THE STATE OF THE SURVEYS OF BRITISH AFRICA IN 1905-06

Abstract

Whilst turning over some old papers the other day I came across a copy of the first Annual Report of the Colonial Survey Committee, and the recent, much regretted death of Sir Herbert Read reminded me of his services in the development of the surveys and explorations of British possessions in Africa, especially his suggestion, which was approved by the Secretary of State for the Colonies, of the formation of the Colonial Survey Committee, an Advisory Committee which was set up in August, 1905. This Committee advised the Secretary of State “in matters affecting the survey and exploration of British Colonies and Protectorates, more especially those in Tropical Africa”.     

CADASTRAL AIR SURVEY

Abstract

I Hope Dr Wolff's interesting article will stimulate to action some of those who have not given sufficient attention to air survey as a method of mapping or planning those areas which lend themselves to that method. At the same time, whether so many of us are as conservative as the author appears to think is a matter for doubt, and moreover we do not all look upon air survey as an “innovation”. As Dr Wolff writes from Palestine he might be interested to know that as the second British Officer to take up field survey work in the War in 1915—Major (now Brigadier) Winterbotham being the first—I was one of the earliest in my profession to study, and to assist in the development of, air survey. In 1915 our unit in the 3rd Army was the first to make use of air photographs for the production of a regular series of trench maps. There are consequently few surveyors more interested in the method. I have watched the progress of the science and the work of the Air Survey Committee with continued interest and have used air methods whenever these have been possible or suitable. On my last visit to Paris I tried my hand at plotting with a new instrument at the Service Géographique and was much impressed by the work that was being done.     

The role of the Ordnance Survey of Great Britain

Abstract

This paper is concerned with the future of the British national mapping agency in a society which is markedly different from that in which the Ordnance Survey Review Committee of 1979 worked. The objective is to ascertain which topographic information is needed, who should provide it, on what terms and through which mechanisms. Prior to making an attempt to answer these questions, the essential characteristics of Ordnance Survey (OS) are summarised as deduced from available documentary evidence; the changing attitudes to information as a commodity, the growing competition in British mapping and the government's stringent requirements from the Survey are also outlined as just three of the many complexities which affect OS. Building upon Smith's classic 1979 paper and subsequent experience, the rationale for government involvement in mapping is examined. It is concluded that the Survey has a continuing vital role though there are a number of steps which the OS should take in order to adapt to changing circumstances.     

HEIGHT CONTROL IN AIR-PHOTO SURVEY

Abstract

1. An air-photo survey of part of Southern Palestine was carried out in 1938, both field-work and plotting being executed by the same surveyor, a comparative newcomer to this type of work, who therefore equipped himself with Lieut Salt's valuable book (Professional Papers of the Air Survey Committee, no. 8, 1933) for guidance. The area covered was very broken barren country and the contours became the principal features of the map, so that a great many spot-heights were necessary and certain deviations in detail from the routine laid down in the Paper suggested themselves.     

RADAR CONTROLLED AIR SURVEY PHOTOGRAPHIC OPERATIONS IN AFRICA 1946–1952

Abstract

In 1943, the Colonial Research Committee accepted a proposal submitted by the Colonial Survey and Geophysical Committee to the effect that a Central Colonial Survey Organization should be established to undertake geodetic surveys and topographical mapping, publish the work completed, hold the required equipment and maintain the necessary records. In order that such an organization, if approved, could commence to operate as soon as possible after the end of war, a detailed scheme for same was called for by the Colonial Research Committee.     

A FIFTY-YEARS RETROSPECT

Abstract

The Ordnance Survey after the War.—I might class the four years after the War, during which I remained at the head of the Ordnance Survey, as interesting but troublesome. As is well known, an entirely unreasonable impression was spread about that, now that the War was over, there would be a period of great prosperity, and that we should all live like fighting cocks. Well, things did not work out like that. There was a Select Committee on National Expenditure (1918), and this Committee recommended a lengthening of the period of revision of the large-scale maps of the United Kingdom and a consequent, ultimate, reduction of establishment by 500 men. The Treasury later on insisted on a reduction by 600, including Ireland.     

Experiences with Analytical and Digital Stereoplotters

Members of the Institute of Engineering Surveying and Space Geodesy, University of Nottingham have been working on a collaborative project with staff of the British Geological Survey and the National Remote Sensing Centre Air Photo Group. During this project, experience of using the Intergraph ImageStation and ERDAS Imagine has been obtained. This paper presents some of these experiences which highlight the merits and limitations of digital photogrammetry at this present time. These are important issues not only for photogrammetrists but also for those coming into contact with photogrammetric operations through their potentially increasing availability in general image processing software. Although based on the authors' experiences, the paper also intends to provide a summary of digital photogrammetric systems and therefore issues are presented in a general way.     

THOUGHTS ON THE RUWANDIZ ROAD

Abstract

THE article on Road-Surveying in the East by Mr. J. N. List in the Empire Survey Review, No.6, 263–74, is well worthy of perusal. From the beginning, with his apt quotation from Kipling, to the end where he compares the text-book ideal of road location with the indifferent compromise amidst difficulties that the British engineer in the East is lucky to be able to achieve, I felt in accord with his observations. Having spent four years on a similar kind of work, I consider that this article well deserves the appreciation of its author's profession.     

THE USE OF AIR PlIOTOGRApHS BY THE ORDNANCE SURVEY

Abstract

During the last year, the Air Survey Section, Field Division, Ordnance Survey, have had many visitors. Most of them have been surprised at what they have seen: some at the fact that we are able to make so much use of air photographs even in the largest scale surveys, and some at the small amount of information we seem able to extract from them. This paper is an attempt to give in some detail the ways in which air photographs are used to solve the problems of the Ordnance Survey, why they are used and their limitations for our purposes.     

NOTES ON THE USE OF ANEROID BAROMETERS IN THE GOLD COAST

Abstract

For several years it had been realized that aneroids in the Gold Coast showed a distinct lag in the readings when subject to fairly large changes of height. The range of height in the Colony, however, being relatively small and control heights fairly numerous, little interest was taken in the cause, which was generally thought to be due to hysteresis. * All aneroids in use on the Gold Coast are graduated on Airy's scale which is based on latitude 45° and temperature 50° F. In 1921 Mr. C. L. T. Griffith, at that time Chief Instructor of the Survey School, carried out various tests with a number of aneroids, and from these tests concluded that the main source of error arose from inappropriate graduation of the height-scale relative to pressure; using as constants latitude 15°, temperature 86° F., and mean humidity 67 per cent., he worked out a proposed general scale for the Tropics. Ten years later the purchase for test purposes of new aneroids graduated to this scale was considered but was eventually postponed when it was learnt that the question of a special scale for use in the Tropics was under consideration at home by a special Committee consisting of representatives of the Admiralty, War Office, Air Ministry, and National Physical Laboratory.     

THE YEAR 1933 IN CEYLON

Abstract

IN the absence on leave of the Surveyor General, a full Report for the Colonial Survey Committee was prepared by Mr. R. W. E. Ruddock, the Deputy Surveyor General. The Department in Ceylon covers so many activities that it would be impossible to mention here more than a few.     

THE TRAINING OF AFRICAN SURVEYORS IN NIGERIA

Abstract

Whenever the Government wants to receive new students to be trained as surveyors for the Government Service it is usual for the public to be informed by means of a Gazette Notice outlining the conditions of entry into the Survey School which is attached to the Land and Survey Department. Nowadays students are admitted through the Government Higher College at Yaba by means of the Entrance Examination of that college. It is one of the conditions that before a candidate applies to take this Entrance Examination he must have passed his Cambridge School Certificate Examination, the Matriculation Examination of any British University, or its local equivalent, and must possess also a certificate of character.     

THE EUROPEAN ORGANISATION FOR EXPERIMENTAL PHOTOGRAMMETRIC RESEARCH (OEEPE)

Since the occasion of the Thompson Symposium in 1979, two new members have joined OEEPE. These are France and the United Kingdom. The possibility of membership had been considered by the UK over the last decade on more than one occasion but, for one good reason or another, no application had been made. In 1980, however, W. P. Smith (Director General, Ordnance Survey) circulated organisations and individuals who might be interested and received an almost unanimous expression of support for an application for membership. This was also in line with the Ordnance Survey's intent to increase its links with other organisations, both nationally and internationally. The Foreign Office agreed that the UK should apply for membership and this was done. The UK became a full member of OEEPE in time for the Oslo meeting of the Steering Committee in 1981.
There follows a background paper on the work of OEEPE and accounts of current OEEPE Commission activities.     

第二次土地调查底图生产监理中若干技术的探讨

第二次全国土地调查底图生产是一项重大的系统工程,认真做好二次调查底图生产监理工作可有效保证成果的质量。文章对二次土地调查底图生产的监理流程进行了简单介绍,同时对工作中出现的正射纠正、投影变换以及影像质量检查等若干技术方法进行了一些探讨。     

THE YEAR 1936 IN NIGERIA

Abstract

The greatly improved economic situation was reflected in the increased activities of the Land and Survey Department in all its branches. The Registration of Titles Ordinance which came into force on the 1st July and the extension to Nigeria of the Empire Air Mail Service were the two most important events of the year.     

The Military Map of the United Kingdom and its Impact on Mapping in the Twentieth Century

Abstract

Considerable attention has been paid in the literature to the changing style of Ordnance Survey mapping in the twentieth century. However, little has been written about the origins of the characteristic appearance of the first multi-colour editions, other that the Ordnance Survey used a military edition that was already in production. The distinctive style grew out of the work of a committee established in 1892 by the War Office to consider future army requirements for a map of the UK. This paper explores the work of the committee and its long-term implications for the look of mapping in the twentieth century.     

浅谈地理国情普查项目技术管理工作的思考与体会

第一次全国地理国情普查是一个全新项目,特点是时间紧、任务重、内容新。如何做好地理国情普查项目的技术管理工作,使技术管理服务于生产任务,提高生产效率、确保产品质量,是当前地理国情普查工作十分重要的问题。本文就地理国情普查项目的技术管理工作做一些分析与探讨。     

THREE YEARS AND MORE OF THE RISING SUN or A COLONIAL SURVEY DEPARTMENT UNDER A NEW MASTER

Abstract

The late war has been responsible for many unusual situations—not the least of which was that of certain British Colonial Surv1ey Offices passing under the control of an Asiatic Invader, and it is thought that the story of one of them—the Survey Department of Malaya—will not be without interest to readers of this Review.     

NEW ANEROID TABLES

Abstract

For a number of years topographers and air surveyors have regarded improved hypsometry as a desideratum. Of hypsometric instruments, the boiling-point thermometer and the barometer are practically the only two in use, and even the barometer is commonly represented solely by the aneroid. Since improvement of the lastnamed offered the best hope of success, a Service Committee was formed some three years ago to endeavour to secure at least some progress in both the construction and the use of the aneroid: it would seem that they should have no reason to be dissatisfied with their labours. The Committee was constituted of representatives of the Hydrographic Department of the Admiralty, the Geographical Section of the General Staff, the Meteorological Office of the Air Ministry, and of the National Physical Laboratory. It is obvious that not much material progress would have been made without the concurrence of the manufacturers; accordingly four of the leading makers of this kind of instrument took part in the later deliberations. The delivery of the requisite tables has taken much longer than was anticipated; on the other hand, one of the makers delivered instruments to the new specification with encouraging promptitude.     

TRAINING AFRICAN SURVEYORS IN UGANDA

Abstract

Under the Buganda Agreement, which was made in 1900 between the British Government and the Kabaka (King) of Buganda, approximately 9,000 square miles of the kingdom of Buganda were divided into numerous estates, which were allocated to the various reigning chiefs and people of importance at that time. The British Government agreed to survey these estates, most of which were one square mile in area; thus, the term “Mailo” as applied to the land owned by the Baganda, came into use. Since the original Mailo survey, which was completed in 1935, many of the estates have been subdivided. The land has been sold piecemeal, gifted and bequeathed, so that plots now exist which are even less than one acre in area and some in and near large townships are as small as half an acre. The task of the Survey Department is a gargantuan one and, in 1949, it was estimated that there were some 150,000 outstanding surveys.