100 | Great Geologists
Specimens of Dactylioceras from Germany. Jurassic ammonites were a crtical part of Arkell’s research.
tectonic history of southern England (he presented a paper on
this to the International Geological Congress in Washington
in 1933) and in collaboration with the Geological Survey,
contributed to the mapping of parts of Dorset, Wiltshire,
Berkshire and Oxfordshire and authoring the supportive
descriptive memoirs. The memoir of the geology of Weymouth
and Purbeck district remains a classic and is adorned by
Arkell’s own skilful sketches. Much of his writing at this time
was carried out during the summer months in the company
of his family at their holiday chalet “Faraways” at Ringstead
on the Dorset coast close to classic Corallian and Kimmeridge
Clay outcrops. stone and their correct use in the renovation of many of historic
Oxford colleges. An interesting minor publication of this time
is the pamphlet Geology and Prehistory from the Train, Oxford
– Paddington. This begins with the delightful opening passage:
“During the years 1941-1943, owing to ‘circumstances arising
out of the war’ it was my lot to make the double journey
between Oxford and Paddington and back about 100 times.
The following notes are a humble offering to my fellow-
travellers; compiled in the belief that to increase sources of
interest is proportionally to diminish boredom.” Needless to say
this work is extremely informative and written in a fluent prose
that characterised all of his writing.
The Second World War led Arkell to become a temporary
civil servant assigned to the Ministry of Shipping in London.
His work was cut short in 1943 when he became seriously
ill, spending five months in hospital with a near-fatal chest
infection. His recovery took some time limiting his ability to
carry out field work until the late 1940s. Despite his enforced
convalescence he continued with his publications including
two major books published in 1947: The Geology of Oxford
and Oxford Stone. The latter reflected his interests in building In 1947 Arkell was offered the opportunity to take up a
research post at Trinity College, Cambridge with a room in the
famous Sedgwick Museum. Here he completed a number of
monographs on British Jurassic ammonites and began work
on his contribution on Jurassic ammonites for the monumental
Treatise on Invertebrate Palaeontology. As such he was now
receiving specimens of Jurassic ammonites from around the
world and was in correspondence with Jurassic specialists
from every corner of the globe. Oil companies sent him