154 
Obituary. 
[ibis. 
collieries, but at the age of 23 he was appointed an 
Assistant Inspector of Mines. In 1893 he became Chief 
Inspector for the Manchester and Irish areas, and held this 
post until 1914. Perhaps his most important scientific 
work was his investigation of the causes of coal-dust 
explosions ; after the terrible explosion at the Pretoria pit 
he was amongst the first who descended to the rescue. 
His interests, however, were not confined to engineering 
or geology, although he was one of the leading geologists in 
the North. He was keenly interested in ornithology and 
certain branches of entomology, and during trips to the 
west coast of Scotland, the Orkney, Shetland, and Faroe 
Islands, he accumulated interesting collections of birds 
and eggs, which, through the kindness of his sister, 
Miss E. M. Gerrard, have found a home in the Wigan 
Mining and Technical College. He supported any move¬ 
ment which he considered would further science; thus he 
was a member of the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union, and for 
many years served on the Committee of the Manchester 
Museum. He was elected a member of the British Orni¬ 
thologists’ Union in 1892. 
He was always genial, alw T ays sympathetic, and his advice 
when sought was willingly given and sound.—T. A. C. 
Charles William Sheppard. 
We regret to have to record the death on the 20th of 
September last of one of the oldest Members of the Union— 
the Rev. Clias. William Sheppard—at the age of 84. He was 
elected a Member of the Union in 1863, Canon Tristram 
being his proposer. He had been rector of Trottescliffe, near 
Maidstone, in Kent since 1875. 
Mr. Sheppard was born at Trottescliffe Rectory in 1838, 
where his father, the Rev. Edward John Sheppard, was 
rector before him from 1827 to 1875 ; so that father and son 
held the same benefice for over 90 years. He was educated 
at Merchant Taylors’ School (then in Thames Street) and 
also at Charterhouse, and subsequently at Trinity College, 
