In this brief biographical piece on Admiral Henry Charles Otter (who was a hero of the first successful laying of a Transatlantic Cable and also the Hydrographic Surveyor in charge of charting the West Coast of Scotland) we met the General at his home in Portsea, Hampshire in 1851. He was laid to rest in Crondall, Hampshire in 1856 and, although he was a Royal Engineer, I was unable to link him to the Ordnance Survey.
However, there are five references from 1834 of the work of Colonel John Francis Birch in The National Archives in Kew. One of the five relates to a 'Copy of a Plan of part of the Ordnance land at Berry Head purchased in 1794'. Scale: 3.7 inches to 10 chains. Compass indicator. Signed by John Francis Birch, Colonel, Commanding Royal Engineers' which led me to an article on 'The History of the Berry Head Fortifications' by D Evans . Birch appears to have been involved with matters surrounding the site for several years in the early 1830. The article provides evidence of his role within the Board of Ordnance but suggests that he was probably not involved with the specific branch of the Board, formed in 1791 , that is the Ordnance Survey. More 'concrete' confirmation comes in the form of an 'Oblong section block of Devonian limestone with rounded top, built up against stone rubble wall. Incised with letters BO and figure 3. Arrow at the top ' erected at Berry Head in 1830 by Colonel Birch.
The main reason for this little excursion into the work of General John Francis Birch was because he was Admiral Henry Charles Otter's father-in-law but clearly they were two men who shared a passion for, and were each exemplary exponents of, 19th Century cartography.
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