Obituary: Robert (Bob) Forbes Craig Free

Bob Craig was born in Dundee, Scotland in 1931 and educated at Downfield Primary School and Morgan Academy. He then studied for 4 years at University College, Dundee (then part of St Andrews University) graduating with First Class Honours in Civil Engineering. After graduation, he was required to do 2 years’ National Service, joining the Royal Engineers, and was stationed at their headquarters in Germany.

His first employment was with the Dundee City Engineer, working on the design and construction of the infrastructure required for the expansion of Dundee in the 1950s. Subsequently he spent 2 years teaching at the former Dundee Technical College. Then, in the late 1950s, he was appointed to a lectureship in civil engineering at University College (later to become the University of Dundee), specialising in soil mechanics and geotechnical engineering, as well as teaching rock mechanics.

He was best known for his textbook on soil mechanics, which was first published in 1974 (Craig, 1974) and became widely used in the UK and abroad over its successive editions. He continued to update, expand and improve his book and published his 7th edition in 2004, 8 years after formally retiring from the university. Since then, the book has remained at the University of Dundee, with authorship now provided by a current member of staff in civil engineering, and two further editions have been published, the latest in 2019 (the 9th edition (Knappett and Craig, 2019)).

The success of the textbook was founded on Bob’s very clear sense of the needs of the ‘typical university undergraduate’ and he was a highly effective communicator. It is a testament to the popularity and efficacy of this style that readers of the latest editions will recognise Bob’s material on fundamental concepts from earlier editions appearing largely unchanged (except for updates to standards), particularly in the first half of the book. The book was well received by academics (e.g. O’Sullivan, 2013), and a widely received comment, from those for whom it was their undergraduate text, is that they continue routinely to refer back to it throughout their careers. Bob played an instrumental role in the education of countless students nationally and internationally in addition to the lives he more directly influenced at Dundee. The textbook remains a popular best-seller and has been translated into Greek, Portuguese and Chinese.

Bob was a keen sportsman, particularly at cricket and golf. In cricket, he was a useful fast–medium bowler, playing regularly for the University Staff Club and occasionally for Grove Cricket Club. He played golf at Downfield, Dundee for over 50 years, reaching a single-figure handicap at his best, and was on the club committee for several years, including 2 years as captain. In his younger days, other sports included football, basketball and squash. In later years, Bob enjoyed his Friday coffee mornings at Downfield Golf Club.

After retirement Bob joined Monifieth Probus Club and had a period on the committee and a year as president. As part of this group he maintained his ongoing interest in science and engineering, and in 2023 Mike Brown was invited to present to the group on ‘Geotechnical modelling for the advancement of offshore renewable energy application’. This sparked Bob’s interest in the recent activities in physical modelling using the geotechnical centrifuge at the University of Dundee and he popped in to see some testing in 2024 of drag anchors for cable burial risk assessment (Sharif et al., 2024).

With his wife Eileen, Bob enjoyed travelling in Europe, Canada and the USA (where his textbook was also a very strong seller). Their favourite destination was western Canada, which they explored by car and visited on several occasions. They also enjoyed cruises to Alaska, the Caribbean and Mediterranean. He enjoyed a full and active life and was forever grateful for the love and support of his charming wife, sadly missed after her passing in March 2023. Bob remarked during his final days that ‘he had enjoyed a good life’. He died peacefully overnight on Monday 9 June 2025, aged 93.

Reflections from Jamie Standing. I completed my undergraduate degree at the University of Dundee from 1979 to 1983 and was taught soil mechanics and geotechnical engineering in my third and fourth years by Mr Craig (as he was known: many of the academic staff at that time did not have PhD degrees but many had extensive industry experience). By that time his book was in its second edition, which is still on my bookshelf (in rather battered condition), along with many of the later editions. Mr Craig was one of those lecturers who looked around at the students in front of him to make sure they were paying attention, and you made sure that you were! His courses included a number of laboratory experiments, ranging from basic characterisation to more complex tests using triaxial apparatus (e.g. Figure 1), and he ran these teaching sessions himself. Such opportunities for gaining laboratory experience at undergraduate level are not often available now, even on MSc courses.

When it came to choosing my final-year project, I was very keen to do geotechnical research but initially held back, as Mr Craig was quite a serious character. Eventually I did approach him and ended up working under his supervision, writing my dissertation on ‘A study of fissure patterns in Errol Clay’. This involved mapping fissure patterns in a brick clay pit a few miles outside the city and retrieving block samples from there to characterise the soil. We drove to the site together for the first visit in the departmental Land Rover and clambered down into the pit to assess the fissuring and run through what needed to be done. I then visited and spent time there over the subsequent weeks doing the mapping. We ended up linking the fissure patterns to the inferred geology of the Errol Clay stratum and in particular the ice movements across its surface. As the study developed Mr Craig became increasingly interested and we had many good discussions on the subject. At the end of my studies, he asked me to stay on to continue the research to masters level, but I had already made plans elsewhere.

The interaction with Bob Craig certainly set me on the path to become a geotechnical engineer with my initial years in industry and later as an academic. I feel very privileged to have been taught by him and to have worked closely with him during my final-year project. We met again in Dundee in 2010, 27 years later, on the occasion when I delivered my Géotechnique lecture there; this was a very memorable and touching occasion for both of us. Many geotechnical engineers today will have been positively influenced by Bob without ever knowing the man himself. His legacy lives on through his book: for many it will be a well-thumbed text where we know which page and diagram we are looking for before we even pick it up.