Furrows in the Sky
Gerry Andrews setting up a camera for the fire protection lookout project. In 1936 George Melrose, the head of the Forest Protection Division, asked Gerry to develop a lookout photography program. Andrews adapted the American system to conditions in BC, and the program was used for 50 years. Photo: Andrews Family collection.
Gerry Andrews was well-known for using technology to improve the quality of forestry work and surveying in BC.
He was a pioneer in using aerial photography to revolutionize forest inventories in BC in the 1930s.
Gerry Andrews' plane on the Finlay River, 1939. Photo: Library Archives Canada.
After World War II Gerry headed the Air Survey Division of the BC Surveys Branch. With the assistance of the RCAF he co-ordinated the aerial photography of the entire province. When the work was completed in 1950 the Victoria Daily Colonist wrote that "it would have more bearing on the future of the province than all the rush and excitement of front line news for five years back".
An early mapping stereoscope. Photo: Andrews Family collection.
The Adventures of Gerry Andrews
Gerry Andrews serving in England with the Royal Canadian Engineers. During World War II Andrews utilized his expertise in aerial photography to command a small section of men who made maps of the Normandy beaches. The Allies used these maps to select the beaches used for the D-Day landings. Photo: Andrews Family collection.
In 1939 Gerry did the aerial photography for the preliminary Alaska Highway route. In his words,
"The routine of a photographic day started with an early breakfast, a searching look at the sky, and with luck a favourable weather report by wireless from one of the survey parties up the Trench would preclude a final review of flight plans, loading the aircraft, and the usual pre-take-off inspection. The aircraft slowly taxis upstream (wind permitting) to the bend. Then it swings around into midstream and with full throttle gains speed with the help of the current. The crew wait anxiously for the pontoons to break free from the silty flood and the sudden uplift to clear the line of tall spruce trees at the lower end of the run."
Andrews compared aerial photography to
"...ploughing photographic furrows up and down the sky at 16,000 feet, 30-40 miles long and about 2 miles apart, requiring sustained and intense concentration on the part of the crew, with only a few moments’ relaxation at the end turns, until the clock warns that there is only enough fuel to make the long gliding descent back to base."
Survey helicopter at Mount Pattulo, 1950.
In 1950 Andrews organized the first completely airborne survey project utilizing airplanes and helicopters in a remote area of northwestern BC. The project was documented by the BC government in an excellent film called Flying Surveyors".
Photo: Andrews Family collection.