Stratigrapher, palaeontologist and sedimentary petrologist who made major contributions to geology education
George Bennison, who died on the 14th April 2020 aged 97, was a stratigrapher, palaeontologist and sedimentary petrologist who spent all his professional life as a university teacher.
Education and army service
Born in Nottingham on 11th July 1922 he lived in Chesterfield, Derbyshire until he went to Bede College, Durham University in 1940. There he met Gwen, his future wife. They were both keen rowers, and George represented Durham in other sports too.
He was called up into the army in 1942, where he worked mainly on Radar. He also played the trumpet in the Army dance band. He was demobbed in November 1945 and returned to Bede College to finish his degree, obtaining 1st Class Honours in Geology in 1948. It was during his time in the army that he married Gwen on his 21st birthday in 1943.
After a brief appointment as an assistant lecturer at Glasgow he moved to Aberdeen Geology Department where he began his research on the relationship between the lamellibranch fauna and sedimentology in the Calciferous Sandstone of Ayrshire, for which he was awarded an M.Sc. by Durham University in 1953. Further work on the same formation in Fife led to a Ph.D. from Aberdeen University in 1960.
Publications
In 1960 he moved to the University of Birmingham Geology Department. There he taught stratigraphy and geological map interpretation, and geology to civil engineering students. In 1964 he published ‘Introduction to Geological Structures and Maps’ which was a huge success, running to multiple editions. After he retired in 1986, Birmingham alumni Keith Moseley and then Paul Olver assisted in the revision. In the upcoming 9th edition Prof. John Tellam will be providing hydrogeological map exercises to replace some of those that were suitable for coal mining students, a change George saw as necessary due to the changing nature of the jobs market.
His second major contribution to education came in 1969 when he published ‘The Geological History of the British Isles’, with two chapters contributed by Alan Wright. This became a standard stratigraphy textbook for many UK universities and a reference work for the many foreign scholars who visit the areas of classic geology in the British Isles. It stands as a starting point for new research into their Plate Tectonic evolution.
He spent several summer vacations in the United States, visiting swamp areas similar to the conditions where coal is laid down as a sedimentary rock, visiting coal mines and undertaking consultancy work on coal reserve calculation for coal companies. These experiences he incorporated into subsequent editions of his undergraduate book of geological map exercises.
Supportive and generous
He was a member of the International Association of Mathematical Geology, a Fellow, then Senior Fellow of the Geological Society of London, and he also served on The Geological Society's Earth Sciences Education Methods Group in the 1980s. He continued to look forward to the arrival of the Geoscientist magazine to the last.
His daughter summed up his character as cheerful, encouraging, supportive and generous to everyone. This is also how his students and colleagues will remember him.
By Alan Wright
The full version of this obituary appears below. Editor
George Mills Bennison 1922-2020
Stratigrapher, palaeontologist and sedimentary petrologist who made major contributions to geology education
George Bennison died peacefully on the 14th April, 2020. He was a stratigrapher, palaeontologist and sedimentary petrologist who spent all his professional life as a university teacher. He will be particularly remembered for his great contributions to geological education and his expert knowledge of the Lower Carboniferous of Scotland.
Education and army service
Born in Nottingham on 11th July 1922 he lived in Chesterfield, Derbyshire until he went to Bede College, Durham University in 1940. There George met his future wife, Gwen. They were both keen rowers; George represented Durham in other sports, too.
He was called up into the army in 1942, where he worked mainly on Radar. His musical talent was also apparent at this time, as he played the trumpet in the Army dance band. He was demobbed in November 1945 and returned to Bede College to finish his degree, obtaining 1st Class Honours in Geology in 1948. It was during his time in the army that he married Gwen on his 21st birthday in 1943.
His first appointment was at Glasgow University Geology Department under Prof. T. N. George as an assistant lecturer for about a year. He then moved to the University of Aberdeen Geology Department where he taught stratigraphy and began his research into the sedimentology and fauna of the Calciferous Sandstone Series in Ayrshire. In 1953 he submitted this work to the University of Durham and was awarded an M.Sc. He followed this up with studies on the same formation in Fife, which he submitted to Aberdeen University for a Ph.D., awarded in 1960. The subject of his higher degrees was the relationship between the lamellibranch fauna and sedimentology of the Calciferous Sandstone Series of Ayrshire and Fife respectively.
He continued his interest in rowing in Aberdeen, coaching the University crews from the towpath. In 1953 and 1957 he was made Honourary Vice-President of the Aberdeen Athletic Association Boat Club. Both his son, Tom, and his daughter, Yvonne, were born in Aberdeen.
In 1960 he moved to the University of Birmingham Department of Geology under Prof. F. W. Shotton, one of the foremost stratigraphy professors in the UK, in the tradition of his illustrious predecessors Lapworth, Boulton and Wills. George taught stratigraphy and geological map interpretation, and geology to civil engineering students.
Publications
In 1964 he wrote his first book, ‘Introduction to Geological Structures and Maps’. It was a huge success, running to many editions, with the 9th edition to be published later this year. After he retired in 1986, Birmingham alumni Keith Moseley and later Paul Olver assisted in the revision. In the 9th edition Prof. John Tellam, currently head of Earth and Environmental Science, will be providing hydrogeological map exercises to replace some of those that were suitable for coal mining students, a change George saw as necessary due to the changing nature of the jobs market.
His second major contribution to geological education came in 1969 with the comprehensive stratigraphy text, ‘The Geological History of the British Isles’, with the chapters on The Precambrian and The Caledonian Orogeny by Alan Wright. It was no trivial task to summarise in a detailed comprehensive way the huge amount of data which had accumulated in various ways since the early days of geological science. It was also published in a softback edition.
It became a standard stratigraphy textbook for many UK universities, and a reference for scholars from many parts of the world visiting the areas of classic geology in the British Isles, mainly because geology as a science was principally worked out from British outcrops and many of the stratigraphic Periods were defined in Britain. It forms a convenient starting point for new research on the Plate Tectonic evolution of the British Isles. George also contributed to a Geological Association Guide to the geology of the area around Birmingham.
During this time in Birmingham he spent several summer vacations in the United States, investigating swamp areas having similar conditions to where coal is laid down as a sedimentary rock, visiting coal mines and undertaking consultancy work on coal reserve calculation for coal mining companies. These experiences he incorporated into subsequent editions of his undergraduate book of geological map exercises.
Travel and music
He continued to have athletic interests in his spare time. He and Gwen went to the Alps to ski most winters and they both enjoyed walking in the mountains, and were also keen on tea dances. He continued to keep himself fit by running around the university track in the lunch hour. His musical interests also continued. He taught both of his children to play brass instruments, and after retirement he learned to play the piano accordion, taking lessons from the National Champion. He played the accordion at many functions, from harvest festivals to Christmas fairs around Herefordshire, Warwickshire and Worcestershire, from the house they had retired to on the west of the Malvern Hills.
He was a member of the International Association of Mathematical Geology, and a Fellow, then Senior Fellow of the Geological Society. George also served on The Geological Society's Earth Sciences Education Methods Group in the 1980s. He continued to look forward to the arrival of the Geoscientist magazine to the last.
His daughter summed up his character as cheerful, encouraging, supportive and generous to everyone, which is also how his students and colleagues will remember him.
I am very grateful to George’s daughter, Yvonne Bates, and to Professor Ian Fairchild for providing much of the information in this note, and also to Professor Aftab Khan.
By Alan Wright
Publications
1953 The faunal content, the variation and distribution of the shell beds of the Limestone Coal Group of Ayrshire considered in relation to the cyclic sedimentation. M.Sc.(Durham University )
1954 A new species of Carbonicula from near the base of the Namurian in Ayrshire. Geol. mag. 91, 32-44
1955 A Myolina fauna from the Namurian of North Ayrshire. Geol. Mag. 92, 448-450
Hopkins, W. and Bennison, G. M. 1957 A palaeontological link between the Midgeholme Outlier, Cumberland and the Northumberland and Durham Coalfield. Geol.Mag. 94, 215-220
1960 Some Lower Carboniferous Lamellibranchs from East Fife, Scotland. Palaeontology, 3, 137-152
1960 Variation in communities of non-marine lamellibranchs from the Calciferous Sandstone Series (Lower Carboniferous) of Eastern Fife. Ph.D. (Aberdeen University)
1961 Small Nuiudites obesus from the Calciferous Sandstone Series (Lower Carboniferous) of Fife. Palaeontology, 4, 300-311
1962 Palaeontological and physical evidence of the palaeoecology of some early species of non-marine lamellibranchs. Lpool Manchr geol. J., 3, 41-50
Bennison, G.M., and Wright, A.E., 1969 The Geological History of the British Isles. Edward Arnold, 406pp.
Hardie, W.G., Bennison, G.M., Garrett, P.A. and Lawson, J.D. 1971 Geological Guide to the area around Birmingham. Geologists Association Guides