Saturday 14 April 2012

THE APRIL MEETING

A totally absorbing talk on the history and work of Ordnance Survey by Mr, Geoff May, not only an outstanding authority on his subject but also a brilliant speaker who is going to be a hard act to follow.

I have always been a great admirer of the efficiency of the Ordnance Survey organisation, but never did I even begin to understand just how efficient and ahead of their time they are.

Just a small example: Fifty years or so ago I realised the squares on the maps I used so often were smaller than the 1" to the mile scale of the map.  I just accepted it without knowing why.  Never did I realise the squares of the National Grid are in kilometers - Ordnance survey having been years ahead of everybody else in predicting the future lay with metric measurements.

The sheer genius and brilliance of the Ordnance Survey organisation leaves one filled with awe, and is a subject well worth further study.

No comments:

Post a Comment