Dennis Wood’s memorial

NRW RIGS no. 231 [SH 26294 75201]

GeoMôn Global Geopark original webpage

RIGS Statement of Interest:

Dennis Wood’s memorial has been selected as a RIGS to commemorate and honour his outstanding contribution to the understanding of the geology of North Wales and, in particular, the geology of slate and the structural geology of Rhoscolyn in Anglesey. Dennis Stephenson Wood was a direct descendant, on his mother’s side, of the 19th Century engineers, George and Robert Stephenson. Dennis took his degrees in Geology at Liverpool and Leeds universities where he was the star pupil of Professor Robert Shackleton. He was Professor of Structural and Engineering Geology at the University of Illinois and the Director and Chief Scientist of Robertson Research until 1990. He was Chairman of NERC Earth Science Committee. At the time of is death in 2001 he held an Honorary Chair at the University of Wales. His Ph. D. was slate related and he continued to act as a slate consultant in many parts of the world, until his untimely death. In his last few years, Dennis was extensively involved in geological conservation, becoming Chairman of the Gwynedd and Môn RIGS Group. Dennis had the ability to convey enthusiasm and was in huge demand with academic and amateur audiences. His memorial, subscribed to by Penrhyn Slate Quarry, friends and colleagues, is made of heather-blue Penrhyn slate and Ffestiniog grey-blue slate. It is sited in his favourite place, Rhoscolyn, on Holy Isle, Anglesey.

Geological setting/context: There are three main categories of RIGS selected for their historical importance: 1. Historical constructions (arbitrarily up to 2,000 years old) and/or archaeological constructions (arbitrarily more than 2,000 years old) where rock has been used and where the relevance of geology can be demonstrated. This type of RIGS can include castles, churches, ruins, lanes, walls, cromlechs and standing stones; 2. Sites or features related to the development of geological thought and geology as a science, such as sites where certain concepts or theories were developed or types of feature first explained (e.g. Hutton’s Unconformity); 3. RIGS commemorating the work and contributions of important geologists. These usually take the form of a monument (such as a grave) or memorial.

Network context of this site: Dennis Wood’s Memorial is one of a series of several such monuments in Anglesey, adopted and cared for by members of Gwynedd and Môn RIGS Group. These sites include the graves of Andrew Crombie Ramsay (1814–1891), and Edward Greenly (1861–1951). They deserve to be remembered for their outstanding contributions to British and Welsh geology.

References:

WOOD, D.S. (1960). The geology and structure of the Rhoscolyn district, Holy Island, Anglesey (thesis). University of Liverpool, 65pp.

WOOD, D.S. (1969). The base and correlation of the Cambrian rocks of North Wales. In WOOD, A. (ed.) The Pre-Cambrian and Lower Palaeozoic rocks of Wales. University of Wales Press, Cardiff, 47–66. WOOD, D.S. (1971). Studies of strain and slaty cleavage in the Caledonides of North-west Europe and the eastern United States. Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, University of Leeds.

WOOD, D.S. (1973). Patterns and magnitudes of natural strain in rocks. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, A274, 373–382.

WOOD, D.S. (1974). Current views of the development of slaty cleavage. Review of Earth and Planetary Science, 2, 369–401.

WOOD, D.S. (1974). Ophiolites, mélanges, blueschists and ignimbrites: early Caledonian subduction in Wales? In: DOTT, R.H. Jr & SHAVER, R.H. (eds) Modern and ancient geosynclinal sedimentation. Society of Economic Palaeontologists and Mineralogists, Special Publications, 19, 334–344.

WOOD, D.S. & HARPER, J.C. (1962). Notes on a temporary section in the Ordovician at Conway, North Wales. Liverpool and Manchester Geological Journal, 3, 177–186. WOOD, D.S. & OERTEL, G. (1980). Defromation in the Cambrian Slate belt of Wales. Journal of Geology, 88, 285–308.

WOOD, D.S., OERTEL, G., SINGH, J. & BENNETT, H.F. (1976). Strain and anisotropy in rocks. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, A283, 27–42.

WOOD, D.S. & SCHUSTER, D.C. (1978). The nature of mélanges; criteria for recognition of their origin with reference to the ‘type’ mélange in Wales. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, 10, 519.