Page 4 - Ranger Demo

Chairman’s Remarks
Dr John Knight
Chairman Defence Surveyors’ Association
This year has been a real challenge with COVID-19 interrupting so
much of our daily life. With lockdown in March, the first casualty
for the DSA was our visit to Tangmere. We hoped that things
might improve to be able to hold our annual Seminar, but that too had to be cancelled as we realised that we were in for the long haul. It became clear from the increased incidence of COVID-19 and government announcements in September that the AGM and visit would be a significant risk. We had our first Zoom AGM to ensure that the DSA remains properly constituted for Charity Commission purposes.
The DSA and the future. There is much to be done to ensure that the DSA remains relevant and useful as it approaches its 100th Anniversary in 2027. Given the circumstances of 2020 and the emerging world of geospatial intelligence, a review of the various aspects of the DSA is necessary. The study should include Ranger and the form of future communications; the archiving of historical material both in hard and soft copy; engagement with members, industry, academia and other similar associations; events and visits including seminars; and funding and sponsorship. To achieve this review, I propose several working groups, led by members of Council, established to look at the way ahead. As COVID-19 has forced us to change many aspects of our lives, maybe we need to review how Council functions and the use of working groups would go a long way towards identifying the necessary changes. This year due to COVID we had produced Ranger in house
I have mentioned our 100th Anniversary coming up, but there are other significant events that the DSA intends supporting. Prominent amongst these is the 40th Anniversary of the Falklands Islands War in 2022. Work has already started on this project, and we will look for comprehensive support from the membership and beyond in due course.
Over the past year, we revamped the DSA website to make it easier to navigate and more relevant. There is still more to be done. The website is starting to attract increasing numbers of visitors from outside the DSA and from across the world.
To conclude, I hope that we will be able to create an exciting programme for 2021 and that the current situation will have improved sufficiently to allow DSA events to take place.
Defence Surveyors’ Association
In 1927, a group of officers who had contributed to the great success of the Artillery in 1917-1918 by the provision of counter-bombardment data from Sound Ranging & Flash Spotting and led by the Nobel Prize-winners Sir Lawrence Bragg and Harold Hemming formed the Field Survey Association as an old comrade’s association and a known pool of expertise if called upon for another war. The association was in abeyance during the Second World War but many members again saw active service. The Association resumed activities in 1945 and, in 1997, was renamed the Defence Surveyors' Association more properly to reflect the multi-disciplined changing nature of Geographic Intelligence support to the three Services The aim of the DSA is to promote an understanding and appreciation of defence surveying, mapping, and charting and geospatial intelligence in historical, current, and future contexts and to keep past and current members of that community in touch with one another. Members are from defence, industry, academe, and private sectors.
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