Alan William Reece was killed in a plane crash on Cornwallis Island in the Canadian Arctic on 28th May, 1960. He was 39.
Born in London, and educated at Westminster City School and Chelsea Polytechnic, he began his training in geology in 1941. His studies were interrupted by periods from 1942 to 1944 as a naval meteorological officer in the Orkney Islands attached to the Admiralty Forecast Section during the Normandy invasion; and from 1944 to 1947 when he took charge of a meteorological station on Deception Island in the South Shetlands, and later moved to Trinity Peninsula for meteorological and geological observations with a topographic survey party. He returned to London in 1947 and completed his honours degree course in geology in 1949, gaining the B.Sc. and A.R.C.S. He then spent two years as geologist to the Norwegian-British-Swedish Antarctic Expedition surveying in Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica, followed by nine months at Cambridge University preparing reports.
Dr. Reece worked as geologist in Uganda from 1953 to 1956, mapping for the Uganda Geological Survey in northwest Ankole and, in July, 1956, took up the position of chief geologist to Northern Mining Co., Copenhagen. He carried out mineral exploration in northeast Greenland for over a year and then returned to Imperial College where as holder of a Leverhulme Research Award he was able to spend a full year in 1957-58 completing his research and compiling his thesis on field investigations in Uganda, for which he was awarded Ph.D. and the D.I.C. in 1958.
Dr. Reece went to Canada in March, 1959, on joining Messrs. I.C. Sproule and Associates, geological and engineering consultants in Calgary. He took part in field work in the Northwest Territories, exploring the northern Mackenzie Mountains by helicopter, and later became leader and organizer of the first Arctic field party operation, during which he met his tragic death.
Dr. Reece was elected an Associate Member of the Institution in 1958.
Vol. 70, Trans I.M.M., 1960-61, p.679
