Denys submitted one of the first grant applications to NERC to monitor geomorphological processes, installing stakes, inclinometers, and piezometers on Stonebarrow Hill, west Dorset. After publishing several seminal papers and making significant contributions to fundamental concepts, such as landscape sensitivity and change, Denys became a major figure in the study of mass movements.
Denys was awarded a Personal Chair by the University of London in 1984. In 1985, he was elected Chair of the British Geomorphological Research Group, then the first President of the International Association of Geomorphologists and President of The Geographical Association. Medals and awards followed: the Royal Geographical Society Gill Award, the Geological Society of London William Smith Medal, Glossop Prize, and R H Worth Medal, and the British Geomorphological Research Group Linton Award.
Consultancy
Denys became a world leader in applied geomorphology, initially through Rendel Palmer and Tritton on projects in Nepal and the Middle East. In 1979, Denys established Geomorphological Services Ltd (GSL), the first UK geomorphology consultancy. GSL was taken over in 1989 by High Point Rendel, but Denys continued to act as an independent consultant to Halcrow Group Ltd, Atkins, and others from 1997 to 2010.
Local consultancy projects arose, including for West Dorset District Council to stabilise the cliffs and beach at Lyme Regis and West Bay harbour. The Lyme Bay Forum, later the Dorset Coast Forum, was established, which Denys chaired for 10 years. Following a keynote lecture at a conference, where Denys highlighted the geological history and unique beauty of the Dorset Coast, Denys and the Dorset Coast Forum put together a case for UNESCO World Heritage status. After ten years, the Dorset and East Devon coast was awarded World Heritage status in 2001. To recognise this achievement, Her Majesty The Queen appointed Denys to the Order of the British Empire in 2003, for services to Geoconservation and Geomorphology.
Family pride
Denys always appreciated the love and support of his wife Elizabeth. Despite many awards and accolades, Denys’ proudest achievement was his children Judith, who teaches creative arts to adults with special needs and Martin, who plays bass in the Hothouse Flowers.
Denys died from spinal cancer on 25 January 2024. His funeral in Chideock was attended by many from academia, industry, and the local Dorset community. Appropriately, his ashes were scattered onto the landslide at Stonebarrow Hill, from whence they will gradually move seaward, by his own estimate, over the next 150 years or so!
By Roger Moore, Jim Griffiths, and Robert Allison