Obituaries

OBITUARIES JOHN E. L. CAIGJIIR By the death of John Caiger in April, 1975, the Kent Archaeological Society has lost one of its most popular and respected members. He joined the Society in 1953 and had been a member of Council since 1969. During the last twenty-five years he had devoted much leisure time to archaeological fieldwork and published many notes and articles in Arckceologia Oantiana. His early interest was in deneholes-those controversial chalk caverns of which there were many examples near the village of Bexley ,vhere he was born and where he spent most of his life. As opportunity occurred, he explored numerous deneholes and chalk-wells and published excellent illustrated descriptions of them. By his investigations at Darenth Wood and elsewhere he demonstrated that some deneholes were medieval, and he accepted the view that they were dug to obtain chalk for agricultural purposes. In this, as in all his archaeological research, he had the advantage of a technical training and outstanding skill as a draughtsman. The planning of unrecorded earthworks was also an activity ,vhioh engaged his attention and to which he brought the accomplishments of an expert surveyor. His published plans of medieval enclosures in north-west Kent will remain a valuable contribution to the study of a class of earthwork often overlooked in the past, and usually situated in woodland where conditions for recording are extremely difficult. In addition, eighteenth-century and later 'bygones' such as bath-houses, ice-wells and water-pumping installations were carefully measured and drawn, the latest example of his skill being the publication of a tile-kiln at Bexley and the pigeon houses at Hawley and Leeds. The results of his archaeological work will remain permanently in the Transactions of our Society. What should also be recorded are his personal qualities of modesty, unfailing good humour and readiness to help, which made him so many friends. At the age of sixty he was looking forward to retirement from professional life and had plans for occupying himself with further archaeological undertakings, when his sudden death ooourred while at work. Our sympathy is extended to his widow and son who have shared his interests and so often helped in his archaeological researches. P.J.T. 225 OBITUARIES R. H. GoonsALL, F.S.A., F.R.I.B.A., F.R.P.S. Mt. Robert Harold Good.sail died suddenly at his home, Stede Hill, Harrietsha.m, on 17th November, 1975, at the age of 84, and his funeral took place at his local church, St. John the Baptist, on 21st November. Mr. Goodsall was born at Tankerton. His father had the distinction 6f being the navigating officer of S.S. Great Eastern; he himself became an architect and his skill in this profession showed in a chapter and drawings contributed to Dr. Charles Cotton's The Greyfriars of Canterbury (1924) and in Home Buikling (1924). In 1935, he purchased Stede Hill, Harrietsham, from Sir Robert Douglas Gooch, Bt., and it was this house which became Army Divisi6nal HQ Mess during the last war and was used by Field-Marshal Montgomery. Robert Goodsall did much to place it on the map when he produced, in 1949, his book on Sterk Hill, The Annals of a Kentish House. Mr. Goodsall was mainly known for his topographical books-on Whitstable, Seasalter and Swale-cliffe (1938), The Medway and its Tributaries (1955), The Kentish Stour (1953), The widening Thames (1965), The A.run and western Rother (1962) and The eastern Rother (1961). To these, he added The Ancient Road to Oanterlnt,ry (1959) and four books called Kentish Pat,chworlcs (1966-74). He illustrated his works with his own drawn vignettes and photographs. Mr. Goodsall was a Prime Warden of the Dyers' Company and always remained an active member. He leaves a widow and a son and daughter, to whom the Council of the Society, of which he was a former member and a Vice-President, extends its sympathy. L.R.A.G. T. A. BusRELL, EsQ. Members will have learned with much regret of the death, on January 27th, 1976, of Mr. T. A. Bushell, of Chislehurst. Known affectionately as 'Mr. Chislehurst', he had dedicated more than 60 years of his life to serving his village and played an active part in its various organisations. Mr. Bushell joined the Society in 1925 and soon became known for his vigorous efforts to protect Chislehurst's interests and to encourage interest in local and County history. For 50 years, he worked for the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company, and his first book was a history of this shipping line; his later books included 'Kent, our County' and 'Imperial Chislehurst'-tragically, Mr. Bushell died just one week before the publication of his 'History of Kent', which had taken 25 years to complete. 226 OBITUARIES He served in both World Wars, was wounded in 1918 in the Battle of the Somme and suffered serious injuries when a captain in the Home Guard; he fought against his disabilities with great courage and continued to delight audiences with his talks on Kent, illustrated with his very fine slides. He was the former editor of the Association of Men of Kent and Kentish Men's journal, 'Kent', and a Vice-President of the Association. Perhaps his greatest contribution to local affairs was the fight he led to change the Greater London Bill (1963) as a result of which Ohislehurst became part of the new Borough of Bromley. Mr. Bushell's shy, unassuming and kindly personality will be greatly missed, but his lifelong dedication to preserving the history of Kent will inspire many to follow in his footsteps. A.R. I. D. MARG.ARY, EsQ., M.A.., F.s.A., F.R.G.s. Mr. Ivan D. Margary, one of our Vice-Presidents, died peacefully on 18th February, 1976, and with his death closes an era of generous support of archaeology which is unlikely to be equalled in the future. Mr. Margary's name, during the many years I was privileged to know him, has always been synonymous with the generous assistance of learned societies and other bodies interested in the pursuit of RomanoBritish archaeology, as witness the numerous funds bearing his name; his other main interest has been the study of Roman roads, the results of which are contained in his two books and numerous other articles on this subject. However, for the great majority of people at large, Mr. Margary will always be remembered as the person responsible for the preservation and conservation of the Fishbourne Palace. For those of us who knew him personally, Mr. Margary's lasting memory will be the welcome he always extended to friends and colleagues, without distinction of age or reputation. The Debating Room of the Society of Antiquaries will never be quite the same again without that figure clad in dark blue, sitting usually alone at one end of the benches to whom many of us went for a brief word of greeting to be met unfailingly by a kind face wreathed in smiles of welcoming recognition. Our Society has been in Mr. Margary's debt for his frequent generosity, and members extend their sincere condolences to his family. Archaeology at large has lost one of its benevolent giants with the passing of Mr. Margary. A.P.D. 227