Professor Leslie Rowsell Moore 1912–2003

Abstract. Professor Leslie Moore, a former Sorby Professor and Head of the Department of Geology in the University of Sheffield, died on the 13 November 2003 at the age of 91 years. He was the driving force in the establishment of the Micropalaeontological Society.

In 1968, during a period when the Geological Society, London was trying to co-ordinate the activities of all Specialist Working Groups in Britain, Leslie Moore was approached by the President of the Society with the request to assess the potential for establishing a Group to cater for the needs of micropalaeontologists. He consulted widely on the issue, not only within the micropalaeontological community but also with industry and other interested societies, only to find no over-whelming enthusiasm for the proposal. He was, however, impressed by the commitment within all branches of the science for the need for a greater degree of organization and identity and proposed the establishment of an autonomous body to meet those needs. It also provided the necessary ‘breathing space’ for the significance of the Geological Society proposals to be considered in full. The British Micropalaeontological Group was born in 1970 and Leslie Moore served as its first Chairman. During his tenure it became obvious that the way forward was to formalize the structure and, in due course, it emerged as the British Micropalaeontological Society.

Leslie was born on June 23, 1912, the son of a miner in the Somerset Coalfield and he grew up in the small mining and market town of Midsomer . . .