Richard,J. J.

Bally, Peter Ren\ue9 Oscar

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J.E.Afr.Nat.Hist.Soc. Vol.XXIV No.1 (105) June 1962A ppre cia tionsOn January 29th 1962 the death occured in Neuchatel (Switzer-land) of Mr. Jacques J. Richard who had farmed in Solai for sixteenyears; although he retired from Kenya with his family ten years agohe had left many friends in th"e country who esteemed him and whoremember him for his sterling qualities, as a loyal friend aswell as a successful farmer.Jacques Richard had other merits, known only to his closestfriends, for he was essentially modest and rarely mentioned hisdeep and active interest in a very specialized branch of science:Volcanology. He was an authority on the world's active volcanoes, asubject to which he devoted a great deal of his time and which hepursued with the drive and energy characteristic of the man.Before arriving in Kenya in 1936 he had spent ten years inJava as a planter and it was there that the many active volcanoesand craters aroused his interest; he visited and explored all thosewhich were accessible, accumulating a wealth of invaluable data,often risking his life in perilous investigation during activeeruptions.In East Africa Jacques continued his volcanological studies,and when in 1947/48 the memorable eruption of Kitura in the Congotook place, he was one of the first on the spot. His magnificentcolour films of these repeated eruptions - including the birth of asmall new volcano which he showed to his fellow members of the EastAfrica Natural History Society and subsequently in Europe, areunique documents.But his interest extended also to the less dramatic aspects ofvolcanology. He studied the extinct and dormant craters in EastAfrica, in the first place Mt. Kilimanjaro which he climbed manytimes; he was, indeed, the first European who spent the night inthe crater itself, where he discovered and filmed active fumarolesand found deposits of pure sulphur.Suspecting a relationship of local rainfall with hidden volca-nic activity, he placed permanent raingauges on the mountain atvarious altitudes at his own expense and organized readings ~tregular intervals, an initiative which was subsequentlY continuedby the Tanganyika Meteorological Service.A full account of his surveys of Kilimanjaro was published inthe East Africa Natural History Society's Journal.Shortly after its eruption in 1940/41 Jacques climbed Lengai,the most active of the East African volcanoes in order to study itssignificance in the overall volcanic formation of the Rift Valley;these observations too were published in the Society's Journal.After leaving Kenya in 1952 Jacques Richard continued hisvolcanological research. The eruption of Mt. Etna in Sicily a fewyears ago was an opportunity not to be missed; his film, taken atgreat personal risk, is outstanding. He made his last important75Appreciationsexpedition in 1959 when - with a Belgian collaborator - he visitedan active volcano in the New Hebrides on behalf of the Condominion'sGovernment, to assess its potential danger to the indigenous popu-lation and to submit proposals for eventual precautions to be takenfor its safety. After completion of this task he spent two monthson a survey of the volcanoes of the entire island-group, to be in-cluded in the "Catalogue of the Active Volcanoes of the World"published by the International Association of Volcanology. His mostimportant contribution to the "Catalogue" was a comprehensive ac-count of the volcanoes of East Africa which appeared in 1960.For his numerous and valuable contributions to science JacquesRichard was awarded a Fellowship of the Royal Geographical Societyas w,ll as the Membership of the "Socidtd des Explorateurs" inParis.He leaves a widow and three daughters, all married in England.It was only two days after he had given away his youngest daughterin marriage when his fatal illness overtook him. He will be remem-bered and deeply missed by his friends who extend their deepestsympathy to his widow and to his children in their loss.P.R.O.B.Mrs. Sybil Albrechtsen(1877 - 1961)Around the years 1930-34 several ladies were collecting plantsfor the Coryndon Museum Herbarium, then in the charge of Miss Na-pier (later the Hon.Mrs.Evelyn Molony) who died some years ago.These specimens are well-prepared and duplicates of most are inthe Kew Herbarium; as a consequence, the names of these ladies arefrequently seen in lists of citations in botanical literature.Quitea few of the plants added to the collection during this periodwere collected by Mrs. Albrechtsen. Exactly how many she collectedcould only now be ascertained by working through the entire her-barium but one receives the impression that it must be severalhundred, since the name is frequently seen on labels as materialis worked through during the course of routine naming.Mrs. Albrechtsen was born in 1877 in Devonshire, into a familywith a strong Swiss background, and in her early twenties went toScale Howe at Ambleside to train as a teacher. It was here, mainlyas a result of the influence of the College's founder, CharlotteMason, that Mrs. Albrechtsen's interest in natural history began todevelop.She came to Kenya in 1910 and lived successively at Limuru,Nakuru and in the Rift Valley. In 1927 she went to live on theSouth Kinangop and it was there that she made the collection nowin the East African Herbarium. A keen teacher, she opened a schoolat Naivasha in 1934 but was forced to close it in 1941. She alsolived in Nnirobi and at Eldoret. She continued to teach until the76J.E.Afr.Nat.Hist.Soc. Vol.XXIV No.1 (105) June 1962eve of her 80th year, a remarkable effort, but was obliged to re-tire through ill health though retaining her great interest ineverything going on around her until the end of her life. She diedon the 15th. September 1961. Her very interesting diaries havebeen presented to the library of the Coryndon Museum.B.V(~. I am much indebted to her daughter Mrs. P. Jeffreysfor most of the above information and also to Miss J. Ossentfor her help in obtaining it.)Dr. Vernon D. van Someren, M.B.E., B.Sc., Ph.D.(1915 - 1962)Dr. Vernon D. van Someren, M.B.E., B.Sc., Ph.D. Died suddenly atJinja on March 28th.He was a member of an old and distinguished East Africanfamily, his father Dr. R.A.L. van Someren and uncle- Mr. V.G.L.van Someren arrived in Kenya in 1905.Vernon was born at Jinja in 1915 and later went to Scotlandwith his family where he was educated. He returned to Kenya in1939, when he joined the Veterinary Department. He later transfer-red to Fisheries and his detailed studies at Sagana of trout undertropical conditions was the first in this field and led to manynew discoveries. In more recent years he was Director of theFreshwater Fisheries Research Organisation, and studied the indig-enous fish of East Africa.Vernon was always keen on Natural History, and was a notedOrnithologist. During the war he served with the East AfricanMedical Corps and any spare moments he had were spent watchingand photographing birds. His study of the birds of Madagascarwas a noteworthy contribution to the knowledge of the species ofthat island.Later he wrote on the behaviour of Fiscal Shrikes, Jackson'sWhydahs, and Oxpeckers.His book "A bird watcher in Kenya" is delightful and inform-ative and much appreciated by bird watchers.For many years Vernon was a member of the East Africa NaturalHistory Society Committee and he later became a Trustee of theCoryndon Museum.Vernon will be sadly missed by his many friends and to hiswife and family all members of the Society wish to express theirdeepest sympathy.W.P.L77

Appreciation - Jacques J Richard

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