Basil Richardson Stanley Megaw (1913-2002) was a British archaeologist. He was the first Director of the School of Scottish Studies at Edinburgh.

Life

He was born on 22 June 1913 in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

the son of Arthur S. Megaw and his wife, Helen Bertha Smith. He was educated at Mourne Grange then Campbell College in Belfast. He then obtained a place at

Peterhouse, Cambridge Peterhouse is the oldest constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England, founded in 1284 by Hugh de Balsham, Bishop of Ely. Today, Peterhouse has 254 undergraduates, 116 full-time graduate students and 54 fellows. It is quite ...

where he graduated BA in Archaeology and Anthropology in 1935. His brothers Eric Megaw and

Peter Megaw Arthur Hubert Stanley "Peter" Megaw, (20 July 191028 June 2006) was an architectural historian and archaeologist. He specialised in Byzantine churches. He served as Director of the Department of Antiquities (Cyprus), Department of Antiquities, ...

were also notable in their fields. He joined the

Manx Museum The Manx Museum (Thie Tashtee Vannin) in Douglas, Isle of Man is the national museum of the Isle of Man. It is run by Manx National Heritage. In general, the museum covers 10,000 years the history of the Isle of Man from the Stone Age to the modern ...

in 1936 as Assistant Director and in 1940 he replaced

William Cubbon William Cubbon M.A. (28 May 1865 – 1 January 1955) was a Manx nationalist, antiquarian, author, businessman and librarian who was the first secretary of the Manx Museum, later becoming Director of the Museum.''Isle of Man Examiner Yearbook ...

as Director, holding this post from 1947 to 1957. In 1940 he was also appointed an Inspector of Ancient Monuments in England but could not take on this role due to the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He instead became a Scientific Officer for RAF Bomber Command. From 1957 to 1969 he was Director of the School of Scottish Studies being replaced in 1969 by Prof John MacQueen (1929-2019). In 1966 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 Douglas Allan, Wreford Watson,

Alexander Charles Stephen Dr Alexander Charles Stephen FRSE PRPSE (17 December 1893 – 3 June 1966) was a 20th-century Scottish zoologist. Life He was born on 17 December 1893 in Garvock manse, near Laurencekirk in Aberdeenshire the son of Rev William Stephen. He was educ ...

and

Douglas Guthrie Douglas James Guthrie FRSE FRCS FRCP FRCSEd FRCPE (8 September 1885 – 8 June 1975) was a Scottish medical doctor, otolaryngologist and historian of medicine. After graduating in Medicine from Edinburgh University, he pursued postgraduate stu ...

. From 1974 to 1977 he was Vice President of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. He retired fully in 1980 and died in

Stevenage Stevenage ( ) is a large town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, about north of London. Stevenage is east of junctions 7 and 8 of the A1(M), between Letchworth Garden City to the north and Welwyn Garden City to the south. In 1946, Stevena ...

on 22 August 2002.

Family

He was married to Eleanor Hardy (d.1977). They had two children, Sam and Helen.

References

1913 births 2002 deaths Scientists from Belfast British archaeologists Alumni of the University of Cambridge Academics of the University of Edinburgh Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland 20th-century archaeologists 20th-century antiquarians {{UK-archaeologist-stub