- Email: [email protected]
Dorothy Helen Rayner, 1912–2003
OBITUARY
Dorothy Helen Rayner, 1912-2003
Dorothy Rayner in the early 1960s.
Dorothy Rayner was born to a very scientific family at Teddington, Middlesex on 3 February 1912. Her grandfather was a medical doctor and her cousin a theoretical physicist, whilst her father, Edwin Rayner, was a senior figure at the National Physical Laboratory and had been awarded a Cambridge DSc. Dorothy was the second of three children to Edwin and Agnes (nee Styles), each of whom read science at Cambridge. Dorothy matriculated in 1931 to read Natural Sciences at Girton College, after having attended Bedales School. She became an excellent student, distinguishing herself both as an undergraduate and whilst carrying out postgraduate research. In those pre-war years the University had not yet begun to admit women as full graduates, so her First Class BA was awarded by Girton College, in 1935. In that same year Dorothy was a University Harkness Scholar and recipient of the G.G.B. Crewdson Memorial prize. From 1936 to 1938 she was a Hertha Ayrton By-Fellow at Girton College, whilst carrying out research into vertebrate palaeontology, primarily at Cambridge but also at University College, London. She was awarded her doctorate by the University of Cambridge in 1938. A Cambridge MA followed. In 1939, at the outbreak of World War II, Dorothy took up a lecturing post in what was then the Proceedings of the Geologists' Association, 116, 69-70.
Department of Geology, University of Leeds. Those exceptional times were to be an everlasting influence upon her career, since it was then that she developed her wonderful expertise in all styles of teaching. In her first professional post Dorothy had been called upon immediately to teach one third of an entire undergraduate course in Geology, whilst at the same time enduring hardships associated with wartime austerity. Indeed, she was responsible for teaching all of the stratigraphy and palaeontology at Leeds right up to the 1960s, as well as taking responsibility for her proportion of the field teaching. Dorothy's contribution to the Leeds department, especially during the early years of her career, was immense. During those early years students benefited enormously from the typically small class size and the tutorial style of teaching that Dorothy developed. She was exceptionally widely read on scientific matters, and this, along with her love of art, music and literature generally, plus her affable and approachable manner, resulted in memorable classes for the students. Indeed, they still reminisce affectionately about those days. However, when she confronted a large audience, Dorothy had a very different persona. She possessed a remarkable stentorian voice that could be raised to prodigious levels which, when combined with her rapid, non-repetitive, highly organized, authoritative style of delivery, could leave her students enthralled and exhausted; for them the re-organizing of copious lecture notes in the evenings was the order of the day. That she strongly influenced a generation of Leeds students is witnessed by the fact that several of 'her' students returned to take up teaching appointments in the Leeds Department during the post-war expansion years. Having been promoted to Senior Lecturer in the early 1960s, she retired from full-time teaching in 1977, after spending her entire career at the one institution. Dorothy never considered herself a 'committee person' but the authority that she took to such meetings meant that she was nevertheless frequently called upon to serve in that capacity. Although she tended to be a woman of few words under these circumstances, those words were always brilliantly chosen to terminate any long, tortuous discussion. She could give the impression of being brusque, but to those who knew her Dorothy was supportive, warm and friendly, with a well-developed sense of humour, whilst at the same time being, perhaps, a little shy. Dorothy had a long association with several learned societies. She joined the Geologists' Association in 1936 and remained a member for 66 years up to her 0016-7878/05 $15.00 Cfj 2005 Geologists' Association
70
OBITUARY
death. She was a similarly long-standing member of the Yorkshire Geological Society (YGS), which she joined during her first year in Leeds, retaining her association, once again, up to her death. Indeed, in 1974 she was elected to Honorary Membership of the YGS, in recognition of the exceptional service she had bestowed upon that Society, in several capacities. A long-standing Council member, she became senior Editor in 1958, a post that she held for ten years. She was extremely good in this role, with a critical eye for detail and a reputation for being firm but fair. Her love of, and ability with the English language was obvious and, after some gentle persuasion from her colleagues, she committed to print her English Language and Usage in Geology: a personal compilation (1982), published by the Leeds Geological Association (LGA) and which became essential reading for geologists writing theses and research papers. It was typical of Dorothy that all profits arising from that publication were donated to the LGA. During the period 19691970 Dorothy served the YGS as President. The Stratigraphy of the British Isles was published in 1967, by which time Dorothy had become an accepted authority in stratigraphy as well as vertebrate palaeontology. She was in great demand particularly on matters concerning stratigraphical procedure, of which she had an intimate knowledge. These various skills resulted in Dorothy being acknowledged as an
exceptionally good editor for scientific material, which she had demonstrated with the YGS Proceedings, and which led, in 1974, to her co-editing The Geology and Mineral Resources of Yorkshire, with her friend and colleague J. E. Hemingway. She also attracted several prestigious awards in acknowledgement of her high standing in the international scientific community and the exceptionally broad base of her knowledge. These included the Clough Medal (Geological Society of Edinburgh) in 1973, the Lyell Medal (Geological Society of London) in 1975 and the Sorby Medal (Yorkshire Geological Society) in 1977. These honours were a fitting tribute to Dorothy around the time of her retirement. In later years Dorothy was able to spread her interests even more widely, whilst at the same time retaining a passion for all matters geological. A wonderful example was the way in which, during the late 1970s and early 1980s, she combined her love of botany with her skills as a surveyor in preparing beautiful plant distribution maps for the Royal Horticultural Society at their large Harlow Carr Gardens site, near Harrogate. After suffering a stroke at her home in north Leeds, Dorothy died on 31 December 2003. W.
JOHN
V ARKER
University of Leeds (retired)
REFERENCES Rayner, D.H. 1967. The Stratigraphy of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge [reprinted with corrections 1971]. Rayner, D.H. & Hemingway, J.E. (eds) 1974. The Geology and Mineral Resources of Yorkshire. Yorkshire Geological Society, Leeds.
Rayner, D.H. 1982. English Language and Usage in Geology: A Personal Compilation. Transactions of the Leeds Geological Association, Special Issue, 1-30.
Dorothy Helen Rayner, 1912-2003
Dorothy Rayner in the early 1960s.
Dorothy Rayner was born to a very scientific family at Teddington, Middlesex on 3 February 1912. Her grandfather was a medical doctor and her cousin a theoretical physicist, whilst her father, Edwin Rayner, was a senior figure at the National Physical Laboratory and had been awarded a Cambridge DSc. Dorothy was the second of three children to Edwin and Agnes (nee Styles), each of whom read science at Cambridge. Dorothy matriculated in 1931 to read Natural Sciences at Girton College, after having attended Bedales School. She became an excellent student, distinguishing herself both as an undergraduate and whilst carrying out postgraduate research. In those pre-war years the University had not yet begun to admit women as full graduates, so her First Class BA was awarded by Girton College, in 1935. In that same year Dorothy was a University Harkness Scholar and recipient of the G.G.B. Crewdson Memorial prize. From 1936 to 1938 she was a Hertha Ayrton By-Fellow at Girton College, whilst carrying out research into vertebrate palaeontology, primarily at Cambridge but also at University College, London. She was awarded her doctorate by the University of Cambridge in 1938. A Cambridge MA followed. In 1939, at the outbreak of World War II, Dorothy took up a lecturing post in what was then the Proceedings of the Geologists' Association, 116, 69-70.
Department of Geology, University of Leeds. Those exceptional times were to be an everlasting influence upon her career, since it was then that she developed her wonderful expertise in all styles of teaching. In her first professional post Dorothy had been called upon immediately to teach one third of an entire undergraduate course in Geology, whilst at the same time enduring hardships associated with wartime austerity. Indeed, she was responsible for teaching all of the stratigraphy and palaeontology at Leeds right up to the 1960s, as well as taking responsibility for her proportion of the field teaching. Dorothy's contribution to the Leeds department, especially during the early years of her career, was immense. During those early years students benefited enormously from the typically small class size and the tutorial style of teaching that Dorothy developed. She was exceptionally widely read on scientific matters, and this, along with her love of art, music and literature generally, plus her affable and approachable manner, resulted in memorable classes for the students. Indeed, they still reminisce affectionately about those days. However, when she confronted a large audience, Dorothy had a very different persona. She possessed a remarkable stentorian voice that could be raised to prodigious levels which, when combined with her rapid, non-repetitive, highly organized, authoritative style of delivery, could leave her students enthralled and exhausted; for them the re-organizing of copious lecture notes in the evenings was the order of the day. That she strongly influenced a generation of Leeds students is witnessed by the fact that several of 'her' students returned to take up teaching appointments in the Leeds Department during the post-war expansion years. Having been promoted to Senior Lecturer in the early 1960s, she retired from full-time teaching in 1977, after spending her entire career at the one institution. Dorothy never considered herself a 'committee person' but the authority that she took to such meetings meant that she was nevertheless frequently called upon to serve in that capacity. Although she tended to be a woman of few words under these circumstances, those words were always brilliantly chosen to terminate any long, tortuous discussion. She could give the impression of being brusque, but to those who knew her Dorothy was supportive, warm and friendly, with a well-developed sense of humour, whilst at the same time being, perhaps, a little shy. Dorothy had a long association with several learned societies. She joined the Geologists' Association in 1936 and remained a member for 66 years up to her 0016-7878/05 $15.00 Cfj 2005 Geologists' Association
70
OBITUARY
death. She was a similarly long-standing member of the Yorkshire Geological Society (YGS), which she joined during her first year in Leeds, retaining her association, once again, up to her death. Indeed, in 1974 she was elected to Honorary Membership of the YGS, in recognition of the exceptional service she had bestowed upon that Society, in several capacities. A long-standing Council member, she became senior Editor in 1958, a post that she held for ten years. She was extremely good in this role, with a critical eye for detail and a reputation for being firm but fair. Her love of, and ability with the English language was obvious and, after some gentle persuasion from her colleagues, she committed to print her English Language and Usage in Geology: a personal compilation (1982), published by the Leeds Geological Association (LGA) and which became essential reading for geologists writing theses and research papers. It was typical of Dorothy that all profits arising from that publication were donated to the LGA. During the period 19691970 Dorothy served the YGS as President. The Stratigraphy of the British Isles was published in 1967, by which time Dorothy had become an accepted authority in stratigraphy as well as vertebrate palaeontology. She was in great demand particularly on matters concerning stratigraphical procedure, of which she had an intimate knowledge. These various skills resulted in Dorothy being acknowledged as an
exceptionally good editor for scientific material, which she had demonstrated with the YGS Proceedings, and which led, in 1974, to her co-editing The Geology and Mineral Resources of Yorkshire, with her friend and colleague J. E. Hemingway. She also attracted several prestigious awards in acknowledgement of her high standing in the international scientific community and the exceptionally broad base of her knowledge. These included the Clough Medal (Geological Society of Edinburgh) in 1973, the Lyell Medal (Geological Society of London) in 1975 and the Sorby Medal (Yorkshire Geological Society) in 1977. These honours were a fitting tribute to Dorothy around the time of her retirement. In later years Dorothy was able to spread her interests even more widely, whilst at the same time retaining a passion for all matters geological. A wonderful example was the way in which, during the late 1970s and early 1980s, she combined her love of botany with her skills as a surveyor in preparing beautiful plant distribution maps for the Royal Horticultural Society at their large Harlow Carr Gardens site, near Harrogate. After suffering a stroke at her home in north Leeds, Dorothy died on 31 December 2003. W.
JOHN
V ARKER
University of Leeds (retired)
REFERENCES Rayner, D.H. 1967. The Stratigraphy of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge [reprinted with corrections 1971]. Rayner, D.H. & Hemingway, J.E. (eds) 1974. The Geology and Mineral Resources of Yorkshire. Yorkshire Geological Society, Leeds.
Rayner, D.H. 1982. English Language and Usage in Geology: A Personal Compilation. Transactions of the Leeds Geological Association, Special Issue, 1-30.