RIP Bob Picknett

[David Gibson]

I have just been informed, by his son, that Bob Picknett (Dr R.G. Picknett) has died. Bob was an honorary life member of BCRA. The funeral will be in Salisbury on 21 Feb. If anyone would like to attend I can put them in contact with his son.

The citation for Bob’s honorary life membership of BCRA, from Caves and Caving Issue 84 (Summer 1999) reads (slightly edited for context) … A government chemist working for many years at the Porton Down establishment, Bob Picknett was one of speleology's pioneers in cave water chemistry, with interests in the solution chemistry of calcite and limestone, in the growth of speleothems, and in cave airflow. His papers on calcite solubility have been amongst the most frequently quoted, and the work expanded into his chapter on the chemistry of cave waters in 'The Science of Speleology' (1976). Bob was a long-standing committee member of the Cave Research Group (CRG; a predecessor organisation to BCRA), being Chairman for several years, and he also organised the first CRG Cave Science Symposium at Sheffield. In BCRA he was a Council Member for more than 20 years, and was BCRA Chairman 1975-76, Deputy Chairman 1977-78 and President 1993-96. He enjoyed organising meetings, and served as Bookings Officer or Meetings Officer for many years between 1979 and 1993. He also played a leading part in setting up the UK Cave Conservation Emergency Fund (UKCCEF) and in writing its original constitution.

We are preparing an obituary for Cave & Karst Science. If anyone has anything to share, please contact David Lowe, d.lowe@bcra.org.uk and please also consider posting your thoughts to the UK Caving obituaries page at http://ukcaving.com/board/index.php?board=76.0