Anthony Leonard Harris (1935-2025)
A renowned hard-rock structural geologist focused on the Precambrian of the Scottish Highlands and past President of the Geological Society.
Anthony Harris (© Alan Roberts)
Anthony (Tony) Leonard Harris was born and schooled in Cardiff, and graduated in geology from Aberystwyth University in 1956, before conducting a PhD there on the southern Dalradian between Pitlochry and Blair Atholl. Throughout his studies, he excelled as a hockey goalkeeper up to international level.
In 1959, he married Noreen Jones and joined the British Geological Survey in Edinburgh, where he continued to map Dalradian rocks and parts of the Moine to the northwest. Eventually, he became Principal Geologist.
Influential geologist
Joining the University of Liverpool as a lecturer in 1971, Tony rose to Professor (1987), publishing many papers unravelling the structure and stratigraphy of Moine and Dalradian strata, contributing to them eventually being assigned supergroup status. He led an outstanding school of postgraduate field geologists and was the first to link the structures seen in these reworked metamorphic rocks of the orogenic hinterland to those in the Moine Thrust Zone. Through the International Geological Correlation Program, he brought Caledonian-Appalachian geoscientists together, convening multiple groundbreaking conferences and associated publications. He edited and contributed to several seminal Caledonian books, including the Revised Correlation of Precambrian Rocks in the British Isles (Geological Society Special Report, 1994).
At Liverpool, he served as Head of Department (1983-94), overseeing its rapid growth and achievement of top ratings (leading him to become an advisor to other university Earth Science departments) and was twice Dean of the Faculty of Science (1994-2000).
He unravelled the structure and stratigraphy of Moine and Dalradian strata, contributing to them eventually being assigned supergroup status
Society contributions
In 1974, Tony appointed the first multi-editorial team for the Journal of the Geological Society, a major change that ensured consistent timely publication. As Chief Editor (1976-7) he helped the Society’s journals achieve annual surplus for the first time, which persuaded Council to set up the Publishing House in 1987. He also served on Council, was elected Secretary (1979-81), received the Coke Medal (1984) and was elected President (1990-92). He was later one of the founding lights of Geoscientist magazine, serving as Editor (2001-2006) and Editor in Chief (2007-2012).
Awards and later years
Tony’s Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (1988) recognised his many contributions to Scottish geology, as did receipt of the Edinburgh Geological Society’s Clough Medal (1989) and Liverpool Geological Society’s Silver Medal (2003). Fiercely proud of his Welsh heritage, he was made an Honorary Professor at Aberystwyth University, and retired in 2001 to live near Cardiff, working as an Honorary Research Professor at Cardiff University.
Tony was an exceptionally sociable – and at times gently mischievous – person, with a great love of good food, drink and conversation. These he loved to share with his students and colleagues, many of whom became lifelong friends. He was scrupulously loyal to all and supportive of his staff at Liverpool and the Geological Society where he is still fondly remembered as a great leader.
He died on 5th August, aged 90, after a long illness. He leaves Noreen, his children Elisabeth Siân and David Huw, and four grandchildren.
By Bernard Elgey Leake, with contributions from Robert (Bob) Holdsworth and other friends and family.
