Historic blue plaque will honour remarkable Plymouth man
8 May 2025
A historic blue plaque will be unveiled in Plymouth in July in memory of Ralph Alger Bagnold OBE FRS KL (1896-1990), a scientist, explorer and military man whose ground breaking work has been recognised by NASA.
Bagnold was born in Plymouth on 3 April 1896 and grew up in Stoke. In the First World War he was an engineer in the British Army. When he returned to service in the Second World War, he was the first commanding officer of the ‘Long Range Desert Group’. A precursor to the SAS, the unit carried out reconnaissance work and raids behind enemy lines in North Africa.
In between the wars Bagnold carried out the first recorded East-to-West crossing of the Libyan Desert, pioneering the use of motor vehicles to explore the harsh terrain. He also published ‘Libyan Sands: Travel in a Dead World’ which has been described as a ‘classic work of 20th-century Saharan exploration’.
His second book, ‘The Physics of Blown Sand and Desert Dunes’ was inspired by the extensive amount of time he'd spent in the desert and the many sandstorms he'd witnessed. The book is still an important reference point for scientists today and has even been used by NASA to study sand dunes and the development of sand-driving mechanisms on Mars. The Bagnold Dunes, a 22-mile-long group of sand dunes on Mars were named by NASA in his honour.
Bagnold was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1944 and continued to carry out research and publish academic papers well into his retirement. He passed away on 28 May 1990 at the age of 94.
Bagnold’s plaque will be installed on the front of Astor Hall, Devonport Road, Stoke in July. Now a care home, it was once his childhood home.
Deputy Leader, Councillor Jemima Laing, said:
As we mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day, it seems only right that we should announce this historic plaque. Ralph Bagnold’s legacy bridges military service, exploration and scientific innovation and his research helped shape modern understanding of desert landscapes. This blue plaque will serve as a lasting tribute to his achievements and continue our commitment to recognising people from Plymouth who have made a significant contribution to the world.
Find out more
• Find out even more about Ralph Alger Bagnold.
• Learn more about NASA's investigation of the Bagnold Dune Field by the Curiosity Rover in 2016 which resulted in some of the clearest photos of Mars in history.
• See a further image of the Bagnold Dunes taken by NASA on Mars.
• Read a post that references Ralph Bagnold on the Through the Sandglass blog.
Image credits
Ralph Alger Bagnold, undated. Churchill Archives Centre, BGND E.55.
Gale Crater, north western flank of Mount Sharp, Mars.