Dr Victor Ambrose Eyles

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and Literature, letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". ...

FGS (1895–1978) was a British geologist and science historian. He was the founder of the Society for the Bibliography of Natural History in 1936. Joan Eyles, his wife, donated the Eyles Collection, their collection of papers on the history and practice of geology, to the

University of Bristol The University of Bristol is a public university, public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Br ...

Life

Eyles was born in

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

on 10 October 1895 the son of Willam Henry Eyles (in 1928 Lord Mayor of Bristol). He attended Fairfield School, then enrolled in

Bristol University The University of Bristol is a public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Bristol, which had ...

, but his studies were interrupted by the war. In the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

he served in the Gas Brigade within the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...

, and was wounded on active duty in France in 1916. Upon recovery he rejoined in a new regiment: the

Royal Flying Corps The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was the air arm of the British Army before and during the First World War until it merged with the Royal Naval Air Service on 1 April 1918 to form the Royal Air Force. During the early part of the war, the RFC sup ...

where he served as an Observer in the Kite Balloon section until 1919. He returned to Bristol and graduated BSc in the summer of 1920. He then joined the Geological Survey of Britain as a professional Geologist. He moved to

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

in 1935. In 1939 he was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was establis ...

. His proposers were

Murray Macgregor George Murray Macgregor FRSE (21 January 1884 – 21 January 1966) was a Scottish geologist. He was described as "Scotland's most eminent coalfield geologist." Life Macgregor was born in Glasgow to Agnes Murray and George Macgregor. He studied a ...

William Thomas Gordon William Thomas Gordon FRSE FGS FGSE FLS FGA (1884–1950) was a Scottish palaeontologist and palaeobotanist in the early 20th century. He was also an expert on diamonds and gemstones and assisted Hatton Garden in the testing of rare stones. Li ...

Edward Battersby Bailey Sir Edward Battersby Bailey FRS FRSE MC LLD (1 July 1881 – 19 March 1965) was an English geologist. Life Bailey was born in Marden, Kent, the son of Dr James Battersby Bailey and Louise Florence Carr. He was educated at Kendal grammar sch ...

John Baird Simpson Dr John Baird Simpson FRSE FGS (January 14, 1894 – June 28, 1960), was a Scottish geologist. He was President of the Edinburgh Geological Society 1950-52 and was awarded the Lyell Medal by the Geological Society of London in 1954. Life Si ...

, and David Haldane. He won the Sopciety’s Bruce-Preller Prize in 1961. In the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he was sent to

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

to assess

bauxite Bauxite () is a sedimentary rock with a relatively high aluminium content. It is the world's main source of aluminium and gallium. Bauxite consists mostly of the aluminium minerals gibbsite (), boehmite (γ-AlO(OH)), and diaspore (α-AlO(OH) ...

deposits in relation to military needs. In 1945 he became District Geologist. In 1947 he was a co-founder of the

British Society for the History of Science The British Society for the History of Science (BSHS) was founded in 1947 by Francis Butler, Joan Eyles and Victor Eyles. Overview It is Britain's largest learned society devoted to the history of science, technology, and medicine. The society' ...

(BSHS). He retired in 1955 and moved to the

Cotswolds The Cotswolds ( ) is a region of central South West England, along a range of rolling hills that rise from the meadows of the upper River Thames to an escarpment above the Severn Valley and the Vale of Evesham. The area is defined by the bedroc ...

firstly to

Milton-under-Wychwood Milton-under-Wychwood is an English village and civil parish about north of Burford, Oxfordshire, just off the A361 road between Burford and Chipping Norton. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 1,648. History The village is o ...

then in 1962 to Great Rissington. In 1955 he was awarded an honorary doctorate (DSc) by Bristol University. He died on 8 March 1978 following a short illness.

Publications

*''The Economic Geology of the Ayrshire Coalfields'' (1930) *''The Geology of Central Ayrshire'' (1949) *''System of the Earth 1785'' (1970) co-author with James Hutton and G W White

Family

In October 1931 he married fellow geologist Joan Mary Briggs (1907–1986). Joan was an expert on

William Smith William, Willie, Will, Bill, or Billy Smith may refer to: Academics * William Smith (Master of Clare College, Cambridge) (1556–1615), English academic * William Smith (antiquary) (c. 1653–1735), English antiquary and historian of University C ...

, a founding father of geology. On her death she bequeathed a huge collection of books, papers, and maps relating to geology to the University of Bristol, thereafter called the Eyles Collection.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eyles, Victor Ambrose 1895 births 1978 deaths Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Bristol 20th-century British geologists Fellows_of_the_Geological_Society_of_London