John Sheraton (1944 – 2024)

John Sheraton was born on 6th February,1944 and brought up in Hayes, Middlesex, England. Although he wanted to study geology, John was persuaded by his Careers Adviser at school to study chemistry. At Birmingham University he completed his BSc degree in Chemistry, but then transferred to the Geology Department for his MSc degree, and later his PhD degree.

John married Jean Bailey in November 1969, and together they travelled to Australia where John took up a position in January 1970 as Geochemist with the Bureau of Mineral Resources (now Geoscience Australia) based in Canberra. His work as a geochemist took him to the Antarctic on six occasions from the early 1970s to the mid-1980s, and enabled him to contribute to the reconnaissance geological mapping of the Prince Charles Mountains (summer of 1972/73), Enderby Land (summers of 1975/76 and 1976/77), Vestfold Hills (summer of 1980/81), and the Bunger Hills (Wilkes Land: summer of 1985/86). John also visited the McMurdo US Base in October 1981, travelled to the summer base at Evans Neve, and worked in North Victora Land and the Daniels Range.

John’s work resulted in many scientific publications and geological maps relating to the Antarctic Continent.  He was the foremost influential researcher of the geology of half a continent, the East Antarctic Shield.

Although John retired in 1997, such was his love and dedication to Antarctic research, that he was then appointed a Visiting Fellow at ANU, where he continued writing up Antarctic work. A very productive period collaborating with Russian Antarctic scientists followed, resulting in numerous excellent publications.

Once John and Jean had returned to England in 1999, John actively pursued his many other passions. He loved to roam the countryside and had a great sense of the awe and wonder of nature. During his life he visited as many places of interest as he could. His world-wide travels covered 75 countries, 68 of them with Jean. In recent years John contributed to a book covering local walks and the history and geology of the Forest of Dean, county of Gloucestershire, where he led walks for local walking groups.

It was only when John found it difficult to participate in the local countryside walks in December 2023 that he decided to see a doctor after nearly 80 years. John was diagnosed with a particularly aggressive cancer. A short stay in hospital for palliative care followed. He died peacefully on Easter Saturday 2024 with Jean beside him to the end.

John was a studious man who had his own brand of humour. He was humble, had the greatest of patience, and was always willing to help and teach others as needed. For those who knew and worked with John, it was a privilege to have known him. He was indeed a gentle man and a scholar.

Dave Ellis

Dick England

Lyall Offe