Ralph Alger Bagnold (1896-1990) – we salute you.
Who saw the first excavation of the Sphinx lion body,
preserved from erosion by the sand.
Singing sands, what is your secret?
Who explored the vast desert
from Cairo to Ain Dalla, in a Ford Model A.
Whistling sands, what is your secret?
Who founded the British Army’s World War 11
Long Range Desert Group in North Africa.
Drumming sands, what is your secret?
Who asked the right questions
and found most of the answers.
Barking sands, what is your secret?
Whose book, ‘The Physics of Blown Sand and Desert Dunes’ 1941
was still the main sand reference for the NASA moon and Mars missions.
Booming sands, what is your secret?
Whose life was like a sand grain tumbling in the wind,
and who is remembered forever by ‘Bagnold Hills’ on Mars.
Whispering sands, tell us your secrets. We are listening.
Certainly a name to conjure with, Chris! And you have conjured him up very well.