Frank Alexander Middlemiss - an appreciation
Picture: Frank Middlemiss. Photo courtesy Mrs Stella Redburn.
Dr Frank Middlemiss, known to generations of students as the author of many geology textbooks, died 22 January 2014 aged 93. Born in Leyton (25 March 1920) he served in the Royal Army Medical Corps during WWII and, having been taken prisoner at Anzio in February 1944, spent 14 months as a POW in Italy and Germany. On return to the UK he went to Queen Mary College to study geology, graduating with a ‘first’ in 1950 (PhD 1955). He remained at QMC for the rest of his career. He even met his future wife, Florence Fozzard, a fellow student, during his first week.
Middlemiss became a Fellow of the Geological Society in 1950 but resigned in 1982, the year he officially retired from the post of Reader. His main interest was in Lower Cretaceous brachiopods, but as an expert in the geology of the Weald and SE England, he led numerous field courses for students at QMC and members of the Geologists’ Association, of which he remained a member. His expertise was highly valued, not least by the engineers of the Channel Tunnel.
Many QMC students, like me (a mere geographer!) will remember him: tall, lean and always in apparent good health, striding up the Downs, leaving students trailing in his wake. He was an excellent teacher and will be fondly remembered by all. He leaves two daughters, Stella and Joan, five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
With thanks to Stella Redburn. See also
www.theguardian.com/science/2014/feb/11/frank-middlemiss
Written by: Wendy Cawthorne, Assistant Librarian