John has
lived all his life in Grays and trained as a
Civil Engineer. He worked for the Thurrock Urban
District Council during the major development
period after the '39-'45 war and then for the
Basildon Development Corporation, retiring as
Chief Engineer. His interest in history and
archeology was stimulated by the excellent series
of lectures on the subject arranged by Thurrock
Libraries and the WEA in the 1960s and '70s and
by joining the Society. With many other members
of the Society he was involved in the major
archeological excavations at Mucking and then
with the rescue of Coalhouse Fort and now with
the Davy Down project..He is Past president of
the Essex Archaeological and Historical Congress.
John took over as Chairman of the Society when
Aubrey Saunders, who had been Chairman for over
30 years retired to the West country in 1987, and
has also edited the Society's Journal, Panorama,
since 1990. He stood down as chairman of the
society in April 2003. In recognition of his
contributions to the society over many years, he
was unanimously chosen as a patron.
Professor Geoffrey
T Martin
Professor Martin was born in South
Ockendon, attended school at Aveley and later Palmer's
School in Grays. He was interested in history and
archaeology from an early age and his particular interest
in Egyptology developed whilst at university. He worked
in the Egyptology Department at University College,
London and in 1975 he was appointed Director of the joint
Anglo/Dutch expedition at Saqqara.
For four seasons from 1999 he was
joint Field Director of the Amarna Royal Tombs Project in
the Valley of the Kings, Luxor. In 2005 he formed his own
small mission (The Cambridge Expedition to the Valley of
the Kings) to work in the same location, and is currently
investigating the tomb of the pharaoh Horemheb, who was
originally Tutankhamun's regent and adviser but
eventually succeeded to the throne himself. Professor
Martin is now Emeritus Professor of Egyptology at the
University of London and Fellow Commoner, Christ's
College, Cambridge University. He is also a prolific
author; his book 'The Hidden Tombs of Memphis' being of
particular interest to the general reader.
Over the years we have lost a number of individuals who have made a major contribution to the society and local history in Thurrock. Here are
the obituaries for:
