Eli Simpson Archive, British Speleological Association

Transcription of Eli Simpson's notes

The Eli Simpson Archive is a major collection of c 100 large format record books full of exploration accounts, newspaper cuttings, maps, surveys, photographs and published articles compiled by Eli Simpson and other members of the British Speleological Association. These extracts give a flavour of the material found in the albums. These items are from the Gaping Gill album.

The collection was held for many years at the British Cave Research Association Library but are now held on deposit at the  National Geological Repository at British Geological Survey, Keyworth for safekeeping.

Archives such as this one are not only important for the historical viewpoint but are also important as a source of information that supports current research into karst geohazards.

A short account of of the Eli Simpson Archive can be found  on the British Caving Library website. It has links to the full Gaping Gill volume and the the catalogue of the collection at the British Geological Survey.

Transcriptions from various caving log books and publications

Old newspaper cuttings

 Eli Simpson's photographs

Posted by Bob McIntosh

The Carrington event, the largest magnetic storm on record. August 27th to September 7th, 1859

BGS Magnetogram image ID 188878

The Carrington event - the largest magnetic storm on record. August 27th to September 7th, 1859. Recorded at Greenwich Observatory, London.

The event was responsible for a great auroral storm. The following is an eyewitness account from a woman on Sullivan's Island, Carolina and reported in the Charleston Mercury:

“The eastern sky appeared of a blood red color. It seemed brightest exactly in the east, as though the full moon, or rather the sun, were about to rise. It extended almost to the zenith. The whole island was illuminated. The sea reflected the phenomenon, and no one could look at it without thinking of the passage in the Bible which says, ‘the sea was turned to blood.’ The shells on the beach, reflecting light, resembled coals of fire.”

BGS has scanned its full collection of 300,000 magnetograms. Full resolution images can be found at http://www.bgs.ac.uk/data/magnetograms/

Bob McIntosh