From the archive: GA Centenary Dinner, 1993

The GA Centenary Dinner was held in 1993 at Keble College, Oxford. Once again, some familiar faces.

How many can you recognise?

1993: Centenary Badges

There was apparently a competition to design a badge for the GA's Centenary and here is the winning design from the front page of GA News at the time, in 1993.

From the archive: Centenary Celebrations 1993

I visited the GA Archive in Solly Street two weeks ago.

I came across some pictures from the GA's Centenary celebrations.

There were some of the Centenary dinner held at Keble College, Oxford and others of the visit by Princess Anne. 

Here's a few of the GA Council meeting in November 1993 when the centenary was celebrated, along with a special cake.

There are some familiar faces here, including the President at the time: Andrew Goudie with the cake.

If anyone spots someone in particular, please get in touch.

Centenary Royal patronage in 1993 - the Centenary year

In 1993, Princess Anne visited the GA's Centenary conference as a result of an invitation, which I came across when looking in the GA Archives earlier in the week. 

She was asked to be Patron of the GA's Centenary celebrations. I came across a number of original letters relating to this visit.

Here's the invitation to her, written by Simon Catling from the GA Archive - copyright with the GA as with all archive images, newspaper and journal extracts etc.

I also found the original version of the image below, which has been reproduced elsewhere.... I recognised Simon Catling on the right but not the other two gentlemen. 

It turns out that the person on the left in this image is Paul May, who was teaching at Wickersley Comprehensive School at the time. This was the school I went to (and left in 1982 to start my degree).

Here's the caption that I came across:

She is seen holding a copy of the GA's 'Teaching Geography' journal, and also a copy of W G V Balchin's Centenary volume, which has been a major source of information for many of the entries on this blog.

There was a report on the visit in the GA News. I came across a complete bound copy of all early issues of GA News.

Princess Anne spoke for 25 minutes, and pointed out the value of Geography in several different ways. 

Source:

Boardman, David, and Michael McPartland. “A Hundred Years of Geography Teaching Towards Centralisation: 1983—1993.” Teaching Geography, vol. 18, no. 4, 1993, pp. 159–63. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/23754550. Accessed 19 Aug. 2022.

Royal Patronage 1993

While in the GA archives at Solly Street at the start of the week, I came across some images of HRH Princess Anne meeting GA staff.

This was on the occasion of the 1993 Centenary Conference which was held in Sheffield. Simon Catling was President in that year.

In the second photo is former President Mike Morrish.

May also be Andrew Goudie in the picture as well.

Frances Soar filled in the details.

"These are press photos of HRH The Princess Royal, Frances Soar and Julia Legg at the GA Centenary Annual Conference, Sheffield 1993.  When the GA approached the Princess to be Patron of the GA, she (or her representative) wrote that because she only takes on this very significant role when she can devote sufficient time to do the job properly, she would have to decline. However, she offered to become Patron just for the Centenary year - and she was great in the role.  

I remember sending her lots of briefing notes about the GA, its history and its current activities.  She used the lot as part of her speech at the opening ceremony - but without consulting notes as she spoke! - and in chatting with us (as in the photo) knew exactly what she was talking about and to whom she was talking.  I was hugely impressed.  She is a real professional.  

There was a biography of HRH published shortly afterwards, which I bought because the GA got a mention in the list of patronages. 

Any other memories of the Royal visit welcome.

Past Presidents' reception

For some time, there was a tradition of Past Presidents and Long standing members' receptions to be held at the GA Conference. I have been present at one of these some years ago, well before the idea for this blog came about.

While down in the GA archives at 160 Solly Street, I came across a photo album. There were several pictures from the 1993 Centenary conference meeting in there. Here are a few of them.

Frances Soar gave me some further information on the context.

"This is a Past Presidents' reception at Sheffield in 1993, I think, as Simon Catling was President at the time. It could be the first time we had run a special reception for Past Presidents.  We introduced it in response to comments that Past Presidents (and other long serving members) would welcome a chance for a get together with their contemporaries rather than have to try and find them amongst all the other attendees, given that the 'sessions' were no longer their main aim in coming to Conference."

In the top image, Julia Legg - a GA administrator - is far left.

Frances also told me that: 

"Long serving GA staff member Margaret Vickers (standing, centre). Margaret used to do all the conference booking administration. She retired when we moved to Solly Street."

 

On the bottom images, Simon Catling on the far right is chatting to the guests.

Julia Legg is just behind Simon.

I can see Bill Mead in the background chatting to someone who may be Molly Long.

Thanks to Julia Legg, via Frances Soar for providing further details of the lady in the blue dress in both photos:

The person in the corner, full face, is Mary Ellis, who was Assistant Editor ( I think that was her job title) for 'Geography' for many years and came into Fulwood Road regularly. I think her husband was Ronald Ellis and he may too have been someone involved with geography and possibly the GA - maybe Hon. Secretary?

Mary Ellis later received Honorary Membership from former President Wendy Morgan.

If anyone can identify any other people, please let me know.

1993 - Centenary Conference

From the GA News. Details of HRH Princess Anne attending the Centenary conference at Firth Hall in Sheffield, at the University of Sheffield.

1993: Centenary Folder

Sent to me by Sheila Jones as part of a package of material earlier in the year.

This was a design used during 1993 for the folders containing the documents for the year. There have been quite a few designs of these folders over the years, and many of them disappear into people's homes, and then the bin.

Always happy to feature ephemera such as this on the blog if people find them...

1993: Professor Andrew Shaw Goudie

Last updated August 2023

What other subject tells us so much about the great issues of our age – global change, natural and human?

Professor Andrew Goudie, University of Oxford.

Andrew Goudie is a geomorphologist, and a leading expert on drylands.

He has published a vast range of books, articles and other papers, and received numerous awards for his work. Andrew sent me a CV which included almost 30 pages worth of links to papers and other publications and contributions over the years.
I have been lucky enough to hear Andrew speak several times, and was on the same 'bill' as Andrew at an Oxford GA Branch conference some years ago. The most recent event we both attended was a 75th anniversary event for the Field Studies Council at the Linnean Society in London, where Andrew gave a presentation which referenced several former GA Presidents.

Much of this entry was made up of contributions from Andrew himself thanks to a questionnaire I sent round to all the GA Presidents I could.


Image: Andrew Goudie supplied - copyright rests with Andrew Goudie

I am grateful to Andrew for sending through a number of documents to help me with the creation of the blog, including images of Presidents I was having difficulty tracking down who have already been featured - I also found some additional images from other contemporary Presidents as the blog has reached nearer to the present day.

I also mentioned him to William Atkins, author of the amazing book on the deserts that he wrote a couple of years ago.

Thank you! I'm so pleased to hear that. I turned to Andrew Goudie's books constantly while writing it.

— William Atkins (@WillAtkins01) August 3, 2018

Andrew also got a mention from a later GA President Keith Grimwade, who went to Jesus College, Oxford. 

He told me: 

"the mid to late 70s was also an exciting time to be an Oxford geographer because having lost out to Cambridge and elsewhere in the quantitative revolution, it was just beginning to pull ahead with its work on the environment and climate, led by someone else who was to become a GA President, Andrew Goudie". 

Andrew also hosted the GA's Centenary celebrations as he was the President of the GA during the Centenary celebrations. I have already shared some of the images that were sent to me by Sheila Jones, who was at the event and passed through some excellent resources, including some photos of the celebration and futher details. They will be posted around the time of this post, so visit the blog to see more.

Andrew was born in 1945 in Cheltenham.

He was educated at Dean Close School (Cheltenham) and went on to Trinity Hall (Cambridge) to study geography (of course).

Qualifications:

B.A. Cambridge (1967) 

M.A. Cambridge (1971) 

M.A. Oxford (1971) 

Ph.D. Cambridge (1972) 

DSc. Oxford (2002)

These also included the highest grades, and distinctions.

Throughout his entire career he has worked as an Oxford academic, and is also the author of many books and papers on a range of topics, notably deserts, drylands and geomorphology.

He has held posts in a number of Oxford colleges including Master of St. Cross College and also Pro-Vice Chancellor. He has held visiting Professorships and posts in a number of other organisations as well. 

He was the first professional geographer to lead an Oxford college.

As with other former GA Presidents, he has a connection with the Pitt-Rivers Museum in Oxford.

He has advised numerous committees and other organisations as well.

He has been awarded a great many prestigious awards within the discipline of geography - these include:

• Cuthbert Peek Award of the Royal Geographical Society (1975) 
• Publications Award of the Geographical Society of Chicago (1983) 
• Founder’s Royal Medal of the Royal Geographical Society (1991) 
• Mungo Park Medal of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society (1991) 
• Gold Medal, Charles University, Prague (1998) 
• Prix de l’Académie Royale de Belgique (2002)
• Linton Award of the British Society for Geomorphology (2009) - named after another former GA President David Leslie Linton.

In many ways, Andrew also has a close connection with many of the GA Presidents of the 1930s-60s in that he has been involved in a great deal of advisory work at the very highest level, which have connected him with many learned societies in addition to the GA, and international bodies as well.

These have included:

British Academy, BGRG, RGS-IBG, Royal Society.

He was also involved in the Action Plan for Geography.

Outside of the academic world, he is also involved in CPRE and a Trustee of the Jurassic Coast Trust - both of which connect him to the work of other former GA Presidents of course, particulary Denys Brunsden.

He has had Editorial roles on a number of publications, and spoken at events around the world. He was linked with this 2018 BBC World Service broadcast.

Andrew has also led expeditions to places such as the Karakoram, Kenya and Australia. I am sure I remember seeing him and/or Denys Brunsden speaking about it at Sheffield University as a 6th former.

When he became the GA President, Andrew was a high profile academic and Professor of Geography at Oxford University - the university associated with the GA's founding a century earlier of course.

Andrew told me:

"I was charged with helping with the Centenary celebrations. 

I have given huge numbers of lectures to GA branches over the years. 

I established, with Denys Brunsden, the Classic Landforms series. "

These books have been best sellers from the GA Shop for some decades and are still available to purchase even now. Here's the Dark Peak volume, which I used myself when teaching, along with the White Peak volume, and the one on the North Norfolk coast. They are many people's first experience of GA publications and activity and will be found on the shelves of many geography departments around the country I am sure.

Andrew had written numerous articles for GA journals, particularly 'Teaching Geography' where he has tried to educate teachers in the correct approach to teaching about drylands.

Andrew said:

"I have always been a Geographer and have always believed that the state of geography in universities depends on attracting good sixth formers to become undergraduates."

This was an important factor in the decision to write my book 'Why Study Geography', which came out in October 2020.

Andrew's Presidential Lecture was called 'The Nature of Physical Geography: A View from the Drylands".

In it, Andrew talked about his career, and the importance of these often overlooked parts of the world, and some of the scholars who had come before and to whom he was indebted - a common theme for many Presidents.

Of landscapes, he said they are:

"one of the greatest gifts to human kind. Let us study them and therefore enjoy them and let us expose our students to great landscapes whether in Britain or overseas! Landscape has a great potential to stimulate interest in Geography in the young and in the lay person..."

He also referenced another former GA President: Sidney Wooldridge, speaking in 1949:

"By what right can we withhold a knowledge of how our terrestrial home is constructed, the meaning of its scenery and the patterns of its sky. The world contains not only factories, farms, railway sidings, market places etc but the blue hills on the skyline, the winding valleys which traverse them, russet bracken covered slopes and heather fells and the ever changing incident of long and varied coastlines."

He also predated the modern movement towards avoiding the use of the term "natural disasters". 

I have my No Natural Disasters badges and stickers.

He said:

"it is probably best no longer to use the term 'natural hazard' because many hazards are only quasi-natural"

Andrew has written on the theme of the divide between school and academic geography, and how this might be dealt with.

He also published a paper in The Canadian Geographer in 2016 on divisions between human and physical geography - another ongoing debate in the subject discipline.

Andrew remains as busy as ever.

I was interested to see that one of the PhD students that Andrew supervised was Rita Gardner, former Director of the Royal Geographical Society. Another was Nick Middleton, who has appeared on TV himself, talking about some of the world's extreme environments.

In 2003, Chris Kington asked a number of former Presidents what had sparked their passion for geography. He lent me the letters that he had in reply and Andrew replied.

He says of his spark that it was:

"I was eight or nine and we had a family holiday that took us to Lyme Regis. I collected ammonites. I then got acute appendicitis and the minister at the Kirk in Cheltenham who gave me a book on fossils... When I was better I sought them out all over the Cotswolds."

Many thanks to Chris Kington for the loan of the letters.

References
Oxford University Staff Page - some details of Andrew's academic work.

Andrew provided me with a CV with hundreds of books, papers and other published output. Here are a few examples to jog your memory perhaps:

Why the Devil’s punchbowl dries up. Geographical Magazine 50(6), 381-386 (1978) (with M. J. Day) Chill winds over India. Geographical Magazine 411-416 (1979) 

Fearful landscape of the Karakoram. Geographical Magazine pp. 306-312 (1981) 

The disintegration of rock by mechanical processes. Teaching Geography 6, 176-179 (1981) 

Man, maker of landscapes. Geographical Magazine (1987)

If anyone has anything else to add about Andrew, and memories of his contributions to the GA, please get in touch.

Update March 2021

New Book Alert! The Queen of the Sciences: Geological Pioneers of the Jurassic Coast by Andrew Goudie and @CharmouthHCC Patron Denys Brunsden. Available now on our online shop: https://t.co/codaT1W1dg pic.twitter.com/lN3iGskiQr

— CharmouthHCC (@CharmouthHCC) March 30, 2021

Updated August 2023

Out in November 2022, in collaboration with Denys Brunsden. 

Details here from OUP.

1993 Centenary Celebration Weekend

This took place at Keble College, Oxford on the 2nd-4th of July 1993

Sheila Jones kindly send me a list of the delegates along with some hand-written comments to identify some of the names from her memory.

Andrew Goudie told me: 

The Centenary celebrations went off well and we had a fantastic, packed out, five course dinner in Keble College, attended by the Director of the RGS, the head of National Geographic (Gilbert Grosvenor) and the Secretary of State for Education (John Patten).

I have been awarded a Gilbert Grosvenor Medal as it happens :)

Here's the programme for the event.

If anyone has any memories of this event - perhaps you were there, or recognise any names then let me know.

I presume this is OK under GDPR as it took place 27 years ago and doesn't identify anyone's current location or details... Former GA Presidents are emboldened.

Miss H Arnold, York - schoolteacher

Mr A R Astles, London

Patrick Bailey, Leicester

Mrs. K M Balch, Eastbourne

Prof W G V Balchin, Ilkley

Mr R A C Barr, Northampton

Ms B L Beard, Loughborough

Mr. Trevor Bennetts, Eastleigh - HMI - more on Trevor in a separate blog post

Miss Sue Bermingham, Manchester - still very active

Ms L Beskeen, Bristol - a teacher, on the local GA Branch committee

Dr J A (Tony) Binns, Hove - Tony Binns, now based in New Zealand

Ms Rachel Bowles, London - another GA legend who will have her own blog post on the blog

Dr Mike Bradford, Manchester

Mrs K Broadbent, Oldham

Prof. D Brunsden, Bridport

Mrs. V P Bulbick, Bournemouth

Mr. D Burtenshaw, Bedhampton

Miss Margaret Caister, Islington - HMI

Miss J Campbell, Shewsbury

Mr. Simon Catling (& Mrs L Catling), Oxford 

Miss D Challis, Tetbury

Mr R Chapman, London

Mrs P A Clarke, York

Mr M J Clatworthy, Oxford

Miss Pat Cleverley, Bristol

Professor Alice Coleman, London

Mr Graham Corney, Oxford - https://www.researchgate.net/scientific-contributions/Graham-Corney-81702509

Mr M Cribb, Hampton Hill

Mr Richard Daugherty, Swansea

Mr J Davey, Oxford

Mr Vic Dennison, Bristol

Mr A Dixon, Oxford

Miss C Donaldson, Brighton

Mr. Ralph Dunkley, Purley

Mr L H Elliott, London

Mrs J Elson, Exeter

Ms D Farmer, Wrexham

Mr M and Mrs. Marcia Foley, Rotherfield - Marcia Foley is a name from the past - see later...

Ms E and Miss J Frew, Manchester - Jennie Frew is still a Vice President of the Manchester GA Branch

https://www.geography.org.uk/GA-Manchester-Branch

Professor Andrew Goudie, Oxford - hosted the event

Mr P Gwilliam, Southend on Sea

Prof Peter Haggett, Bristol - a great supporter of the local branch

He appears in one of Sheila Jones' pictures.

Mr B Harris, London

Ms S M Harvey-George, Falmouth - found on LinkedIn - a geographer in Truro

Mrs A M Hayes, Oxford

Miss B E Hayward, London

Dr John Hemming, London - An IBG rep. Director of the RGS in due course.

Mr M and Mrs. E Hewitt, Bickley

Dr Gladys Hickman, Edinburgh - a great innovator according to Sheila Jones, and her own Education tutor who inspired her. Sadly died in 2006, and has her own post on this blog. An early school textbook author.

Dr Graham Humphrys (& Mrs. R), Swansea

Mrs J Janikoun, Bromley - Jan Janikoun - wrote a book for Primary Geography with Marcia Foley

Mr. R Jones and Mrs. E A Jones, Stone - Bob Jones, from the GA Staffordshire branch - he kindly put me up when I spoke at the branch about 10 years ago.

Miss Sheila Jones, Bristol

Mr. Chris Kington, Cambridge

Mr Jeremy Krause, Chester

Ms J. H. Lawley, Bury - a Headmistress who was 'always at conference'

Mr. R A Leake, Market Bosworth

Miss Julia Legge, Sheffield - involved with the GA as an administrator

Dr G E D Lewi, London

Mrs. Judith Mansell, Watford - former RGS Education Officer, and also involved with the GA as Trustee

Mr R A H Marshall, Manchester

Mr. Alan Marvell, Swindon - still heavily involved with the GA in the Post-16 committee

Mr Robert May, Cheltenham - GA Branch officer, has his own post on the blog

Professor Bill Mead, Aylesbury

Mr D C Money, Bedford - author who has been mentioned early on the blog, and had a fascinating life - a keen contributor to GA events.

Miss N Moon, Swindon

Mr. R B Ll Morgan, Repton

Mrs. Wendy Morgan, Ipswich

Mrs. S Morris, Croydon

Mr Mike Morrish, London

Mr Michael Naish (& Mrs. S), Bromley - Education tutor in London, and previously mentioned on the blog

Ms H. Niemann, Burgewdl, Germany - an international attendee; common at GA Conferences now, sometimes with the support of the GA's International SIG.

Mr M and Mrs M O' Leary, Nottingham

Mr Keith Orrell, Wakefield - very active, and has his own post on the blog

Professor Allan Patmore, North Ferriby, Hull

Mr M and Mrs. E Pearson, Preston

Miss J Pugh, Leicester

Mr A Powell, London

Mrs Eleanor Rawling (& Mr J Rawling), Oxford

Mr M K Reeves, Rolle, Swizerland

Mrs Margaret Roberts, Sheffield

Miss Rosemary L Robson, Eastbourne - She was chair of the Secondary School committee (on which I served for 14 years) and a very efficient one. She served a similar period to Sheila Jones, who sent me these notes. She feels that she should have been President, but was never selected by the hierarchy at the time.

Mr John Rolfe, Boreham Wood

Mr N Rosser, Malvern

Mrs E Sawicka, Solihull

Mr Neil Simmonds, Worksop - teacher

Mr D G Smith, Oxford

Miss M Smeaton, Worcester - lecturer

Miss Frances Soar - GA Staff

Mrs C Speak, Shaftesbury

Dr Derek Spooner, Hull

Professor Robert Steel, Swansea

Rev C H and Mrs. D Stephens, Nottingham

Mr Michael Storm, Reading

Mrs Andrea Tapsfield, Warwick - HMI and involved with the GA for many decades - still active now, and recently worked on the Mentoring section of the GA website - will have her own post on the blog.

Mr C C Taylor, Newcastle upon Tyne

Mr Rex Walford, Cambridge - and Mrs. Wendy Walford

Ms. J Webb, Melton Mowbray

Ms A Whipp, Llanbedr-y-Fro

Mrs D White, Bournemouth

Prof M Williams, Swansea

Mr D and Mrs. C Williams, Norwich

Professor Michael Wise, London - & Mrs. B Wise

Miss M B Woodward, Ramsgate

Mrs. G Wraith, Chesterfield

Mentioned here: she taught at Lady Manners School, Bakewell

“The Geographical Association.” Geography, vol. 61, no. 4, 1976, pp. 263–271. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40568595. Accessed 6 Dec. 2020.

Ms P Wilson, Bedford - very busy GA activist

Here are 2 photos from the many provided by Sheila Jones.

The first has an interior view of Keble College, Oxford.

I recognise several people there, including Patrick Bailey talking to Trevor Bennetts, Bob May and Gilbert Grosvenor of the National Geographic Society.

Another picture from Sheila is this one from the garden.

I recognise quite a few former GA Presidents there including Michael Bradford, Rex Walford, Simon Catling and Eleanor Rawling.

The lady in the blue dress in the middle of the photograph, with the brown handbag is Elizabeth Fleure, daughter of Professor H J Fleure - a link to the GA's origins a century earlier...

All memories and further details of any delegates that you recognise, such as names, jobs etc would be very welcome to help flesh out this post further.

Robert May

I first came across Robert May on one of the images that Sheila Jones sent through to me via Jeremy Krause. He was in a quiz team which was taking part in a special quiz on the British Empire at the 1993 Centenary Celebrations, along with Sue Bermingham.

He was the Branch Officer of the Geographical Assocation following Sheila Jones - an important role and one currently carried out by Ian Dixson. She described him as a great supporter of the GA and Assistant Treasurer, and she said he never made President, but perhaps should have.

Here he is in the image on the right:

We believe the man on the left with the beard and Fez is Bob Jones: Secretary of the North Staffs Branch of the GA, and also a former GA Branch Officer. Thanks to Frances Soar for suggesting that it was Bob. Can anyone confirm that for me? He was certainly present at the event.

References

Coates, Bryan E., et al. “Annual Report of the Geographical Association 1983.” Geography, vol. 69, no. 2, 1984, pp. 167–175. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40570820. Accessed 8 Nov. 2020

Keith Orrell

Keith Orrell attended the 1993 Centenary event, and was featured in one of the images that Sheila Jones sent me. Here he is, saying something perhaps at one of those events.

Keith wrote a series of books in the 1970s and 80s which reached a large audience while working as a University lecturer. They included:

Evaluation and Assessment in Geography Paperback – 1 May 1984 - written with Patrick Wiegand

He was also involved in the GA's Worldwise Challenge for some years.

https://www.geography.org.uk/Worldwise-Challenge-2013

From an article in the Wakefield local paper:
"Keith was well respected in his local community.

Keith Orrell made such a huge contribution to Wrenthorpe, near Wakefield that he was awarded an MBE for his efforts in 2012.
He also found time to be a governor at Jerry Clay Academy, serving the school for 25 years.
Last year the school even named their outdoor learning area after him.

Originally from Sheffield, Keith’s working life was spent as a teacher and a university lecturer in geography.

His daughter Jo Orrell said: “From an early age and throughout his life, dad was driven to achieve and make the world a better place."

He sadly died in July 2018 as reported here after suffering from Parkinson's Disease.

On the right of that photograph is an image of another person from this period who will get his own post on the blog: Bob May.

If anyone has other memories of Keith and his association with the GA, please get in touch.