Collection: OGS Crawford Aerial Photograph Collection

Description

This material has not yet been fully catalogued. Copyright, date, and quantity information for this record may be incomplete or inaccurate.

Aerial archaeological reconnaissance photography of England.

Archival History

Acquired in the 1970's as part of a copying programme of Ordnance Survey holdings, to supplement the National Library of Aerial Photographs (NLAP) collections gathered by RCHME. The glass plate negatives were transfered from the OS Archaeology Branch in Southampton to RCHME's Acton office in 1983 and stem from Crawford's own initiative of reconnaissance for site location and identification.

The photography is mainly oblique in view, but there are also vertical views included; the latter are copies of the OS-AP section's survey cover for map revisions. The collection has been pulled together by Crawford from different sources, including the RAF, to form an overview of English archaeology. His colleague Alexander Keiller supplemented the aerial photography holdings and with Crawford was involved in extensive field walking activity.

We have no firm evidence to suggest which photographs were taken by Crawford himself, but we do know he had a good working relationship with the RAF and they undertook reconnaissance of archaeological sites, as is evinced by his publication of prints taken by the School of Army Cooperation (SACA) based at Old Sarum and No.1 Flying Training School (FTS) at Netheravon.

Content

Rights

© Crown Copyright. Historic England Archive