John Cadman, Lord Cadman of Silverdale
“Our Jack”
John Cadman was
born in 1877 in “The Villas”, Silverdale and later lived across the
road from the mine his Father managed, in Silverdale House, now a
very pale shadow of its former grandeur.
He first became assistant colliery manager at Silverdale Colliery
and then moved to Scotland as Chief Inspector of Mines.
He almost certainly became aware of the significance of oil through
experience of the Staffordshire oilseeps at Longton and the
Scottish oilshales.
In September 1904, he became Chief Inspector of Mines in Trinidad
and his encounter with the asphalt lakes there, no doubt increased
his interest in Petroleum.
On returning from Trinidad, he and his wife Lilian ( nee Harrigan)
, lived for a time at “The Cloughs” at the bottom of Keele Bank
opposite Gallowstree Roundabout.
In 1908 Cadman was appointed Professor of Mining at Birmingham. In
1912, he was the first person in the UK to develop a course in
Petroleum Geology, supported by the Principal, Sir Oliver Lodge,
also a “Potter” and pioneer of Radio Telegraphy while Professor of
Physics at Liverpool University. Cadman’s later interest in
telecommunications may have arisen from his contact with Sir Oliver
Lodge.
Cadman advised the British Government on the importance of securing
Persian oil supplies before the First World War as a consequence of
which British warships soon changed from Coal to Oil. He now led
the search for oil in Britain including two sites very close to
Keele (at Apedale and Werrington). For these services, he was
awarded a knighthood in 1918. In 1921 he was appointed as Technical
Advisor, in 1923 Director, in 1925 Deputy Chairman and in 1927
Chairman of the Anglo Persian Oil Company. He was certainly one of
the first people with any scientific training to hold such a major
position in a multi-national company and was instrumental in
initiating the application of geophysical techniques in the
successful search for oil in Persia.
In 1927, Cadman suggested that the British Geological Survey should
consider using geophysical techniques and this led to the first
gravity and magnetic surveys in the UK which were carried out with
an Eotvos Torsion Balance (shown below) and an Askania Vertical
Field Magnetic Balance over the Swynnerton-Butterton Dyke just
south of Keele.
We are only now,
rediscovering the power of gravity gradient surveys as an
exploration tool!
Raised to the Peerage in 1937, he took
the title Baron Cadman of Silverdale. He was awarded Fellowship of
the Royal Society (FRS) and died in 1941 in Bletchley, but his
ashes are interred in the graveyard of St Luke's Church ,
Silverdale.