John Kenneth Sinclair St Joseph, (13 November 1912 – 11 March 1994) was a

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archaeologist,

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and

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(RAF) veteran who pioneered the use of

aerial photography Aerial photography (or airborne imagery) is the taking of photographs from an aircraft or other airborne platforms. When taking motion pictures, it is also known as aerial videography. Platforms for aerial photography include fixed-wing airc ...

as a method of archaeological research in Britain and Ireland. He was Professor of Aerial Photographic Studies at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

from 1973 to 1980.

Early life

Kenneth St Joseph was born in Cookley, Worcestershire, on and attended school at Bromsgrove. He studied geology at

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III of England, Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world' ...

and graduated in 1934. He was appointed as a lecturer in geology at Cambridge in 1937 after completing his post graduate degree. During 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 opposi ...

he served as an intelligence analyst with the RAF looking at photographs of bombing operations to judge their effectiveness.

Aerial photography

As a school boy, St Joseph had been interested in Roman Britain and, in the 1930s, he was able to exploit a family connection to take part in an excavation at Hadrian's Wall where he met O G S Crawford. From this meeting, St Joseph developed an interest in aerial photography. St Joseph's subsequent war time experience convinced him that aerial photography had a potentially vital role in discovering and analyzing archaeological sites. In 1948, he was appointed curator (and subsequently, director) of aerial photography at Cambridge University. Initially, he was able to persuade the RAF to take photographs for him without charge. When the RAF became unwilling to continue this programme, the university authorities hired an aircraft. In 1965, they bought a

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337 and employed a pilot, allowing for a systematic and extensive programme of aerial archaeology. This aircraft remained in use for forty years. Numerous new and important sites were discovered as a result of these surveys including

Mucking Mucking is a hamlet and former Church of England parish adjoining the Thames Estuary in southern Essex, England. It is located approximately south of the town of Stanford-le-Hope in what is now Thurrock unitary authority. In 1931 the parish had ...

, which was photographed on 16 June 1959.Clark, A. 1993. ''Excavations at Mucking, Volume 1: The Site Atlas'' (English Heritage Archaeological Report 20) This discovery resulted in a major excavation lasting 13 years. His interest in Roman Britain continued, and the aerial survey work discovered more than 200 previously unknown Roman forts. Some of the results of these photographic surveys were published in a series of books, the first of which - ''Monastic sites from the air'' - included text annotating the photos from David Knowles, Professor of Medieval History, who had been an influential supporter of St Joseph's appointment. The collection is now housed in the Cambridge University Unit for Landscape Modelling which is the new name for the Aerial Photography unit.

Academic career

St Joseph was appointed as a lecturer in Natural Sciences at

Selwyn College, Cambridge Selwyn College, Cambridge (formally Selwyn College in the University of Cambridge) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1882 by the Selwyn Memorial Committee in memory of George Augustus Selwyn (18 ...

, in 1939 and held this post until 1962. He was a tutor from 1945 and librarian from 1946. Between 1974 and 1980 he was Vice-Master. He was appointed curator in Aerial Photography by the university in 1948 and Director from 1962 to 1980. From 1973 to 1980, St Joseph was Professor of Aerial Photographic Studies (a personal chair) at the University of Cambridge. In 1982 he was awarded with an

honorary doctorate degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

of the

University of Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, nl, Universiteit van Amsterdam) is a public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The UvA is one of two large, publicly funded research universities in the city, the other being ...

. He was a member of the

Council for British Archaeology The Council for British Archaeology (CBA) is an educational charity established in 1944 in the UK. It works to involve people in archaeology and to promote the appreciation and care of the historic environment for the benefit of present and futu ...

for 50 years from 1944.

Personal life

In 1945, he married Daphne March and they had two sons and two daughters. He was appointed a CBE in 1979. He died at Histon, near Cambridge, on 11 March 1994.

Honours

St Joseph was elected a

Fellow of the Geological Society The Geological Society of London, known commonly as the Geological Society, is a learned society based in the United Kingdom. It is the oldest national geological society in the world and the largest in Europe with more than 12,000 Fellows. Fe ...

(FGS) in 1937. He was elected a

Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland is the senior antiquarian body of Scotland, with its headquarters in the National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street, Edinburgh. The Society's aim is to promote the cultural heritage of Scotland. The usua ...

(FSA Scot) in 1940 and a

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(FSA) in 1944. In 1978, he was elected a Fellow of the British Academy (FBA), the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and social sciences. In the 1964 Queen's Birthday Honours, St Joseph was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to archaeology. In the 1979 Queen's Birthday Honours, he was promoted to

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(CBE) in recognition of his work as Professor of Aerial Photographic Studies at the University of Cambridge.

Books

His research was published in books and articles under the name J. K. S. St Joseph. * Knowles, David & St. Joseph, J. K. S. (1952). ''Monastic sites from the air''. Cambridge University Press. * Beresford M & St Joseph J K. (1958). ''Medieval England an Aerial Survey'' * Norman, E. R., & St Joseph, J. K. S. (1969). ''The early development of Irish society''. Cambridge University Press. * St Joseph, J. K. S. (1977). ''Uses of air photography''. Prometheus Books. * S.S.Frere & J.K.St.Joseph (1983) ''Roman Britain from the Air'' Cambridge University Press.

References

* Robert Bewley, ''St Joseph, (John) Kenneth Sinclair (1912–1994)'', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, May 201
accessed 14 Nov 2010
{{DEFAULTSORT:St Joseph, Kenneth 1912 births 1994 deaths Fellows of Selwyn College, Cambridge English archaeologists Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Aerial photographers People educated at Bromsgrove School Fellows of the British Academy Professors of the University of Cambridge Fellows of the Geological Society of London Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London