The confusion is all the fault of Queen Victoria. 75 years of ‘Adapting to a world in transition’.
As we meet in Aberdeen for our Annual Conference and Exhibition, some members of extraordinary erudition will know that the Association is celebrating its semisesquicentennial, i.e., 75 years since it was founded in 1951. Even if unpronounceable, this moniker is at least unambiguous, which is not the case for more common definitions.
Too late now of course, but EAGE could have called this defining year a diamond anniversary. It would reflect longevity, endurance, strength, and lasting value, all of which EAGE can surely claim. It worked for the members of the Canadian Society of Exploration Geophysicists (CSEG). Last year they marked the reaching of their 75 years with a Diamond Jubilee Gala in Calgary. As it happens, in 2026, among other international organisations, EAGE’s big year coincides with the Miss World Diamond Anniversary in Vietnam in July, a persistent but surely these days a rather tarnished jewel in the event calendar. It harks back to the founding of the first international beauty pageant introduced during the 1951 Festival of Britain.
The real problem these days is that diamond usually signifies 60 years rather than 75. The confusion is all the fault of Queen Victoria, or at least Joseph Chamberlain, the Colonial Secretary at the time. The minister proposed an extravaganza of events in 1897 to mark the 60th anniversary of Victoria’s accession to the throne, with celebrations to be held across the British Empire, then at its zenith accounting for an estimated quarter of the world’s population. This spectacular indulgence became known as the Diamond Jubilee, and since then, 60 years has become the customary nomenclature for a diamond occasion, for example, wedding anniversaries. Arguably this is because neither monarchs nor many marriages make it to a 75th year.
In 2012, there were plenty of events and commemorative initiatives in Britain and around the Commonwealth to mark the sixtieth year of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign. They were nothing on the scale of the ‘Festival of the British Empire’ orchestrated by Chamberlain. The only blip in the proceedings was that on the day, 22 June 1897, the redoubtable Queen Victoria had apparently become so arthritic that the main service of thanksgiving had to be held outside St Paul’s Cathedral and shortened because she was unable to descend gracefully out of her carriage. She did, however, subsequently tour the city, noting in her diary: 'No one ever, I believe, has met with such an ovation as was given to me, passing through those six miles of streets. The crowds were quite indescribable and their enthusiasm truly marvellous and deeply touching.’ By contrast, recognising a very different era, Queen Victoria’s great-great-granddaughter Elizabeth called for minimal public spending on her Diamond Jubilee, which still inspired plenty of events and commemorative initiatives in the UK and the Commonwealth.
EAGE chose to mark its 75th anniversary with a commemorative book, being launched at the Annual. Your Crosstalk correspondent was principal architect and builder of the project, along with a small and enthusiastic team in the office. At the time of writing, we await the judgement of members. But we can share our vision of what we were trying to achieve.
We recognised from the outset that presenting the narrative of any organisation is a forbidding undertaking, definitely not bestseller material. So, rather than a solemn chronological account of the Association’s history, we decided on a more accessible approach. That’s why we opted for sections of bite-size text and plenty of illustrations, wrapped in a softback cover.
In the first section of the book, we opted to tell the story of the Association’s development into the major multi-disciplinary professional society it is today through the experience of our presidents. We invited contributions from all living former presidents of the past 25 years. Their anecdotal recollections, told with a mixture of pride and humour, provide a relatable account of the remarkable growth of the Association from membership of around 5000 to our current 19,000, with a range of services unimagined in 2001. This includes the creation of our local chapters, establishment of regional offices, student services, the current Circle and Communities structure, and of course products of the digital age such as EarthDoc, e-lectures and other online services.
“Adapting to a world in transition recalls memorable moments and provides optimism about our professions going forward.”
The central section of the book is designed to provide the context of EAGE’s activities by documenting the achievements (and disappointments) of the geoscience and engineering community during the period. We believe it offers a rare and accessible account of how all the main technologies in land and marine seismic, near surface and energy transition have evolved. We hope it makes an inspiring story that can attract a new generation into our professions. The final part of the book shows our Association as it is today, again making the case for a career in geoscience.
Diamond or not, we hope that the EAGE’s 75 years, which we titled ‘Adapting to a world in transition’, recalls memorable moments and provides optimism about our professions going forward.
Views expressed in Crosstalk are solely those of the author, who can be contacted at andrew@andrewmcbarnet.com.
