Neil Aitkenhead, a leading contributor to the study of the Carboniferous rocks of northern England and a keen and loyal supporter of local geological societies, died at Addingham, West Yorkshire on the 13th of January, 2018.

Neil's father managed a rubber plantation in Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) and several of his siblings were born there but he himself was born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. He was educated at the Royal Grammar School in that city where he first developed his interest in geology. From there he attended King's College, Newcastle (then part of the University of Durham), graduating in Geology in 1959. He then joined the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (FIDS), later the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), undertaking a programme of geological mapping in Grahamland, where there is a glacier named after him. He returned from Antarctica in 1962 to Birmingham University where two years later he was awarded a Ph.D based on his Antarctic investigations.

Following this, his long, varied and fruitful years as a field geologist with the Geological Survey (IGS later BGS) began in 1965, initially based in Leeds and later moving to Keyworth, Nottingham. Much of his work was concerned with the Carboniferous Limestone, Millstone Grit and, more locally, the Coal Measures in the north of England. Neil's career coincided with the great advances in the understanding of ancient and present-day global sedimentary and tectonic processes from which he and his Survey and academic colleagues were able to greatly refine and extend the interpretation of the rocks of northern England. He made major contributions to the stratigraphy of the Carboniferous Limestone and associated igneous rocks of the Derbyshire Dome and environs, notably in the unravelling of the nature of the block and basin transition and the role and origin of Walsortian and Cracoan apron ‘reef’ limestones. His mapping of the overlying Millstone Grit contributed to the modern understanding of its complex genesis and depositional history. Later, he was involved in resurvey work farther north in Lancashire and West Yorkshire. Several significant publications resulted from these studies, in particular the 1:50 000 maps, memoirs and sheet explanations for the Buxton, Ashbourne, Garstang, Lancaster and Bradford districts, as well as in numerous journal articles. Much of this work was summarized in the 4th edition of the Survey's Pennine and adjacent areas Regional Guide, of which Neil was the lead author, published in 2002. He was also a part author of the Craven Basin Subsurface memoir. In addition, Neil made important contributions to the geological investigations following the methane explosions at the Loscoe refuse tip and at Abbeysteads, and the collapse of the Carsington Dam.

Throughout his career, he contributed greatly to making geology more widely appreciated and understood by a wider, non-specialized public. Thus, a considerable amount of his own time was given in support and engaging in the activities of several local geological societies by giving lectures and leading field excursions. At various times he was an Officer and/or Council member for several societies. He joined the Yorkshire Geological Society in 1965; as well as his service on Council, he was Principal Editor of the Proceedings of the Yorkshire Geological Society in the period 1996–1999 and thereafter he was a member of its Editorial Board. During his time in Keyworth, he was President of the East Midlands Geological Society in the years 1992–1993, and subsequently its Vice President 1994–1996. After his retirement and move back to Yorkshire he became a leading figure in the Leeds Geological Association, serving as its President during the period 2005–2006, and Past President 2007–2008. During much of the same period, he was also Geological Recorder for the Wharfedale Naturalists Society. Unfortunately, in later years, increasing ill health greatly restricted his participation in such activities.

Outside of geology, Neil had a wide range of interests, ranging from country walking to wine tasting. He particularly enjoyed skiing at the family time-share in the French Alps, still competently performing until just before his 80th birthday. He had a particularly wide taste in music, and was equally at home whether listening to traditional jazz or attending performances given by Opera North in Leeds. From his school days, he particularly enjoyed choral singing and for many years, together with his wife Marion, he was an active participant in the activities and concerts of several choirs firstly in Nottingham and later in the Ilkley area. Together with Marion, Neil visited Sri Lanka and with the aid of photographs in the family collection successfully sought out the plantation where his father and mother had lived.

Neil is survived by Marion, who kindly provided much valuable information to the writers, and two daughters.

Douglas Holliday

Ian Chisholm