Background
He was born at Gorran Haven in Cornwall to Charles William Peach, an amateur British naturalist and geologist, and his wife Jemima Mabson.
He was born at Gorran Haven in Cornwall to Charles William Peach, an amateur British naturalist and geologist, and his wife Jemima Mabson.
Ben was educated at the Royal School of Mines in London and then joined the Geological Survey in 1862 as a geologist, moving to the Scottish branch in 1867. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1892. The citation on his candidacy form read: "District Surveyor of the Geological Survey of Scotland.
Past President of the Physical Society of Edinburgh.
Recipient of the Wollaston Donation Fund of the Geological Society in 1887. Foreign thirty years actively engaged on the Geological survey, during which time he has mapped many of the most complicated districts of Scotland.
Has charge of the surveying of the Northwest Highlands, and has taken the leading part in unravelling the remarkable structural complications of that region. Author of various papers on palaeontological subjects: - "On some New Crustaceans from the Lower Carboniferous Rocks of Eskale and Liddesdale" (Transport Roy Social Edin, volume xxx, p 73).
"On some new species of Fossil Scorpions from the Carboniferous Rocks of Scotland" (ibid, p 399).
"Further Researches among the Crustacea and Arachnida of the Carboniferous Rocks of the Scottish Border" (ibid, p 511). "On some Fossil Myriapods from the Lower Old Red Sandstone of Forfarshire (Proc Roy Phys Social Edin, volume vii, p 179). Joint author with Mr J Horne of many papers on stratigraphical and physical geology, including: - "The Glaciation of the Shetland Isles" (Quart Journ Geological Social, volume xxxv, p 778).
"The Glaciation of the Orkney Islands" (ibid, volume xxxvi, p 648).
"The Old Red Sandstone of Shetland" (Proc Roy Phys Social Edin, volume v, p 30). "The Glaciation of Caithness (ibid, volume vi, p 316).
"Report on the Geology of the North-West of Sutherland" (Nature, volume xxxi, p 31). "The Old Red Sandstone Volcanic Rocks of Shetland" (Transport Roy Social Edin, volume xxxii, p 539).
"Report on the Recent Work of the Geological Survey in the North-West Highlands of Scotland, based on the Field Maps of B North Peach, J Horne, West Gunn, C T Clough, L Hinxman, and H M Cadell" (Quart Journ Geological Social, volume xliv, p 378).
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He was awarded the Wollaston Medal of the Geological Society in 1921. A monument to the work of Peach and Horne was erected at Inchnadamph, close to the Moine Thrust where they did some of their best-known work. The inscription reads: "To Ben North Peach and John Horne who played the foremost part in unravelling the geological structure of the North West Highlands 1883-1897.
An international tribute.
Erected 1980."
Peach was twice married. He died at his home, 72 Grange Loan in Edinburgh, on 29 January 1926.
Peach"s suvey team included several notable geologists including: Charles Barrois, William Savage Bolton, Charles Hawker Dinham, Thomas John Jehu, Aubrey Strahan, Sidney Hugh Reynolds and James Ernest Richey.
Royal Society.