James Phemister

He was born in Govan on 3 April 1893, the son of John Clark Phemister (b.1858) and his wife, Elizabeth Galbraith Crawford. He was the older brother to Thomas Phemister.

He studied mathematics, natural philosophy and geology at Glasgow University graduating MA BSc in 1915.{{Cite web |title=Biography of James Phemister |url=http://www.universitystory.gla.ac.uk/biography/?id=WH26781&type=P |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171222051419/http://www.universitystory.gla.ac.uk/biography/?id=WH26781&type=P |url-status=dead |archive-date=22 December 2017 |access-date=24 July 2018 |website=The University of Glasgow Story }} His career was interrupted by the First World War during which he served in the Royal Garrison Artillery. He was severely wounded in 1917.{{Cite web |title=James Phemister – Obituary |url=https://www.geologyglasgow.org.uk/docs/017_070__phemister_1485436120.pdf |access-date=24 July 2018 |website=Proceedings of the Geological Society of Glasgow for Sessions 129–132 (1986–1990), pages 32–34}}{{Cite journal |last=Howie |first=R.A. |date=1987 |title=Memorial of James Phemister 1893–1986 |url=http://www.minsocam.org/ammin/AM72/AM72_1275.pdf |volume=127 |pages=1275–1276 |periodical=American Mineralogist}}

File: Geological Map of Stackaberg Thrust Fetlar, Published 1931.jpg In 1921 he joined the British Geological Survey as a Geologist, mainly working in the Scottish Highlands.

Between 1926 and 1929 he worked in Persia with W. F. P. McLintock, pioneering the use of the gravity torsion balance in oil exploration.{{Cite journal |last1=McLintock |first1=W.F.P. |last2=Phemister |first2=J. |date=1929 |title=The use of the torsion balance in the investigation of geological structure |volume=38 |pages=209–303 |periodical=Trans. Inst. Min. & Metall.}}

In 1931 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. His proposers were Murray Macgregor, Sir John Smith Flett, W. F. P. McLintock and Herbert Harold Read. He won the Society's Neill Prize for the period 1959–61.{{Cite book |url=https://www.royalsoced.org.uk/cms/files/fellows/biographical_index/fells_indexp2.pdf |title=Biographical Index of Former Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 1783–2002 |date=July 2006 |publisher=The Royal Society of Edinburgh |isbn=0-902-198-84-X |access-date=18 December 2017 |archive-date=4 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304074135/https://www.royalsoced.org.uk/cms/files/fellows/biographical_index/fells_indexp2.pdf |url-status=dead }}

In 1935 he moved to London as official Petrograher to HM Geological Survey.

In the Second World War he served with the government's Chemist Department, his roles including geological analysis of ballast within the V-1 flying bomb to assess where it might have been launched.{{Cite book |last=Ransted |first=Chris |title=Disarming Hitlers V Weapons |date=2013 |publisher=Pen & Sword Military |chapter= Introduction |chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=BZFABAAAQBAJ&pg=PA5 |isbn=9781781593868}} citing AVIA 22/2463 German flying bombs: reports, The National Archives, UK

In 1946 he became Assistant Director to HM Geological Survey but gave up the post in 1953 in order to return to Edinburgh, working in the Grange Terrace office with Dr Walter Mykura.

He died in Edinburgh on 18 May 1986.

He was married to Margaret Clark (d.1982). They had two sons and a daughter.

• {{Cite report |title=Scotland: The Northern Highlands |last=Phemister |first=James |date=1936 |publisher=HMSO |location=Edinburgh |series=British Regional Geology}} The full text of the Third Edition of this work (1960) is available at {{Cite web |title=Archive.org |date=1960 |publisher=Her Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO) |url=https://archive.org/details/ScotlandNorthernHighlandsBritishRegionalGeologyImages}}
• {{cite book |first= Ivan |last= Kostov |author-link= Ivan Kostov Nikolov |title= Mineralogy |translator = Kostov, Ivan |translator-link= Ivan Kostov Nikolov |editor2= Phemister, James |editor2-link= James Phemister |editor1= Embrey, Peter G. |place= Edinburgh & London |publisher= Oliver & Boyd |year= 1968|oclc = 42358 |isbn= 9780050016671}}
• {{Cite book |last1=Mykura |first1=Walter |author-link= Walter Mykura |title=The geology of Western Shetland: (explanation of One-inch Geological Sheet Western Shetland, comprising Sheet 127 and parts of 125, 126 and 128) |last2=Phemister |first2=James |last3=Sabine |first3=Peter Aubrey |date=1976 |publisher=HMSO |location=Edinburgh}}
• {{Cite book |last1=MacGregor |first1=Malcolm |title=Geological Excursion Guide to the Assynt District of Sutherland |url= https://archive.org/details/macgregorphemist0000macg/page/n5/mode/2up?view=theater |url-access= registration |last2=Phemister |first2=James |date=1979 |publisher=Edinburgh Geological Society |location=Edinburgh|isbn=978-0-904440-03-4 }}

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• {{Internet Archive author |sname= J. Phemister}}

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Category:1893 births

Category:1986 deaths

Category:People from Govan

Category:20th-century British geologists

Category:Alumni of the University of Glasgow

Category:Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh

Category:British Army personnel of World War I

Category:Royal Garrison Artillery soldiers

Category:Military personnel from Glasgow

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