| Description | Papers of John Roger ANDREW, 1955-1984, including:
Black and white photographs, 1955-1978, notably of wells, rigs, drilling equipment and the surrounding landscape mainly in Malta, Libya, Pakistan and India;
Three geological field books covering Andrew’s work in Libya, 1957-1958, and New Delhi, 1967-1968; Notebook with brief manuscript notes and thumbnail sketches on geology, nd; small pocket diary kept in Peru, 1972;
‘Hargeisa water supply investigation. A report to the Crown Agents for Overseas Governments and Administrations by the Consulting Engineers’, Somaliland Protectorate, January 1960; Typescript reports and maps relating to Andrew's work with the Oxfam’s Refugee Water Supply Unit, Hargeisa, Somaliland, 1983-1984. |
| Administrative History | John Roger Andrew was born on 24 March 1927, son of Gerald Andrew who was also a geologist, later local newspaper proprietor. He read mineralogy, geology and chemistry at Jesus College Cambridge but left before his final year in 1949 before he could sit the Tripos. In September Andrew was appointed a water well driller's helper for George Stow & Co, before moving to become a Driller with Associated Tube Wells Ltd in August 1953, to deal with the company's contract with Bangkok Water Works, Thailand. After sorting out problems with the drilling to successful conclusion, Andrew was then posted to Singapore as the Company's field hydrologist in its contract with the Singaporean government, investigating the groundwater potential of the Bedok Valley.
After successful completion of the project, Andrew was then sent to Port Swetenham, Malaya to manage another project this time for the Malayan Railways to investigate the suitability for the construction of new docks in the North Klang Straights.
In September 1956 he accepted a temporary post with Richard Costain Ltd as a Driller in Malta & Gozo to investigate the potential for developing fresh groundwater from the perched water tables. He was headhunted to act as resident hydrogeologist in June 1957 by Harold T Smith International on the recommendation of an ex-ATWL colleague who had just moved to the company's Rome office. The contract with the Libyan-American Joint Public Service was to drill and develop potable groundwater for four towns in Tripolitania was completed in July 1959. Hydrogeology work on Misura and Garian followed but was drawn to a premature close by the political situation in the country. He returned to Rome to prepare material for the company's tender for work in Italy then became Electronic Logging Technician and Project Hydrologist for another contract for a desalination project near Lahore, Pakistan. On its completion in August 1961, Andrew returned to the UK.
He spent the next six years as Managing Director of Polmarine Ltd, before returning to hydrogeology as a Drilling Engineer for the United Nations in June 1967. The next two years he worked on their groundwater assessment project in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, then moved to the Cauvery Delta, Tamil Nadu in South India. Andrew then moved to South America, spending 18 months in Bolivia as Senior Drilling Supervisor for groundwater development in the Altiplano.
In 1977 Andrew returned to higher education to gain is BA (Ord) in Earth Science from the Open University.
Not much is known about Andrew's later life but he worked for Oxfam’s Refugee Water Supply Unit, Hargeisa, Somaliland in the mid 1980s. |
| Provenance | The material, along with that of his father Gerald, was given to the Society through a Mrs Turpin (who was possibly Gerald or John's daughter) through Ted Nield, editor of Geoscientist and the Society's PR. It was only accessioned in 2005, in the final week before the then archivist's departure, with no date of donation recorded and no paperwork. |