Previous Honorary Members


R G Williams OBE


Former Secretary of the National Institute of Oceanography at Wormley and former Treasurer of the Challenger Society for Marine Science from 1956 - 1973. Sadly, Ray died in January of 2016 aged 92.
Ray Williams played a key role in managing the Institute’s  finances and most notable in managing the funding the construction of the new (1962)  RRS Discovery.


 1987

  • Prof RI Currie

1977

  • Commander WJ Copenhagen

1973

  • Sir George Edward Raven Deacon FRS 1906-1984 (Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society 1985 vol 31 pp 111-142)
  • Dr Cyril Lucas, biography
  • Sir Frederick Stratten Russell FRS 1897-1984 (Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society 1986 vol 32 pp 461-493)

1966

  • JN Carruthers

1964

  • HO Bull

1958

  • Eric Henry Edwardes Havelock CB, CBE, OBE, FRSE

1957

  • Joseph Proudman FRS 1888-1975 (Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society 1976 vol 22 pp 319-333)

1951

  • William Thomas Calman FRS 1871-1952 (Obituary Notices of Fellows of the Royal Society 1952-1953 vol 8 pp 355-372) HU Sverdrup

1950

  • GP Bidder

1948

  • Dr HR Mill
  • Mr HG Maurice

1939

  • Edgar Johnson Allen FRS 1866-1942 (Obituary Notices of Fellows of the Royal Society 1942-1944 vol 4 pp 357-367)
  • HB Bigelow, biography
  • E le Danois
  • G Gilson
  • B Helland-Hansen
  • O Pettersson
  • G Schott

1929

  • Schmidt
  • Swire (last surviving member of officers and scientific staff of HMS Challenger)

1923

  • Dr Johan Hjort FRS 1869-1948 (Obituary Notices of Fellows of the Royal Society 1950-1951 vol 7 pp 167-181)

1915

  • Prof Georg Ossian Sars

1910

  • H.S.H. The Prince of Monaco

1905

  • Prof Dr Karl Brandt
  • Prof Dr Carl Chun
  • Prof Max Wilhelm Carl Weber FRS 1852-1937 (Obituary Notices of Fellows of the Royal Society 1936-1938 vol 2 pp 347-355)

Latest News

MEDIN Open Meeting - Enhancing the national framework for sharing UK marine data

We are excited to invite you to the next MEDIN Open Meeting entitled “Enhancing the national framework for sharing UK marine data.” on April 26th 2023.

Read More


Challenger Expedition Portal

Check out the Challenger Expedition Portal created by SAMS: https://challenger-expedition.sams.ac.uk/

Read More


Upscaling of Marine Autonomy: Marine research community consultation

Upscaling of Marine Autonomy: Marine research community consultation

A recommendation of the landmark Net Zero Oceanographic Capability (NZOC) report was that "NERC should expect to double the size of the autonomous fleet it supports every five years." In response, the NOCA and the Challenger Society for Marine Science have formed the joint Upscaling Autonomy Working Group (UAWG). The UAWG is running a series of information webinars, followed by a consultation, on the future shape of upscaling of marine autonomy in the UK. For further details and to register, please see the event flyer which may also be found on the NOCA web page which now also features the presentations from the first webinar and survey questions.

Read More