Balchin, W.G.V. 1916–2007

(W. George Victor Balchin, William Balchin, William George Victor Balchin)

OBITUARY NOTICE—

See index for CA sketch: Born June 20, 1916, in Aldershot, Hampshire, England; died July 30, 2007. Geographer, explorer, educator, and author. Early in his career, Balchin sailed into the Arctic, where he explored and mapped the northern reaches of Norway, including the glaciated peak named in his honor, now known as Balchinfjellet. He spent most of the rest of his career in academia. Balchin lectured at King's College, London, for nearly ten years following the end of World War II, developing a subcategory of geography that he called "local climate" research. It was one of several contributions that would eventually elevate the status of British geographical research from a subfield of geology into a respectable academic discipline that could stand on its own. Balchin's primary contribution came in the mid-1950s, when he was invited to create a geography department at the University of Wales, University College of Swansea. He not only established the department, but also added several laboratories, including a facility for studying the effects of waves and running water. That facility became a model for other institutions around the world. Balchin was also active as an officer of the Glamorgan County Naturalists Trust and other similar bodies. He remained at Swansea until 1978. Balchin spent his retirement in Ilkley, Yorkshire, but remained active in the Royal Geographical Society and the Geographical Association. He also continued to write books of national and regional interest, including Cornwall: The Making of Its Landscape (1954), Cornwall: The Landscape through Maps (1967), Living History of Britain (1981), and The Cornish Landscape (1983).

OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Times (London, England), September 6, 2007, p. 74.

ONLINE

Times Online,http://www.timesonline.co.uk/ (September 6, 2007).