Cedric Shute, our much-loved friend and most highly esteemed colleague, respected worldwide, died on 26th January 2019. Cedric had retired from the museum in 1997 but remained in regular contact with Museum staff and other UK palaeobotanists until his death, gladly sharing his experience and recollections to help with their ongoing work.
Cedric joined the Palaeobotany section of the then British Museum (Natural History) [now Natural History Museum] in 1959, after completing his National Service. He impressed the existing curator, Maurice Wonnacott, with his careful curation of the collections and attention to detail. The extremely high standard of curation of the Palaeobotany collections owes a lot to Cedric’s meticulous work. Cedric trained several junior staff in the curation of palaeobotanical specimens and published to share his methods (e.g. Shute and Foster 1999). It is a source of great pride to the current curator that she was able to benefit from his expertise over the past 25 years.
Cedric was an excellent host to visitors from all over the world. His knowledge of the collections, his aptitude for assessing the importance of material and his friendly manner has meant that he enhanced the Palaeobotany collections extensively during his time as Curator of Palaeobotany. One example is the internationally significant Rhynie Chert collection from the Devonian of Scotland. The Rhynie Chert is inaccessible, buried under a field which is now a SSSI, but in 1964 a trench was opened for the International Botanical Congress. Cedric asked if he could collect some material for the Museum and then turned up with a van, bringing crates and crates of important research material back to London. There are many other important collections that the museum owes to Cedric’s endeavours. Some spring immediately to mind because of their current role in international research and exhibitions, including the Benson Collection, the Apex Chert, and the palaeobotanical collections of Downing College, Cambridge.
Cedric is world-renowned for his mastery of palaeobotanical techniques, in particular, cuticle preparation. Cedric was known as a magician in this dark art and was sent the trickiest material to prepare when others had failed. He embraced new techniques, such as Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy and advised other scientists on using methods similar to those he had developed in palaeobotany. He published on palaeobotanical methods and nomenclature. It was Cedric who invented the term “adpression”, to accommodate the need for a term encompassing both compression and impression fossils (Shute and Cleal 1987).
Cedric’s particular research interest was the Coal Measures. Working with Chris Cleal over many decades, Cedric published over 15 papers on Carboniferous plant fossils and their significance. He also collaborated and published on Silurian and Devonian plant remains with Dianne Edwards, Alan Hemsley and Paul Strother. In 1994, Cedric co-edited a volume of Biological Reviews with Elizabeth Sheffield, resulting from the Natural History Museum & Linnean Society of London Symposium held to bring together neobotanists and palaeobotanists on the theme of Alternation of Generations in plants.
Outside the Museum Cedric played a key role in fostering collegiality of the palaeobotanical community, both within the UK and by inviting visitors from overseas to join activities. This included his active participation in social events such as ‘the last Wednesday of the month’ and in Palaeobotany group field trips and scientific meetings under the auspices of the Linnean Society of London. Cedric’s contribution to palaeobotany has been recognized by new species being named after him, e.g. the Wealden bennettite leaf Cycadolepis shuteana Watson & Sincock (1992).
Although Cedric retired in 1997, he continued to come in to the Museum every day as a Scientific Associate until an accident limited his mobility about seven years ago. Still, Cedric’s passion for the collections and palaeobotany burned on. He embraced the digital age, allowing him to continue to publish with Chris Cleal. He shared his valuable knowledge and advice with the current Curator of Palaeobotany up until just a couple of days before his death. He will be very sorely missed by all those who knew him.
The Linnean Society Palaeobotany Specialist Group will be holding a celebration of the life of Cedric Shute at a meeting entitled “Palaeobotany: current techniques and the importance of collections in research” hosted by the Linnean Society of London on the 23rd of October 2019.
Literature cited: Shute, C.H. & Cleal, C.J. 1987. Geological Curator, 4(9):553-559. Shute, C.H. & Foster, T.S. 1999. In: Jones & Rowe (eds). Fossil Plants and Spores: Modern Techniques, 184-186.
Peta Hayes (Natural History Museum, London, UK)
Published in: International Organisation of Palaeobotany, Newsletter 118, February 2019