Andrew Charles O'Dell

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...

FRGS FRSGS (1909–1966) was a Scottish geographer and antiquarian. A keen

railway enthusiast A railfan, rail buff or train buff (American English), railway enthusiast, railway buff or trainspotter (Australian/British English), or ferroequinologist is a person who is recreationally interested in trains and rail transport systems. Rail ...

he left a large collection of railway memorabilia to Aberdeen University, known as the O'Dell Collection. He was joint founder of the

Institute of British Geographers The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

in 1933. He was best known to the general public for his involvement in the discovery of the

St Ninian's Isle Treasure The St Ninian's Isle Treasure, found on St Ninian's Isle, Scotland in 1958 is the best example of surviving silver metalwork from the Early Medieval period in Scotland. The 28-piece hoard includes various silver metalwork items, including twel ...

in Shetland, in 1959.

Life

He was born on 4 June 1909 in Luipardsvlei in the

Transvaal Colony The Transvaal Colony () was the name used to refer to the Transvaal region during the period of direct British rule and military occupation between the end of the Second Boer War in 1902 when the South African Republic was dissolved, and the ...

, the son of Charles O'Dell. His mother was from the

Scottish Borders The Scottish Borders ( sco, the Mairches, 'the Marches'; gd, Crìochan na h-Alba) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Dumfries and Galloway, East Lothian, Midlothian, South Lanarkshire, West Lothi ...

. He was educated at Westminster City School in London. He then studied Geography at Kings College

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

. From 1945 he was Head of the Department Geography at Aberdeen University. In 1951 he was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

. His proposers were

Alan Grant Ogilvie Alan Grant Ogilvie OBE FRSE FRSGS (1887–10 February 1954) was a Scottish geographer after whom the University of Edinburgh's Ogilvie Chair in Human Geography is named. He was President of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society from 1946 to 1 ...

John Baird Simpson Dr John Baird Simpson FRSE FGS (January 14, 1894 – June 28, 1960), was a Scottish geologist. He was President of the Edinburgh Geological Society 1950-52 and was awarded the Lyell Medal by the Geological Society of London in 1954. Life Sim ...

James Robert Matthews James Robert Matthews FRSE FLS CBE LLD (1889–1978) was a 20th-century Scottish botanist. He was president of the British Ecological Society in 1934 and president of the Botanical Society of Edinburgh 1939 to 1942. Life He was born in the vill ...

and Henry Marshall Steven. He died suddenly on 17 June 1966.

Family

In 1938 he married Queenie Louise Smith.

Publications

*'' The Scandinavian World'' (1958) *''Geography: Our Earth and Its Peoples'' (1967) *''Railways and Geography'' (1971) *''The Railways of Scotland''

References

1909 births 1966 deaths Scottish geographers Alumni of the University of London Academics of the University of Aberdeen Scottish non-fiction writers Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Transvaal Colony people Scottish people of the British Empire Railway historians Scottish antiquarians People associated with the University of Aberdeen People educated at Westminster School, London Historians of Scotland 20th-century geographers 20th-century antiquarians {{geographer-stub