Yorkshire geology as seen through the eyes of notable British Geological Survey geologists 1862-2000

This paper was presented at the PLACE (People, Landscape & Cultural Environment Education and Research Centre) conference 3rd October 2015. It describes some of the major contributions made to the understanding of Yorkshire geology by geologists of the British Geological Survey from the early directors through to the end of the 20th Century. It briefly describes the founding work of William Smith in Yorkshire and the early years of the Geological Survey under Sir Henry De La Beche then Sir Roderick Impey Murchison. The outstanding work of Murchison's Yorkshire "boys" is noted including details of the contributions made by A H Green, J R Dakyns, R H Tiddeman, J C Ward, C E Fox-Strangways and G. Barrow. These outstanding geologists laid the foundations for our understanding of the Yorkshire coalfield, the Pennine sedimentary blocks and basins, the structures and hydrogeology of the Carboniferous rocks, the Yorkshire Jurassic and glacial deposits. The years of the 2nd World War are noted with the work of R L Sherlock, G H Mitchell and Sir Kingsley Dunham all of whom contributed to the Nation’s need for minerals to supply the war effort. Finally, the work of D B Smith is described showing how he unravelled the complexities of the Permian sequence of Yorkshire.