Highly respected stratigraphic palynologist for the North Sea and eastern Europe, enthusiastic amateur historian and a true bibliophile.
William (Bill) Braham was born on 8 January 1957 and grew up in Royston, Barnsley. He was the youngest son of Hubert Braham and the only son of Mary Clenton.
Bill graduated from Southampton University with a BSc (Hons) in Geology in 1978 and started working on oil rigs in the North Sea and Nile Delta as a mudlogger with Gearhart Geodata Services Ltd.
Scholarship
He married Rosey, a fellow Southampton undergraduate, in 1980. A year later Bill was granted an MSc Scholarship by Gearhart to study Palynology at Sheffield; the subject of his thesis being an investigation into the palynological stratification of the Lower Cretaceous Speeton Clay.
Following his MSc, he and Rosey moved to Aberdeen, where Bill continued working for Gearhart Geodata as their Senior Stratigraphic Palynologist.
In 1987 he joined Palaeoservices in Aberdeen; initially as a Geologist/Palynologist and then as Acting Operations Manager. Following his divorce, Bill transferred to Palaeoservices in Watford as the Senior Palynologist. In 1994, Bill joined Kronos Consultants, as a Stratigraphic Palynologist; then a decade later became an Independent Consultant, based in Hemel Hempstead.
His work initially covered the Jurassic and Cretaceous palynology of the North Sea, but soon expanded to include the Tertiary and Palaeozoic in Europe, Asia, North Africa and the South Atlantic. He was also involved in real time wellsite bio-steering and overpressure deduction in the North Sea, Poland, Kazakhstan, Georgia and Sudan.
Field classes
Alongside his industrial work, he assisted with geology field classes for Fareham students and undertook consultancy work for CASP, the Cambridge applied research group. Field work on the Devonian in the Falkland Islands was memorable for the experience of camping in sheep pens and consuming hard boiled penguin eggs!
In later life, as Bill’s health deteriorated and his mobility suffered, much of his later work, analysing slides and writing interpretative reports, was conducted from home,
History
A passion for history took up much of his private life. Bill was an active participant in a number of historical discussion groups, with whom he shared much of his original historical research. He was a respected authority on the English Civil War and the American War of Independence, amassing an extensive library, including many rare volumes. He had recently been commissioned to write a comprehensive account of the Battle of Worcester, 1651.
Bill was a highly respected stratigraphic palynologist. Numerous colleagues regarded him as one of the best interpretative geologists that they had had the pleasure of working with.
Bill died at home on 15 July 2016, aged 59, as a result of a Pulmonary Embolism.
He was a true Yorkshire man, with a dry acerbic wit and was one of the funniest and most intelligent men you could hope to meet. He will be sorely missed by many friends and colleagues.
Barry Constable
Long version follows:
William (Bill) Braham was born on 8 January 1957 and grew up in Royston, Barnsley. He was the youngest son of Hubert Braham and the only son of Mary Clenton and had two older step-brothers from Hubert’s first marriage, Carl, who died in an accident, and Russell now living in New Zealand.
Since childhood, Bill was very studious and enjoyed learning and reading about a vast range of topics. He could recall facts at moments notice and put this ability to good use in extricating himself from awkward situations. At Normanton Grammar School, the physics teacher, Mr Palmer, used to demonstrate his authority to the class by calling troublemakers to the front, giving them a wooden spoon and telling them to stir a litre of water with enough energy to make the temperature rise by 1 degree Celsius. Bill escaped punishment by explaining to Palmer why it was an impossible task due to heat loss by radiation, convection and conduction.
In 1975, Bill entered Southampton University to study geology. He proved himself an enthusiastic field geologist, thinking nothing of climbing up crumbling cliff faces to inspect interesting outcrops or to gather samples. He enjoyed being out in the field and one of his hobbies was going for long walks in the countryside, especially in the Yorkshire Dales.
Bill settled well into university life and actively involved himself with the CAMRA society (Campaign for Real Ale). He was a true believer in the preservation and consumption of real ale, a great asset since many a field trip involved some form of pub visit. Of course, it could not be any old pub; if it did not serve real ale, it was not a real pub!
After obtaining a B.Sc. (Hons.) in Geology, Bill started working with Gearhart Geodata Services Ltd as a mudlogger on oil rigs in the North Sea and Nile Delta and quickly rose through the ranks to become Unit Manager.
He married Rosey, a fellow Southampton undergraduate, in 1980. A year later Bill was granted an MSc Scholarship by Gearhart to study Palynology at Sheffield; the subject of his thesis being an investigation into the palynological stratification of the Lower Cretaceous Speeton Clay.
On completion of his M.Sc in 1982, Bill and Rosey moved to Aberdeen where Bill continued working for Gearhart Geodata as a Palynologist and by 1985 he had risen to become Senior Stratigraphic Palynologist.
In 1987 he joined Palaeoservices in Aberdeen, initially as a Geologist/Palynologist and then as Acting Operations Manager.
Following his divorce, Bill transferred to Palaeoservices in Watford in 1989 as their Senior Palynologist. He enjoyed this role and made great efforts to support junior members of staff, helping them find their feet, assisting them with their daily work and encouraging them with humour, wit and sausage and egg burgers.
Bill left Palaeoservices in 1994 and joined with Kronos Consultants as a Stratigraphic Palynologist. A decade later he left Kronos and became an Independent Consultant, basing himself in Hemel Hempstead.
His consultancy work initially covered the Jurassic and Cretaceous palynology of the North Sea; but this soon expanded to include the Tertiary and Palaeozoic in Europe, Asia, North Africa and the South Atlantic. Apart from analysing and writing stratigraphic reports on the many samples that were sent to him, he was also involved in field work including real time wellsite bio-steering and overpressure deduction in the North Sea, Poland, Kazakhstan, Georgia and Sudan.
He became the ‘go to’ palynologist for the Tertiary of Eastern Europe down to Georgia and was co-author of a number of technical papers.
Alongside his industrial work, he assisted with geology field classes for Fareham students, as well as being a mentor for a number of the students. He also undertook consultancy assignments for CASP, the Cambridge applied research group. His reconnaissance geological field-work on the Devonian in the Falkland Islands was an enjoyable change from Bill’s normal routine. He would fondly remember the experience of camping in sheep pens and consuming hard-boiled penguin eggs; the local advice being to cover them in so much vinegar that you were unable to taste them.
In later life, as Bill’s health deteriorated and his mobility started to suffer, much of his later work, analysing slides and writing interpretative reports, was conducted from home. This work however was often interrupted by his ongoing battle with DHL who kept delivering his parcels either to the wrong address or to seemingly random depots.
Apart from his professional work, a passion for history constituted a significant part of Bill’s private life. Field trips doubled up as historical excursions; studying historical sites around Khartoum where General Gordon met his end, was a once in a lifetime opportunity.
He was an active participant in a number of historical discussion groups with whom he shared much of his original historical research and was a respected authority on the English Civil War and the American War of Independence. He was a great bibliophile and had amassed an extensive library, including many rare volumes not only for his research, but for the pure love of handling and reading books both old and new. He had recently been commissioned to write a comprehensive account of the Battle of Worcester, 1651 but had only just started this and the work remains unfinished.
Bill died at home on 15 July 2016, at the age of 59 years, as a result of a Pulmonary Embolism.
Bill was a highly respected stratigraphic palynologist. Numerous colleagues regarded him as one of the best interpretative geologists that they had had the pleasure of working with.
He was a true Yorkshire man with a dry acerbic wit and was one of the funniest and most intelligent men you could hope to meet. He will be sorely missed by his many friends and colleagues.
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