Neville Grenyer

Neville Grenyer died in 2008.

He was a significant figure in geographical education and a teacher at Haberdashers' Aske's School, which also has a connection with Michael Morrish. He was one of a group of teachers who saw the potential for changing the subject in the 1970s, eventually becoming an HMI. He was one of the authors of the Oxford Geography Project, along with John Rolfe, Rosemary Dearden, Ashley Kent himself, and Clive Rowe.

He was a colleague of Ashley Kent and met on PGCE placement at Haberdasher's Askes school.

He studied for his PGCE at King's College London before moving to St. Dunstan's College where he joined a department led by Brian Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald was working with John Everson to publish books which changed a lot of teachers' practice. Neville ended up marrying Rosemary Deardon and they had two children together. He also wrote the very popular book (I have a copy in my cupboard) 'Investigating Physical Geography' while at Winchester College.

He retired from his HMI role in 2006.

Reference

Obituary: By Peter R Smith in 'Geography' in 2009

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00167487.2009.12094255

1996: W(illiam) Ashley Kent

Updated August 2023

Ashley Kent had a long career as an academic geographer.
As with quite a few other former GA Presidents, Ashley Kent worked at the Institute of Education for many years.

I own a copy of the book whose cover is shown below, which has proved useful in the past, and has several chapters written by a number of other former Presidents as well. Like many of his books, it has run to several editions.

His PhD thesis was on the adoption of CAL (computer assisted learning) and acts as a useful summary of the development of IT in Geography classrooms - this connects with the work of another President: Peter Fox, (and I will discuss his role at the appropriate time). See the link at the end of the post to download a copy if you are interested.

He also wrote an influential book with Michael Bradford (another former President, who sadly died in 2019) called just 'Bradford and Kent' by the many teachers who used it. I mentioned that book in a recent blog post.

He was also part of the authoring team of the Oxford Geography Project, which I used back in the day when I first started teaching. Copies of this can still be obtained second hand.

Ashley proved elusive to track down for some further information for some time, from the start of my blog writing. 

I was able to swap e-mails with Ashley earlier this year, and he provided me with further information, which is now included below:

I was born in 1945. 

I attended St. Catharine's college, Cambridge - as did at least three other GA Presidents including Derek Spooner. 

My teaching career began as a student teacher at St Dunstan’s College, Catford where Brian Fitzgerald was head of department and Neville Grenyer a member of staff…both became HMI’s!

I then taught at Haberdashers’ Aske’s School, Elstree where my colleagues included John Rolfe, Neville Grenyer, Rosie Grenyer and Clive Rowe.

I was then head of department at John Mason School, Abingdon with Eleanor Rawling as a close colleague. What a powerful department that must have been!

Eleanor and I then moved to the Geography 16-19 Project at the Institute of Education with Michael Naish.
I then became a lecturer and eventually a professor and pro-Director at the Institute of Education.

My major textbooks were the Oxford Geography Project written by the Haberdashers’ team for years 7-9; and two textbooks written with Michael Bradford: Human Geography: Theories and their applications (1977) - and Understanding Human Geography: People and their changing environments (1993). 

Both were aimed at A level and first year university students. 

All published by Oxford University Press…and fortunately sold quite a few copies!?

I joined the GA in 1969 so have been a member for over 50 years!

Further details from his CV:

He has taught in a variety of secondary schools; the University of Wisconsin-Madison; the UK’s

Open University and was Associate Director of the Geography 16-19 Project a nationally funded

curriculum development project.

He has longstanding professional and research interests in: curriculum development and evaluation;

innovation and change (the focus of his PhD work); teaching strategies including fieldwork; the

marketing and image of geography; the school/HE interface; information technology, including

remote sensing; developments in human geography; 16-19 geography; initial teacher education;

stereotyping and bias; and environmental hazards.

He has directed a number of research and development projects including: Project HIT (Humanities

and Information Technology); Remote Sensing in the Geography National Curriculum Project; Centre

for ‘A’ level Curriculum Support; Eurogame Project, a large scale European funded multi media

development; Geography 16-19; Learning Geography with Computers; YoungNet; DUNES; and

pillar leader of the HERODOT Project.

On his involvement with the GA, Ashley sent me this resumé:

He has been fully involved with the Geographical Association (GA) since 1969. He was on GA

Council for 15 years and has been its President. He was a member of COBRIG (Council for British

Geography) and has been its chairman. Over the years, he has been engaged in a number of

geography education research projects, both in the UK and for the International Geographical

Education (IGU), Geography Education Commission. He has presented papers at IGU conferences

across the world and was both a full member of the IGU Geography Education Commission and a

former chair of the British Sub-Committee. He has published widely in geography education and

education both for professional and academic audiences. This has included a number of successful

school and university textbooks.

The common thread in his career has been an involvement and passion for education at a variety of

levels and specifically curriculum development and teacher education.

I tracked down his PhD Thesis from 1996, which was titled:

"Process and Pattern of a Curriculum Innovation".

The innovation in question was introduced at the start:

The innovation in question is the use made by secondary school geography departments of computer assisted learning.

Ashley mentioned 2 key documents that sum up his approach to Geography

‘Geography’ October 1997 ‘Challenging Geography’----my Presidential Lecture presented at the Institute of Education

KENT, ASHLEY. “Challenging Geography: A Personal View.” Geography, vol. 82, no. 4, 1997, pp. 293–303. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40572948. Accessed 15 Jan. 2021. 

James Fairgrieve featured in the Presidential Address, where Ashley outlined his life and also the strong connections between the IoE and the GA. It is well worth reading to get an idea for the links and the changing nature of Geography. 

Ashley provides additional detail on Fairgrieve's life.

His inaugural professorial lecture in 2004 entitled ‘Windows on Geographical Education’….published by the University of London Institute of Education…2004

He was the tutor on the IoE's MA in Geography Education for many years. This went online from 2001, having been offered at UCL since the 1960s

He contributed to an IoE publication on retired academics in 2009, and was described as follows:

Ashley Kent retired as Professor of Geography Education at the Institute of Education, University of London - the culmination of a lifetime as a geography teacher.

“Exciting demanding, relevant and worthwhile – geography prepares pupils to critically understand and fully participate in the changing worlds in which they live” — Ashley Kent

In 2003, Chris Kington asked a number of former Presidents what had sparked their passion for geography. He lent me the letters and Ashley replied to Chris.

He talked about a "gradual realisation" that geography was for him. His geography teacher at school was described as "rigorous - a bit terrifying and gave us lots of autonomy...". He also remembers taking part in the 2nd Land Use survey, at Pilling Marshes and realising that it was all 'rough grazing'. He remembered his PGCE year and the influence of Walford and Fitgzerald et al. He also remembered his first year teaching at Haberdasher's Aske.

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

Ashley told me about his connections with Hull University and Derek Spooner, with whom he led celebrations of the life of Michael Bradford (far more on Mike to come as we get closer to the present day)

He also had memories of my own PGCE tutor at Hull: Vincent Tidswell. He told me:

Vincent I knew through his work and the ‘new’ geography ....his Pattern and Process in Human Geography was followed by Keith Hilton’s Process and Pattern in Physical Geography. 

Keith was a colleague of mine at the Institute of Education....and knew Vincent through working at Hereford College of Education. 

Vincent also had links with Brian Fitzgerald who I met at St Dunstans College. 

That was for me as a keen young man/geographer....a really exciting time...we felt very much at the frontier of the ‘new’ geography, both new in terms of content and pedagogy. 

Oxford Geography Project was really at the leading edge....as were the Schools Council Projects....GYSL and 14-18 ...and the one I was very much part of...the 16-19 Project. 

People like Brian, Rex et al were at the forefront....it was great fun being part of it! 

The first book Mike and I wrote was a direct effort to help teachers to keep up to date with the ‘new’ geography then in several school and university syllabuses. 

Of course Mike and I were helped by being a part of Cambridge and US developments....we went to Madison Wisconsin after Cambridge...where a great deal of that stuff was going on.

Exciting times, and Vincent was very much part of that. I like to think he passed on a little of that love for exciting new approaches and pedagogies to his trainees, of which I am proud to have been one. I remember using GYSL in my first job in January 1988 at John Flamsteed School in Denby, Derbyshire.

Ashley also shared some memories of the next important phase in the GA's History: the move from Fulwood Road to Solly Street, where it has its HQ to this day. Ashley is amongst the Presidents and former staff who were involved in locating the GA's new premises. That story will be told next.

Image from GA News.

Update January 2021

Some memories of his Presidential conference from Ashley Kent.

In my Presidential Year we had the Conference at the Institute on Bedford Way, which I thought was appropriate given the long-standing links between the IOE and the GA. The Presidential Dinner was held at the Imperial Hotel on Russell Square. My guest of honour was the Crown Princess of Thailand: a much revered member of their royal family: very environmentally aware and active. He had been suggested by Professor Philip Scott: an extraordinary and alternative academic from SOAS. 

The assembled diners were kept waiting by the Princess, who had been having tea with Prince Charles at Highgrove and then visiting SOAS.
We were kept waiting by the guest of honour for quite a while...so much so I suggested more booze was supplied to all the waiting guests.

On her eventual entrance/arrival the assembled throng, on the advice we were given, all stood up and did the slow handclap, which apparently in Thailand is a mark of real respect.

She was accompanied by two armed generals and sat next to me at the top table and the generals became anxious ( I was told by folk sitting with them at one of the tables) when I engaged in a lively/animated story involving props, including a scroll given to her in memory of her visit.

It was all right on the night! 

Is there anyone who was there and has their own memories of this event?

References

List of papers on ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/scientific-contributions/2021831879-Ashley-Kent

http://worldcat.org/identities/lccn-n86036437/

PhD Thesis: https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/33677738.pdf

Professorial lecture: https://www.ucl-ioe-press.com/books/citizenship/windows-on-geographical-education/

KENT, ASHLEY. “Innovation, Change and Leadership in Geography Departments.” Geography, vol. 91, no. 2, 2006, pp. 117–125. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/41555403. Accessed 15 Jan. 2021.

Presidential Lecture, exploring the life of James Fairgrieve

KENT, ASHLEY. “Challenging Geography: A Personal View.” Geography, vol. 82, no. 4, 1997, pp. 293–303. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40572948. Accessed 15 Jan. 2021.

I would be pleased to receive any further details of Ashley Kent's time as GA President.

Updated August 2023

A link with the forthcoming GA President (as I write this) for 2023-24: Denise Freeman.

20 yrs ago today, I started out on a journey...I was looking fw to it, but didn’t realise how amazing it would turn out to be. Today, in 1999, I started my PGCE at @IOE_London with David Balderstone, @DavidMLambert1, Ashley Kent and Shelia King. Thank-you for what you started!

— Denise Freeman 🌎🙋🏻‍♀️ (@geography_DAF) September 20, 2019

Everson and Fitzgerald

Those geographers of a certain age will remember this book and others by John A Everson and Brian P Fitzgerald.

I remember using it to teach 'A' level geography back in the 1980s.

Their work for the GA was also remembered by many of the GA Presidents I spoke to with regard to their own entries.

Sheila Jones told me that she remembered their influence at this time, with the rise of the Quantitative Revolution and its influence on classroom practice.

Former President (1989) Richard Daugherty also told me something about them as part of the information he passed through to me:

"The chance in 1966 of a GA weekend course in Sheffield, led by Professor Stan Gregory, was too good to miss. Much to my surprise I then found myself invited ("we need young classroom teachers") to join a newly formed GA committee. It must still surely lay claim to have had the longest GA committee title ever - 'Standing Committee on the Role of Models and Quantitative Techniques in Geography Teaching'. I was thus fortunate to find myself learning from an exceptional group - including Rex Walford, John Everson, Brian Fitzgerald and Vincent Tidswell (my own PGCE tutor at Hull University) - who were seeking to translate the academic 'new geography' into approaches appropriate to school level learning. 

My own first book, 'Science in Geography: Data Collection' (OUP 1974), would not have happened if Brian Fitzgerald had not been series editor. "

This diagram will be familiar to former 6th form geographers of a certain age.

Further memories of this and other books from the time welcome.

Richard Daugherty on Sheila Jones

Richard Daugherty was the GA President in 1989, and his own post on the blog will be published sometime in November if I stay on the current schedule. He has offered to write a whole host of new updates for the blog around his own work at the time, which included some time as Honorary Secretary (Education)

A recent e-mail included a lovely additional update on Sheila Jones, who was the GA President in 1975, at a time when she was a Deputy Head in a comprehensive school.

The following is from Richard:

Sheila was at the heart of so much the Association achieved during the 1970s and 1980s. The characteristically warm comments from others about her contribution capture much of the several ways in which she was involved. I would like to add a little more about what Sheila did for the GA both before and after her Presidency in the mid 1970s. 

She and I first met when I joined the ‘ginger group’ GA committee, ‘Models and Quantitative Techniques (M&QT)’ in the 1960s. Key contributors, such as Rex Walford and Brian Fitzgerald, to the ideas that were changing the teaching of geography have rightly been acknowledged. But every committee about teaching also needs members whose daily work is in classrooms and who are willing to put in the work needed to keep those ideas flowing. In her roles, first as secretary and then as chair, Sheila did just that. 

 Others have referred to Sheila’s part throughout her teaching career in making the Bristol GA branch so successful, supported by the University’s Geography Department. After she had been President Sheila became more than just the GA’s Branch Officer in the formal sense. She was the voice of the branches, always to be listened to, in any discussion at national level. 

 Lastly, but not to be underestimated in the era of Barnaby Bear, Sheila was the pioneer, with the help of Pat Cleverley, in developing a range of GA branded gifts to be sold as both emblems of commitment and a source of income for the Association. Irked by the availability of a male only garment, GA ties, Sheila started by insisting that scarves for female members should also be sold. 

What originated as a ‘cottage industry’ managed by Sheila from home developed over the years into a significant aspect of the Association’s work.

Thanks for the update. Perhaps the ties and scarves need to return to the GA shop.

W Vincent Tidswell - PGCE tutor

Updated September 2023

Vincent Tidswell was never a GA President, but he gave a great deal to the Association, and wrote many articles for the GA journals.

He has been referenced in a range of articles that I've read while researching Presidents, and there's a personal reason for adding Vincent to the blog as well. My blog, my rules after all.

Vincent was a geography teacher before moving into teacher education, and was Head of Geography at the King's School, Peterborough, which I had the pleasure of visiting several times during my time working with the Geographical Association. After his teaching career, he moved into higher education and teacher education.

He was my tutor when I completed my PGCE at the University of Hull between 1986 and 1987. He interviewed me and gave me a place on the PGCE course, and was the person who visited me during my first time in the classroom - at both Primary and Secondary school level.



Here's a picture I took a few years ago of the house where we had our PGCE meetings.
The room to the left of the door was Vincent's office, where I had my interview for PGCE. I had already been turned down by Bath and Coventry, and Hull was one of my options, and Vincent took a punt on me as a teacher.
Vincent I remember wasn't convinced I had what it takes to be a teacher, as I was perhaps a little quiet and self-effacing. I still am of course.

Following my PGCE, I had many interviews, and spent some time doing supply in Rotherham, before getting a first job at John Flamsteed School in Denby, Derbyshire. I shall be talking about my journey during my Presidential lecture of course.

Canon Pyon Farm will be familiar to many from the Herefordshire Farm Game that Vincent developed.
This was a regular part of my teaching for many years, and the students enjoyed the use of games. He also wrote a series of books which grew from the quantitative revolution a little, but were always concerned with the way that geography was changing, and to help teachers upskill themselves to prepare for these changes.

In 1990, Vincent had a piece published in 'Geography' called 'Capes, Concepts and Conscience: Continuity in the Curriculum", which still has a lot of useful things to say.
In the article, he talks about the changing nature of the geography curriculum, but shows that some ideas have persisted through all the changes. He went back to the idea of subject knowledge, and it is a piece worth re-reading thirty years on.

He also worked with Chris Kington, a former GA President.

I was sad to hear of Vincent's death some years after qualifying as a teacher and starting my professional journey. He hadn't been the best of health in that year when I qualified, and retired at the end of that year.
His obituary was published in 'Teaching Geography' and written by Brian Fitzgerald, one of the people he worked closely with.



Source:
FitzGerald, Brian P. “Obituary: Vincent Tidswell 1930-1997.” Teaching Geography, vol. 22, no. 4, 1997, pp. 195–195. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/23755758. Accessed 22 Jan. 2021.

I've also been delighted over the years to have been invited back to work with the new generations of PGCE colleagues at Hull University, and to talk about the legacy of my time there, and some further ideas. I call my session "I've been to Hull and back" - thanks to Justin Woolliscroft for the invitations over the years.

Shopping Game by Alan Parkinson on Scribd

References

Tidswell, V.W and Barker, S.M: "Quantitative Methods: An approach to Socio-Economic Geography" (University of London Press, 1971)

TIDSWELL, W. V. “Agricultural Land Use and the Local Environment.” Geography, vol. 58, no. 4, 1973, pp. 343–350. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40568166.

Tidswell, Vincent. “Capes, Concepts and Conscience: Continuity in the Curriculum.” Geography, vol. 75, no. 4, 1990, pp. 302–312. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40571878.

FitzGerald, Brian P. “Obituary: Vincent Tidswell 1930-1997.” Teaching Geography, vol. 22, no. 4, 1997, pp. 195–195. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/23755758.

Tidswell, Vincent. “An Exercise from the Atlas of Nebraska.” Teaching Geography, vol. 6, no. 2, 1980, pp. 82–82. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/23752276.

If anyone has any other memories of Vincent's time supporting the GA, or any images, I would be very pleased to have them.

I was very interested to hear of a strong connection with another President.
I went to see Chris Kington to talk about his own Presidential year, and he said that he had Vincent's archive in his loft...

Also check the earlier updates on what Justin Woolliscroft was doing to try to find out more about Vincent in March 2020.

Update

The image that I have now added to the top of the post was sent to me by former President Sheila Jones in October 2020, as part of a pile of images taken in 1993. Lovely to have an image... Keep the memories coming.

Update 2021

Thanks to Ashley Kent, GA President for 2006 for sending me some memories of Vincent as part of his own blog post. He was a great friend of Derek Spooner, who I guess I must have seen at the time I was training.

He told me:

Vincent I knew through his work and the ‘new’ geography ....his Pattern and Process in Human Geography was followed by Keith Hilton’s Process and Pattern in Physical Geography. 

Keith was a colleague of mine at the Institute of Education....and knew Vincent through working at Hereford College of Education. 

Vincent also had links with Brian Fitzgerald who I met at St Dunstans College. 

That was for me as a keen young man/geographer....a really exciting time...we felt very much at the frontier of the ‘new’ geography, both new in terms of content and pedagogy. 

Oxford Geography Project was really at the leading edge....as were the Schools Council Projects....GYSL and 14-18 ...and the one I was very much part of...the 16-19 Project. 

People like Brian, Rex et al were at the forefront....it was great fun being part of it! 

The first book Mike and I wrote was a direct effort to help teachers to keep up to date with the ‘new’ geography then in several school and university syllabuses. 

Of course Mike and I were helped by being a part of Cambridge and US developments....we went to Madison Wisconsin after Cambridge...where a great deal of that stuff was going on.

Exciting times, and Vincent was very much part of that. I like to think he passed on a little of that love for exciting new approaches and pedagogies to his trainees, of which I am proud to have been one.

Update February 2021

Vincent was mentioned in the Presidential Address of Chris Kington, described as "a teacher trainer who had published one title which had barely troubled the scorers". He convinced Chris to publish "Pattern and Process in Human Geography" based on the work of Haggett and Chorley. It took a while to create apparently but has proved influential.

Updated September 2023

Thanks to Brendan Conway.

'the ways in which the professional geographer thinks and works'
A great find by our school librarian...
'Pattern and Process in Human Geography'
by Vincent Tidswell, formerly Head of Geog at @KSP_News and PGCE tutor at @UniOfHull
First published in 1976 (1984 edition shown⬇️) pic.twitter.com/3jyu43xT5s

— BC (@mildthing99) September 17, 2023

In the mid 70s, Vincent served on the GA's Standing Committee on the role of Models and Quantitative Techniques. Sheila Jones also served on the committee. Also Everson and Fitzgerald there, who wrote a very popular 'A' level text that I certainly used. Rex Walford was also on that committee.

This was chaired by Richard Daugherty.

Updated April 2025

Thanks to Brendan again for sharing an image from one of Vincent's books which prompted Andy Day to share a memory of Vincent - a neighbour in Cherry Burton near Beverley - on the road from Hull to York and one I've driven many times.