Her speciality was in the Middle Cretaceous Upper Greensand in the Vale of Wardour and was well known for her collection of Tisbury Coral. She wrote and privately published a monograph, A Catalogue of the Organic Remains of the County of Wiltshire.
She was one the most important scientists of the nineteenth century. She was important less for her contribution to the advancement of the boundaries of knowledge, than to the advancement of the distribution of knowledge.
Fluent in French, fossil hunter, landscape and geological structure sketcher. © Geological Society, London
An accomplished fossil geologist, she was an expert at mending and building up fossils from a collection of fragments.
Geologist and author
Geological Ordnance Survey founded, based at Craigs Court, Whitehall
Survey was given responsibility for a new Mining Record Office
'Museum of Economic Geology' opened at Craig's Court
Became Geological Survey of Great Britain and Ireland
Ethel Woods & Margaret Crosfield publish first joint paper on geology of Carmarthen
Gertrude Elles & Ethel Wood publish Monograph of British Graptolites.
Ida Slater & Helen Drew were the recipients of the Daniel Pidgeon Fund, and decided to undertake a piece of field-work among the Palæozoic rocks of Wales.
Became: Geological Survey of Ireland and Geological Survey of Great Britain
Survey archives suggest no women recruited until 1920s when an advert for geologists included the statement that women candidates 'must be unmarried or widows and will be required to resign their appointments on marriage'
Geological Survey of Ireland (Eire)
EM Hendriks — first woman to attempt to become a Survey geologist — unsuccessful
Waterbabies during WWII. Taking an inventory of the many supply boreholes and wells (mainly by bicycle).
A new league of waterbabies in 1940s and 50s — for women graduates in geology, the water cart was their only opportunity to conduct fieldwork.
Became Institute of Geological Sciences
Survey merged with overseas Geological Survey
Susan Arnold — first woman to conduct research at sea.
Equal pay and sex discrimination legislation. Survey still male dominated — hard to breach organisation.
Move to Keyworth started
Miss Edna Waine appointed first female head of unit (Analytical & ceramics unit)
Introduction of Digital Map Production System in BGS
This may surprise you if you know the BGS today but from its inception in 1835, and for over 100 years thereafter, the British Geological Survey was an exclusively male preserve. Women just weren't allowed in, especially if they wanted to be a scientist, involved in any fieldwork or, dare I say it, marry.