The Royal Thai Survey Department ( th, กรมแผนที่ทหาร) is a Special Services Group of Headquarters, Royal Thai Armed Forces () tasked to conduct

land Land, also known as dry land, ground, or earth, is the solid terrestrial surface of the planet Earth that is not submerged by the ocean or other bodies of water. It makes up 29% of Earth's surface and includes the continents and various islan ...

and

aerial survey Aerial survey is a method of collecting geomatics or other imagery by using airplanes, helicopters, UAVs, balloons or other aerial methods. Typical types of data collected include aerial photography, Lidar, remote sensing (using various visible ...

geodesy Geodesy ( ) is the Earth science of accurately measuring and understanding Earth's figure (geometric shape and size), orientation in space, and gravity. The field also incorporates studies of how these properties change over time and equivale ...

and

geophysics Geophysics () is a subject of natural science concerned with the physical processes and physical properties of the Earth and its surrounding space environment, and the use of quantitative methods for their analysis. The term ''geophysics'' som ...

works in Thailand. The headquarters of the Survey Department are located on Kanlayan Maitri Road in the Phra Borom Maha Ratchawang Subdistrict of Phra Nakhon District, Bangkok, and the current Department Director is Lieutenant General Noppadon Chotisiri.

Modern Modern may refer to: History * Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Phil ...

map A map is a symbolic depiction emphasizing relationships between elements of some space, such as objects, regions, or themes. Many maps are static, fixed to paper or some other durable medium, while others are dynamic or interactive. Although ...

surveying Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. A land surveying professional is ca ...

in Thailand began in 1875 during the reign of King

Chulalongkorn Chulalongkorn ( th, จุฬาลงกรณ์, 20 September 1853 – 23 October 1910) was the fifth monarch of Siam under the House of Chakri, titled Rama V. He was known to the Siamese of his time as ''Phra Phuttha Chao Luang'' (พร� ...

(Rama V) with the establishment of a Mapping Division under the direction of British expatriate

Henry Alabaster Henry Alabaster (22 May 1836 – 9 August 1884) was a British-born diplomat who became an advisor to King Chulalongkorn of Siam. Early life and family Henry Alabaster was born in 1836, the son of James Chaloner Alabaster and Harriet Woodman. Hi ...

to lay out the map for

telegraph Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...

ic activities linking

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...

to Phra Tabong (

Battambang Battambang ( km, បាត់ដំបង, UNGEGN: ) is the capital of Battambang Province and the third largest city in Cambodia. Founded in the 11th century by the Khmer Empire, Battambang is the leading rice-producing province of the coun ...

) and also to map around the Thai Gulf.Svasti, Pichay
"Mapping Siam's History"

Bangkok Post The ''Bangkok Post'' is an English-language daily newspaper published in Bangkok, Thailand. It is published in broadsheet and digital formats. The first issue was sold on 1 August 1946. It had four pages and cost one baht, a considerable amount ...

26 Sep 2013 Prince

Damrong Prince Tisavarakumarn, the Prince Damrong Rajanubhab (Thai: ; Full transcription is "Somdet Phrachao Borommawongthoe Phra-ongchao Ditsawarakuman Kromphraya Damrongrachanuphap" (สมเด็จพระเจ้าบรมวงศ์เธ� ...

(then known as Phra Ong Chao Ditsawarakuman) conceived the idea of forming a Survey Department. King Rama V granted the establishment of the Thai Survey School in 1882, with initial recruits coming from the

Royal Guards Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

. A royal decree issued September 3, 1885, separated the surveyors from the royal bodyguard and created the Royal Survey Department. The department then engaged in

cadastral survey Cadastral surveying is the sub-field of cadastre and surveying that specialises in the establishment and re-establishment of real property boundaries. It involves the physical delineation of property boundaries and determination of dimensions, a ...

, which is the survey of specific land parcels to define ownership for

land registration Land registration is any of various systems by which matters concerning ownership, possession, or other rights in land are formally recorded (usually with a government agency or department) to provide evidence of title, facilitate transactions, a ...

, and for equitable

tax A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regional, local, or n ...

ation. Land

title deed A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify either generation, an official position, or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may be inserted between the f ...

s are issued using the

Torrens title Torrens title is a land registration and land transfer system, in which a state creates and maintains a register of land holdings, which serves as the conclusive evidence (termed " indefeasibility") of title of the person recorded on the regist ...

system, though it was not until the year 1901 that the first–fruits of this survey were obtained. The first Department Director, Ronald Worthy Giblin,

F.R.G.S. 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 ...

, noted when survey began in 1896, "It so happens that 40 metres or 4,000 centimetres are equal to one sen in

Thai units of measurement Thailand adopted the metric system on 17 December 1923.zincography Zincography was a planographic printing process that used zinc plates. Alois Senefelder first mentioned zinc's lithographic use as a substitute for Bavarian limestone in his 1801 English patent specifications. In 1834, Federico Lacelli patented a ...

. To alleviate a scarcity of banknotes in the country during the

Greater East Asia War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War, was the theater of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, including the vast ...

, the department printed a special series of

banknotes A banknote—also called a bill (North American English), paper money, or simply a note—is a type of negotiable instrument, negotiable promissory note, made by a bank or other licensed authority, payable to the bearer on demand. Banknotes w ...

in 4 denominations, 1, 10, 20 and 100, like those of the 4th series ordered from Thomas de la Rue and Co., London. The phrase “the Royal Thai Survey” at the lower center of the front and back replaced that of de le Rue starting in 1942.

References

{{Authority control National mapping agencies Military history of Thailand Military of Thailand Military units and formations established in 1885 Royal Thai Army

See also

References