Maj-Gen. Eric Barton CB

"Major General Eric Barton, who has died aged 87, was appointed Director of Military Survey in 1980 shortly before the outbreak of the Falklands War.

When the conflict started in 1982, Military Survey received a deluge of requests from the Task Force. The Army needed the equivalent of an Ordnance Survey (OS) map to navigate, plan and conduct operations. In particular, they needed to be able to call in fire support, mostly from ships, because so little artillery was deployed.

The Royal Navy needed up-to-date charts of an area which for decades had been a low priority for map-making purposes. The RAF required large-scale air charts for operations, and moving map display film-strips for their Harriers.

Not the least of the problems was the difficulty of reconciling the map projections between two grid zones and the sheer logistical task of producing several hundred thousand map sheets at the shortest of notice. Photogrammetry (the science of using photography for mapping) and the full exploitation of digital imagery and geodetic positioning for terrain analysis, visualisation, target identification and precise positioning were in their infancy. But because of the urgency of the situation, the technology had to take a huge step forward and Barton, with his excellent management and communication skills and first-rate intellect, was at the forefront. His leadership during this exacting period, in which his team was in constant touch with Northwood HQ, was greatly appreciated by all three services.

Eric Walter Barton was born on April 27 1928 and was educated at St Clement Danes School, London, before taking a degree in Engineering at the Royal Military College of Science.

Commissioned in 1948 into the Royal Engineers, his first three postings were to Libya, Egypt and the Arab Legion in Jordan. Having qualified in surveying, he was posted to the Directorate of Overseas Surveys in Kenya."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2016/04/17/major-general-eric-barton--obituary/