| Description | Soil map of Bocholt, Germany, prepared by the 21 Army Group, adapted from GSGS sheet 4416 Sheet P1, published by the War Office in 1944, updated to January 1945. The map's aim was to show 'Potential Airfield Sites', that is sites in enemy territory where an airfield could quickly be constructed. |
| Administrative History | The map belonged to Squadron Leader John Francis Kirkaldy, FGS, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR), Meteorological Branch. Kirkaldy (1908-1990) was a member of the ‘Committee on Mud Crossing Performance of Tracked Armoured Fighting Vehicles’ or ‘Mud Committee’ for short, set up by the British Ministry of Supply in 1944 to provide guidance on how the weather affected the soils, that is the 'going' of the ground when planning the use of heavy military vehicles such as tanks. |
| Publication Note | Greenwood has written on the Mud Committee in a number of papers, notably: Greenwood, D A, "Soil and water: research by the British Army's Committee on Mud Crossing Performance of Tracked Armoured Fighting Vehicles in World War II", 'Military Aspects of Hydrogeology', Geological Society of London, Special Publications, vol 362 (2012), pp161-186. |