Sir, I read with interest the article in the June 2017 Geoscientist magazine by Geoff Townson about the last Students’ Instructional Tour organised by the Geological Society. Although I was not on the 1967 tour, I was on the field trip which was a revival of that one! Forty or so of us were invited to attend a students’ field-workshop studying the basement and basins of Western Ireland in September 1986, sponsored by oil companies (Esso Exploration and Production UK ltd, Conoco UK Ltd, London and Scottish Marine Oil plc, Ultramar Exploration Ltd, Amoco UK Exploration Company and Clyde Petroleum plc).
I remember so well receiving a letter from the Head of Department at Imperial, Professor John Knill, confirming my place. The ‘all expenses paid’ trip was described as a ‘highly-prized reward’ for ‘the most meritorious’ second year undergraduate (or third year for a four year course) in each British university Geology department. I was also interested to see that John had added to his letter, that he had met his wife on the equivalent tour in 1954.
The field workshop for 1986 was held in Western Ireland for 10 days in early September, after we all had finished our independent mapping projects, and was organised by Dr George Sevastopulo (Trinity College, Dublin), who also led the field work with Drs Paul Ryan, Stephen Daly, Martin Feeley, John Graham, David Harper, Dave Johnson and Professor Ben Kennedy from Dublin or Galway based universities.
The workshop aims were to study the stratigraphical, structural and metamorphic evolution of the Precambrian and Lower Palaeozoic sequences and the Upper Palaeozoic basins and their structural controls. After my eight weeks of independent mapping on rain-drenched Raasay, it was a relief to experience good weather during our time in the field and we saw some excellent geology.
We started on the Galway Granite batholith and worked our way through the structurally complex Dalradian rocks of Connemara which we discussed as a possible suspect terrane. Then onto the Ordovician and Silurian of South Mayo where I remember we ‘borrowed rowing boats’ from the local fishermen one night and rowed around Killary Harbour watching shooting stars. This was followed by a misty ascent up Croagh Patrick respecting pilgrims climbing bare-footed as an act of penance, whilst we booted rockhounds looked at sheared serpentinites and layered chromites. From the drowned drumlin islands of Clew Bay we moved on to look at the Clew Bay ophiolite zone, the Dalradian of Achill Island, the Slieve Gamph Igneous Complex and finally finishing up with the NE Ox Mountains Inlier.
This year is the 31st year since our trip, and I still have my field notebook, course notes, geological maps, attendance list and photo, which I am donating to the Geological Society for their archives (above). We were told that many famous geologists had participated in the Geological Society-Shell excursions of the 40s and 50s and I believe many of us from the trip went on to become professional geologists. I’m still in touch with some of the people I met on the trip- Fergal Murphy, David Latin and Ian Munro, but sadly Stephen Blake passed away last year.
This was certainly a trip to remember and an outstandingly good prize for any high achieving geology student. I hope that when the oil market improves, companies will consider sponsoring an excursion like this so we can keep these Geological Society-Oil Industry students’ workshops alive and help to develop geologists for the future.
Dr. Sarah-Jane Kelland , Getech plc