John Bury (captain)
Encyclopedia
Captain John Bury was a master mariner and Elder Brother of Trinity House
. He was involved in the adoption of a standardised buoy
age system internationally.
Bury was born in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan
. His parents were Welsh immigrants who had taken up farming on the Canadian prairie
, but later returned to Wales.
Bury took up a maritime career in 1931, becoming an apprentice on the Anchor Line
. He joined the New Zealand Shipping Company
in 1940 and served in the Merchant Navy
in the Second World War. He was promoted within the company to command its ships, before being elected to Trinity House
.
Mutually inconsistent buoyage systems had proliferated in the 19th and early 20th centuries, leading to many accidents at sea. As chairman of the IALA
Buoyage Committee, Bury oversaw the introduction in the 1970s of a standardised maritime buoyage systems, involving cardinal mark
s painted yellow and black with topmarks and lights to indicate to mariners the direction of maritime dangers, and lateral mark
s painted red or green to indicate whether the mark was to be passed on the port or starboard. The new standardised system was ratified in 1980, and the buoyage system remains in international use.
Trinity House
The Corporation of Trinity House of Deptford Strond is the official General Lighthouse Authority for England, Wales and other British territorial waters...
. He was involved in the adoption of a standardised buoy
Buoy
A buoy is a floating device that can have many different purposes. It can be anchored or allowed to drift. The word, of Old French or Middle Dutch origin, is now most commonly in UK English, although some orthoepists have traditionally prescribed the pronunciation...
age system internationally.
Bury was born in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
. His parents were Welsh immigrants who had taken up farming on the Canadian prairie
Prairie
Prairies are considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the dominant vegetation type...
, but later returned to Wales.
Bury took up a maritime career in 1931, becoming an apprentice on the Anchor Line
Anchor Line
The Anchor Line was a steamboat company that operated a fleet of boats on the Mississippi River between St. Louis, Missouri, and New Orleans, Louisiana, between 1859 and 1898, when it went out of business...
. He joined the New Zealand Shipping Company
New Zealand Shipping Company
The New Zealand Shipping Company was a shipping company whose ships ran passenger and cargo services between Great Britain and New Zealand between 1873 and 1973.-New Zealand Shipping Company:...
in 1940 and served in the Merchant Navy
Merchant Navy
The Merchant Navy is the maritime register of the United Kingdom, and describes the seagoing commercial interests of UK-registered ships and their crews. Merchant Navy vessels fly the Red Ensign and are regulated by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency...
in the Second World War. He was promoted within the company to command its ships, before being elected to Trinity House
Trinity House
The Corporation of Trinity House of Deptford Strond is the official General Lighthouse Authority for England, Wales and other British territorial waters...
.
Mutually inconsistent buoyage systems had proliferated in the 19th and early 20th centuries, leading to many accidents at sea. As chairman of the IALA
International Association of Lighthouse Authorities
The International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities is a non-profit organization founded in 1957 to collect and provide nautical expertise and advice.-Background:...
Buoyage Committee, Bury oversaw the introduction in the 1970s of a standardised maritime buoyage systems, involving cardinal mark
Cardinal mark
A cardinal mark is a sea mark used in maritime pilotage to indicate the position of a hazard and the direction of safe water....
s painted yellow and black with topmarks and lights to indicate to mariners the direction of maritime dangers, and lateral mark
Lateral mark
A lateral buoy, lateral post or lateral mark, as defined by the International Association of Lighthouse Authorities, is a sea mark used in maritime pilotage to indicate the edge of a channel....
s painted red or green to indicate whether the mark was to be passed on the port or starboard. The new standardised system was ratified in 1980, and the buoyage system remains in international use.
External source
- Obituary, The TimesThe TimesThe Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, 8 December 2006