Taking a personal perspective the historical work of Professor Sir Alec Skempton is considered, with some thoughts on his legacy, particularly for geotechnical engineers. Reference will be made to his unpublished work, now deposited in the archives of Imperial College London as a further illustration of the loss his death has meant. Geotechnical case studies from his final, in some cases unpublished, research are described.

  • Introduction

  • The Thames Tunnel

  • Historical research

  • The Biographical Dictionary of Civil Engineers 1500-1830

  • Robert Abraham and groundwater lowering

  • John Reynolds and the Dee Navigation sluices

  • History of soil mechanics

  • London and Birmingham Railway

  • Blisworth cutting and embankment

  • Bugbrooke cutting

  • British engineers in India

  • Madras waterworks

  • Kolkata waterworks

  • The Skempton legacy

  • References

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