Lewis Leigh Fermor (1880 – 1954) was a passionate, established geologist with an interest in extraction geology, chemistry and the advancement of science who spent much of his life in India, later on in parts of East and South Africa, as well as back in England. Fermor’s interests were wide and included natural history (particularly botany and butterflies) and philately and he was well informed on subjects such as Persian rugs, antiques and English glass. Extracts from his diaries shows that he had an ability to learn and speak native languages and had an interest in local customs and culture. Through this Fermor became an avid, knowledgeable collector and accrued considerable collections somewhat representative of the extent of the British Empire.
During Fermor’s life and work in India, the country was under British rule. After the defeat of Indian ruler Tipu Sultan in 1799, the British Empire rapidly expanded into the Indian subcontinent. By the middle of the 19th century the British controlled almost all of India. British India was one of the most economically and strategically valuable parts of the British Empire and so became known as “the jewel in the British Crown” [1]
1921
Awarded the Brigsby Medal for work on using garnet as a natural barometer
More on Fermor
Extracts of Fermor’s diaries are available on the geolsoc website. They show the life of someone who was keenly interested in the world and people around him although it is clear his interest in native people also came with a view of inferiority. He often perceived them as lazy and not up to the tasks that he was undertaking, despite it being more than likely that they were carrying all of the equipment.
Many of the ‘leisure’ activities in the diaries include stories or observations of the locals’ relationship with water. Water has a special significance in Hinduism being used for for purification. Bathing in a holy river is especially meaningful with many rivers in the region being holy.
Fermor became a leading expert on the geological resources of the places in which he studied and the mining of these minerals was of considerable economic importance to the British Empire.
“Fermor examines the history of mining, particularly tin mining in Malaya, and shows with the help of numerous statistical tables how important this industry had been in the rapid development of that country. While admitting that certain forms of tin mining have led to extensive erosion and some damage done to river beds, he demonstrated that the harmful effects had been effectively dealt with by regulations for the disposal of tin residues and were in any case small compared with the erosion due to rubber planting and other forms of agriculture.” [3]
Fermor operated within the colonial system which meant that his work had to be economically favourable for the empire and Geological Surveys (organisations) had to argue for funding from the British Government. Fermor would have been greatly involved in this side of geology later in his life as he took on more senior roles within the industry. In a 1944 paper in Nature titled “Function and future of colonial geological surveys” [4], a thorough examination of the economic potential of geological surveys is given in order to support more funding. Fermor spoke at a joint meeting of the Geological Society of London and the Institution of Mining and Metallurgy on the “Contribution of Geological Surveys to Colonial Development, and the Future of Colonial Geological Surveys”.
“…while the total royalties received from the diamond industry alone in the Gold Coast, up to 1939, amount to £424,830 (~£9,000,000 today), the annual expenditure on geological survey is only £7,000. In other words, this royalty alone would pay for the cost of the survey for 60 years.” [4]
So how did Fermor’s collection end up at the University of Bristol?
Fermor’s collection at the university contains an array of gemstones and minerals, predominantly from India, Sri Lanka, and Mynamar. Upon his death, his wife Lady Fermor contacted the university in 1956 to arrange the sale of his collection. Correspondence with the school’s curator at the time, R. J. G. Savage shows that Professor Whittard, head of the school, dealt with the financial side of the transaction. In these letters Lady Fermor details how Lewis Leigh came into possession of the minerals and gems. Most of the collection appears to be have been bought from gemstone merchants in South Asia and some were taken from mines in the region although many have unknown origins.
A description of Fermor in a 1957 memoir [3] reads:
“Untrained collectors of mineral samples from the lesser known parts of Orissa (Odisha) and elsewhere would bring to his Calcutta office sackfuls of miscellaneous specimens to be named. Some of these ultimately proved to be of great economic importance.“
1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonial_India
2: http://www.mauritiustimes.com/mt/mahatma-gandhis-move-for-the-abolition-of-the-indentured-labour-system-the-girmit/
3: https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/epdf/10.1098/rsbm.1956.0007)
4: EYLES, V.A. (1944) ‘Function and future of Colonial Geological Surveys’, Nature, 153(3879), pp. 273–276. doi:10.1038/153273a0.
5: Garnets and their Role in Nature. By SirL. L. Fermor. Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, Special Publication VI. pp. 105. Calcutta, 1938. Price 4s. (1939). Geological Magazine, 76(6), 240-240. doi:10.1017/S0016756800071119
6: https://www.geolsoc.org.uk/Library-and-Information-Services/Collection-Highlights/Sir-Lewis-Leigh-Fermors-Diary-Life-in-Colonial-India/Leisure-Sightseeing