Institute of Navigation

The first annual general meeting of the Institute of Navigation was held on September 19 in the house of the Royal Geographical Society. The officers and council of the Institute were elected for the ensuing year; the Astronomer Royal, Sir Harold Spencer Jones, was elected president, and Air Chief Marshal Sir John Slessor and Sir Robert Watson-Watt were elected vice-presidents. Messages of support for the Institute were received from the First Sea Lord and the Chief of the Air Staff. In his address to the Institute, Sir Harold Spencer Jones reviewed the important contribution that, from the time of the foundation by Charles II of the Royal Observatory to the present day, had been made by British scientific work towards the solution of navigational problems. “The first systematic observations to provide the fundamental astronomical data with the required precision; the construction of the first magnetic charts; the invention of the quadrant or sextant…; the publication of the first Nautical Almanac planned specifically for the use of the navigator; the invention of the first timepiece capable of keeping accurate time at sea. These are all achievements on which we can look back with pride and satisfaction.” He pointed out that it is appropriate, as Great Britain took so prominent a part during the past centuries in the development of navigation as a science, that the Institute of Navigation should have been formed to foster an interest in navigation and to stimulate its advancement. There are still many problems to be solved and, in particular, those presented by the advent of high-speed aircraft have necessitated changes of method. In bringing together those who are interested in the many and varied aspects of the science of navigation, the Institute will fulfil a useful function.