Abstract
ARCHÆOLOGISTS, while congratulating Mr. Ormsby-Gore on his promotion in the ranks of His Majesty's Ministry, will feel that, in his appointment to succeed Mr. J. H. Thomas as Secretary of State for the Colonies, the Empire gains what archaeology can ill afford to lose. No more suitable appointment to the Colonial Office could have been made; but as First Commissioner of Works Mr. Ormsby-Gore has been responsible for the protection of ancient monuments, and to that duty of his department has brought a knowledge of archaeology and an enthusiasm for the surviving relics of the past in Britain that has been an inspiration to the members of his staff and an encouragement to all who are interested in the scientific investigation and the preservation of sites and structures of archaeological or historic interest in Great Britain. Of the work?much of it of first-rate scientific importance?which has been carried out under the supervision and with the co-operation of the Office of Works during his tenure of office, it is unnecessary to speak here in detail; but by his personal activities, more especially in his efforts to secure the preservation of the unique character of Avebury and its surroundings, and in the initiation of the excellent series of guides to ancient monuments, of which he has already published two volumes, while a third is in an advanced stage of preparation, he has widely extended public interest in this class of evidence of the nation's cultural development. He leaves behind him a well-established tradition of official sympathy with, and cooperation in, the aims of archaeological studies in Great Britain, which will not readily be allowed to die out.
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The Right Hon. W. G. A. Ormsby-Gore. Nature 137, 938 (1936). https://doi.org/10.1038/137938a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/137938a0