marie Rackley.

The GA President holds a number of key responsibilities, including setting the theme of the GA Annual Conference, chairing the Conference Planning Board and delivering the Presidential Lecture at Conference.

The President serves as Vice President (2024–5) in their first year and as an ex-officio member of Education Group. In the second year, as President (2025–6), they will also serve as the Chair of Education Group. 

Following their presidency, they serve for one further year as Immediate Past President (2026–7) and remain as a member of the GA’s Governing Body. 

Throughout the period of office, they work with the Chair of Trustees and Chief Executive to help steer the work of the Governing Body and the Association.

Read the statements from the two candidates and vote for your preferred choice by the 26th of February. You have a month to shape the future of the GA through your decision here. 

This election continues a trend of having more teacher Presidents put themselves forward than has historically been the case.

The new President will also be working with a new GA Chief Executive.

You have until the 5th of February to apply for that exciting role. Details here.

And if you want to vote and you aren't already a GA member, then now is your perfect opportunity to join and have your say.

GA Conference Programme 2024

Those who have already booked their early bird tickets, or are yet to book their tickets can now see the full programme for the GA Conference 2024.

I've got two inputs into the event. I'm running a book club featuring the book 'Dust' by Jay Owens. I'm hoping Jay will also be there in person.

I'm also presenting a lecture plus called 'Wake up and smell the Geography!' on the first session of the 5th of April.

Excited to see friends old and new and particularly the sessions from John Wilkinson and Sharon Witt and Helen Clarke - always wonderful....

Simulation in the Classroom

Simulation in the Classroom is a book in the 'Penguin papers in education' series. It is written by John Taylor and former GA President Rex Walford.

It explores the idea of role playing games and other simulations  

There are a few examples of games in the book.

There is the classic Herefordshire Farm Game, which involves students taking over the management of Canon Pyon farm on the Welsh border and deciding which crops to grow in its fields, whose yields are dependent on the weather experienced in each year they are in charge. The game was developed by W. V. Tidswell and was a regular part of my teaching when I first started .

It works well.

There is also a game developed by another former GA President when she was still teaching: Sheila Jones. This was developed along with David Gowing. It is an Urban Growth model, based on the city of Bristol, and developed following a session as part of the Madingley Lectures in 1967.

Check out John Taylor's work on simulation as well.

A cross-posting from my GeoLibrary blog.

'Changing the subject'

This book by Eleanor Rawling was flagged up for me by David Lambert in a recent conversation where I talked about some of the curriculum changes I'd seen.

It describes the changes that took place in school geography between 1980 and 2000 - the era when I trained as a teacher and then started teaching.

I purchased a copy from Amazon second hand, which turned out to have been withdrawn from the Edward Boyle Library at the University of Leeds.

Eleanor, a former GA President of course, describes the various policy decisions at national level which influenced the shape of the National Curriculum in the mid 80s, with its many many attainment targets, which were turned into double page spreads by David Waugh and Tony Bushell in the ubiquitous 'Key Geography' series.

The book was published by the Geographical Association, and the acknowledgements section mentions a whole list of former GA Presidents who were also involved in its production, particularly Richard Daugherty and also in the contents as they were a big part of discussions around the time of the development of the National Curriculum.

More to come once I've had a chance to digest it further...