George Armstrong (surveyor)

George Armstrong
George Armstrong, Royal Engineer and surveyor
Born(1843-03-06)March 6, 1843
Newcastleton, Roxburghshire, Scotland
DiedJanuary 7, 1910(1910-01-07) (aged 66)
OccupationsSurveyor, cartographer
Years activeca. 1860–1910
Employer(s)Palestine Exploration Fund; Royal Engineers; Ordnance Survey
Known forPEF Survey of Palestine; editing PEF maps and publications
Notable workRaised map of Palestine; Names and Places in the Old and New Testament and Apocrypha

George Armstrong (6 March 1843 – 7 January 1910) was a Scottish surveyor who worked with the Palestine Exploration Fund for 38 years.[1] and was part of the PEF Survey of Palestine. Armstrong "played a key role in compiling the PEF's maps and editing the textual publications",[2] and compiled one of the most notable nineteenth-century maps in the history of the cartography of Palestine.[3]

Biography and career

Armstrong was born on 6 March 1843 in Newcastleton, Roxburghshire, Scotland.[4] He joined the Royal Engineers in April 1860[4] and in 1861 was stationed in Glasgow, working for the Ordnance Survey mapping agency.[5] By 1871 he had been promoted to Second Corporal.[6]

In 1871, Armstrong was part of the party who conducted the Survey of Western Palestine, under Captain Richard Warren Stewart and alongside Charles Frederick Tyrwhitt-Drake.[7] He later worked under Claude Reignier Conder and Herbert Kitchener, who joined the group in 1872 and 1874 respectively. Armstrong is mentioned in Conder and Kitchener's account of the fieldwork, The Survey of Western Palestine (Memoirs of the Topography, Orography, Hydrography, and Archæology).[8] His work is also credited by geologist Edward Hull in Hull's book Mount Seir, Sinai and Western Palestine: Being A Narrative Of A Scientific Expedition.[9] The London Daily News wrote that Armstrong "may be said to know literally every foot of the ground from Dan to Beer-Sheba."[10]

In the winter of 1883-4, Armstrong took part in the geological survey of Eastern Palestine.[11]

In 1889, Armstrong published Names and Places in the Old and New Testament and Apocrypha,[12] a guide for identifying locations mentioned in the Old Testament, New Testament, and Biblical apocrypha. Revised by Charles William Wilson, the book has been described as being "central to British colonial toponymic projects in Palestine in the late 19th and first half of the 20th century"[13] by Palestinian writer Nur Masalha.

Armstrong's raised map of Palestine was the first of its kind and won a medal at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition (also known as the St. Louis World's Fair).[14] The map was also displayed at the World's Columbian Exhibition (also known as the Chicago World's Fair),[15] "in the southwest gallery of the Manufacturers’ Building”.[16] The Times wrote of the raised map, "After five years of untiring industry, Mr. George Armstrong, the assistant secretary to the Palestine Exploration Fund, has produced and perfected a work of which he may justly feel proud… Mr Armstrong’s interesting work will faithfully present to those who have had the advantage of touring in Palestine the old familiar routes they have traversed, and will give to those who have yet to enjoy such a journey a clear idea of the sort of country they may expect to see."[17]

He married Matilda Hill in February 1885 and they had five children.[1]

Armstrong had taken over from Walter Besant as the PEF's Acting Secretary in 1887[18] and remained in post until a few weeks before his death on 7 January 1910.[19]

Armstrong's eldest daughter Maggie (born 1889) assisted him at the Palestine Exploration Fund in his later years. His youngest child Sarah Elizabeth (born 1896) married Gerald Alan Morris in 1920. Gerald was a Staff Officer to Sir Arthur Harris and was awarded the OBE in 1944.

Sarah and Gerald had 3 daughters, the youngest of whom was actress Cherry Morris, born in 1929.[20] Cherry graduated from RADA in 1948[21] and made her debut with the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1961 as Lady Capulet in a production of Romeo and Juliet[22] directed by Peter Hall.[23] Cherry also had roles in Footballers’ Wives,[24] Poldark and Mapp & Lucia.[25] She was married to actor Mike Murray[26] who was known for The Ipcress File (1965), As You Like It (1963)[27] and Ebony, Ivory & Jade (1976).[28] Cherry and Mike had two children:[26] Luke[29] and actress Emily Swain.[30] Cherry died on 21 July 2005[20] during the run of The House of Bernarda Alba[31] at the National Theatre.

References

  1. ^ a b C., J.D. (1910). "Memoir of George Armstrong". Palestine Exploration Quarterly. 42 (2): 97–98. doi:10.1179/peq.1910.42.2.97.
  2. ^ "Palestine from the Surveys Conducted for the Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund (P.E.F.) and Other Sources". exhibits.stanford.edu. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
  3. ^ "Composite Map: P.E.F. Palestine, sheets 1-16, 19-23". David Rumsey Map Collection. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
  4. ^ a b C, J. D. (1910-04-01). "Memoir of George Armstrong". Palestine Exploration Quarterly. 42 (2): 97–98. doi:10.1179/peq.1910.42.2.97.
  5. ^ "George ARMSTRONG, Ordnance Survey People". Ordnance Survey People. Retrieved 29 April 2025.
  6. ^ "George ARMSTRONG, Ordnance Survey People". Ordnance Survey People. Retrieved 5 May 2025.
  7. ^ Conder, Claude Reignier (1999). Tent Work in Palestine: A Record of Discovery and Adventure. Adegi Graphics LLC. ISBN 978-0543689924.
  8. ^ Conder, C.R; Kitchener, H.H. (1881). The Survey of Western Palestine : Memoirs of the Topography, Orography, Hydrography, and Archaeology. Vol. 2. London: Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund. OCLC 5785377.
  9. ^ Hull, Edward (1885). Mount Seir, Sinai and Western Palestine. Being A Narrative Of A Scientific Expedition. London: Palestine Exploration Fund.
  10. ^ "This Morning's News". The Daily News. London. 7 November 1893. Retrieved 1 February 2026.
  11. ^ Besant, Walter (1889). Twenty One Years' Work in the Holy Land, A Record and a Summary June 22, 1865-June 22, 1886. London: Palestine Exploration Fund. p. 114. ISBN 978-1334407345. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
  12. ^ Armstrong, George (1889). Names and Places in the Old and New Testament and Apocrypha. London: Alexander P. Watt.
  13. ^ Masalha, Nur (2018). Palestine: A Four Thousand Year History. Zed Books. p. 252. ISBN 978-1786992758.
  14. ^ "Museum With No Frontiers - Sharing History: Sharing History Arab World – Europe | 1815 – 1918". Museum With No Frontiers. Retrieved 29 April 2025.
  15. ^ "Biblical Research". The Independent. New York. 17 August 1893. Retrieved 25 January 2026.
  16. ^ "Biblical Research". The Independent. New York. 17 August 1893. Retrieved 1 February 2026.
  17. ^ "A Raised Map of Palestine". The Times. London. 18 September 1893. Retrieved 1 February 2026.
  18. ^ Moscrop, John James (1 March 2000). Measuring Jerusalem: The Palestine Exploration Fund and British Interests in the Holy Land. Leicester University Press. p. 84. ISBN 978-0718502201.
  19. ^ "Notes and News" (PDF). Palestine Exploration Fund Quarterly. 42 (2). April 1910.
  20. ^ a b "Cherry Morris Biography". IMDb. Retrieved 5 February 2026.
  21. ^ "Student & Graduate Profiles". Retrieved 5 February 2026.
  22. ^ "Romeo and Juliet". Theatricalia. Retrieved 4 February 2026.
  23. ^ "Romeo and Juliet timeline". Retrieved 5 February 2026.
  24. ^ "Footballers' Wives Full Cast & Crew". IMDb. Retrieved 5 February 2026.
  25. ^ "Mapp & Lucia". IMDb. Retrieved 4 February 2026.
  26. ^ a b "Mike Murray Biography". IMDb. Retrieved 5 February 2026.
  27. ^ "As You Like It Full Cast & Crew". IMDb. Retrieved 4 February 2026.
  28. ^ "Ebony, Ivory & Jade". IMDb. Retrieved 4 February 2026.
  29. ^ "Actress Cherry Morris, her husband, Michael Murray, and their six-week-old son, Luke, at Mascot today. Murray plays the lead in Camelot, at Her Majesty's". Getty Images. 26 September 1969. Retrieved 4 February 2026.
  30. ^ "Emily Swain Biography". IMDb. Retrieved 4 February 2026.
  31. ^ "The House of Bernarda Alba". Theatricalia. Retrieved 4 February 2026.
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