This is the third biographical book by Dr Joe McCall, a geologist, aged 92. Entirely autobiographical ('The Pilkington Gene' and 'Full Quivers' are mixed bio- and autobiographical), this covers the years 1940-60. It commences with his call to the R.A.S.C. in WW2. In England, he had a close encounter with German bomb at Bulford in 1941, before sailing off to Madagascar in a Falkland-style exercise, initiated by Churchill at about a week's notice. He took part in three Combined Operations landings: afterwards, he went to East Africa in 1943, serving from Ethiopia to Tanzania. He returned to University, obtained first class honours at Imperial College, and did two years postgraduate study, mapping in Donegal. Joining the Kenya Geological Survey, he spent two years as a hydrogeologist, before becoming a regional mapper, covering four quarter degree sheets, on the shores of Lake Victoria and in the Gregory Rift Valley. He braved scorpions, snakes and crocodiles. Marrying in 1956, his daughter, Bridget, was born in Nairobi The book ends with appointment as a University lecturer in Australia.
He had appointments as Senior Lecturer in Reader at the University of Western Australia for decade and curated the meteorites at the Museum there. He carried out further geological mapping in Kenya and Vanuatu. After leaving academia, he worked in industry in Australia, Canada and England and led a major regional mapping project in Iran. He was awarded the Degree of Doctor of Science by London University in 1968 and has received the Coke Medal of the Geological Society (1994) and their Distinguished Service Award (2011), and also a Distinguished Service Award of the International Union of Geological Sciences (1997). He has for some 21 years been an editor of the Geological Society's house magazine, the 'Geoscientist'.
He has published or edited some 20 books on his subject, but in his nineties has turned to biography, and this is his third biographical book, following on the 'Pilkington Gene' (2011) and ' Full Quivers' (2012), both self published through 'Authors-on-line'. He has written one more autobiographical book, which will be published in 2013, 'Journeying on'.
He as been married for 56 years and has two daughters and on son, and two grandchildren.