Margaret Mackintosh RIP

Updated post.

Sad news at the end of last week from colleagues who have organised the Charney Conference over the years of the passing of Margaret Mackintosh who was still active and interested in geography in her 80s. Just a few weeks ago she attended the latest online GeogLive! session run by the GA's Primary and Early Years Committee.

Image from Margaret's Facebook page.

Margaret was a retired primary teacher and BEd Geography-in-education tutor, and also a former long-standing Editor of Primary Geography journal and continued working as a geography consultant and writer. She lived in Exmouth.

Sharon Witt told me:

Margaret was a long time contributor to Charney conference. Lots of amazing stories of her travels, mentoring and welcoming colleagues at Charney Conferences and being a student of Margaret's at Plymouth University are coming in.

Coincidentally, a few days ago my Facebook memory was of a message from Margaret letting me know about another cliff fall in Sidmouth on a stretch that I'd used as a textbook case study, and visit each year to check on its progress.

Margaret was awarded the GA's Outstanding Service Diploma back in 2016. Here she is receiving her certificate from the President Steve Rawlinson.

Steve says of this event:

"It was a wonderful honour to be able to hand it over her as she had been so supportive during the year offering advice and encouragement as only Margaret could."

Image: Bryan Ledgard.

Margaret created the logo for the annual Charney Manor Conferences. She was a very accomplished artist, particularly landscapes and pets. Here she is with a painting she had created for Paula Owens along with Steve Rawlinson and Tina Horler

Image: Bryan Ledgard

Steve told me:

"She was a wonderful artist of both landscapes and pets – I have two lovely pictures of Lady Summer and Fluffy Flora! This particular one shows how much she enjoyed being in the company of fellow geographers. She leaves such a legacy of memories, advice and scholarship to us all. She will be greatly missed."

In this piece for Primary Geography she talks about our identity and how it is shaped by our family.

Condolences to Margaret's family, friends and former colleagues.

Image: Margaret's logo for the Charney Primary Conferences.

Professor Sarah Bednarz RIP

Via the IGU Commission on Geographical Education (IGU-CGE) and Professor David Lambert.

It is with deep sadness that we share the news of the passing of Professor Emerita Sarah Witham Bednarz, a distinguished scholar whose work shaped generations of geography educators and researchers.

Renowned for her contributions to spatial thinking, the educational use of geospatial technologies, and teacher education, she helped strengthen the intellectual foundations of our field. Across borders, she led and anchored many of the international projects and collaborations that have come to define geography education.

For many entering the geography education community, she was a trusted mentor whose nurturing spirit helped young scholars build confidence and curiosity.

She will be remembered for her tireless energy and leadership in defending the place of geography in schools, universities, and public life, far beyond any single nation. A past president of the American Association of Geographers, she was also a devoted, long-standing member of the IGU Commission on Geographical Education.
Her contributions will endure in the research she advanced and the people she mentored.
We will miss the roadmap she drew for our field.

RIP

As you know, we try to mark the passing of significant people in the GA's history on this blog - not all of whom were Presidents of course.

The Spring 2026 edition of the GA Newsletter also contained details of the passing of three people who were very much involved with the GA: Michael Naish, Russell Feaver and Marjorie Woodward.

Images copyright: Geographical Association

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