The Tratman Award is presented annually to the best caving-related, paper-based publication in memory of UBSS member Professor E.K. ‘Trat’ Tratman. Chris Howes, on behalf of the judges, announced this year’s winner at Hidden Earth.
British caving publications are among the best to be found anywhere in the world, a fact that is acknowledged annually with the Tratman Award which recognises excellence in writing, presentation and publication – also taking into account factors such as the quality of the images and surveys, printing, paper, binding and accessibility – of books, journals and individual articles. The judges, working on behalf of BCRA as sponsors of the award but remaining independent of the association in the final decision, also look for ‘improvement’ – that is, in the case of a journal or book series (for example), a publication that has previously won or gained a commendation would need to show an increased standard to be commended again in this prestigious award.
In 2023 the judges had to consider a wide range of titles, while for 2024 the number of books published was thin on the ground. After much discussion, this left the judges (Joe Duxbury, Chris Howes, Alan Jeffreys, Martin Mills and Linda Wilson) with an initial shorter list than usual, from which a literal short list was compiled. This was reduced to three books, one journal series and two articles:
Surrey’s Ancient Stone Mines by Peter Burgess, now in its second edition and much enlarged with additional, detailed research including historical images.
Adventures Underground by Dave Haigh and John Cordingley, also in its second edition, being rewritten and updated with three additional new chapters and more photographs.
Somerset Underground Vol. 4 by Rob Taviner, a superb concluding part to the guidebook series.
The Grampian Speleological Group Bulletin edited by Alan L. Jeffreys, a series that is maintained to a consistently high standard and a regular publication that feels long overdue for recognition.
The Caves of Peruaçu and São Desidério and Terra Ronca by Martyn Farr in Descent (298) and (299), the linked articles being well up to the always high standard of the author and going beyond a tale of exploration to one that is informative, well-illustrated and useful.
The Forest is Growing by Tim Nichols in Descent (301), with some outstanding writing containing a firm conservation message while describing a major advance in the Forest of Dean.
As in recent years, the judges were presented with a problem, always likely to crop up when those most interested in literature are also involved in its writing and production, in that in two instances recusals were necessary. Thus, Alan Jeffreys was unable to comment on the inclusion of the GSG bulletin which he edits, and Chris Howes took no part in the decisions concerning the book portion of the award, being involved with publishing Adventures Underground.
All these authors should feel proud to receive their commendations. Even though the list of titles was short, much discussion and dissent then ensued over the eventual winner, this narrowing down to the three books. Of these, the Somerset Underground series had already won the award with volumes 1 and 2, with a commendation for volume 3, and for 2024 Rob gains another commendation. The choice of winner between Surrey’s Ancient Stone Mines and Adventures Underground was closely fought. One judge commented on the latter ‘with amazement’ on how much new material had been incorporated and that ‘we should be very grateful to have seen such a work in our caving lifetime’, while a different judge highly praised the original, far-reaching research seen in the former. In the end, with a split decision that noted that the first edition of Adventures Underground won in 2017, the Tratman Award 2024 finally goes to Peter Burgess with Surrey’s Ancient Stone Mines; Adventures Underground received the accolade of being Highly Commended.
Congratulations to Peter for an honour achieved by his diligence and attention to detail in documenting what might otherwise be information lost to time. He receives a unique sculpture specially created by Ceris Jones, which he will retain in perpetuity.
Correspondent: Chris Howes, for the judges
