Trailblazer
Samuel
Gill Gamble
1911–1977
Life's Lessons
If an education is the preparation for one's life work, then Samuel Gill
Gamble was at the head of his class. He prepared for his role as a surveyor
in the tradition of his namesake Samuel de Champlain, who educated himself
by seeking out tutors and applying their lessons to his craft.
Samuel Gamble graduated from the Royal Military College in Kingston,
where he studied surveying and engineering, prior to the Second World
War. He subsequently served overseas during a time when military mapping
was in great demand. Along with many Canadian soldiers, he was trained
in aerial photography and the use of stereo plotters. Upon his return
from the war, a prominent career as the head of Canada's federal mapping
program awaited him.
Surveying — higher education
Through his active involvement with the Canadian Institute of Surveying,
Samuel was inspired to become an advocate for post-secondary studies in
surveying. In 1958, the chairman of the editorial committee of the Institute
asked Samuel to develop a special issue of The Canadian Surveyor on survey
education. He proposed a conference, which became the "Colloquium
on Survey Education," now recognized as the turning point for surveying
and mapping studies in Canada.
In 1959, the Institute agreed that surveying needed to be an independent
academic discipline, marking the inception of specialized mapping and
surveying programs in Canadian universities.
Cross-border sharing
Samuel was attributed with bringing both visibility and prestige to Canada's
outstanding contributions in professional surveying abroad.
He recognized the need for an international forum of information sharing
and education with organizations such as the International Society for
Photogrammetry. In 1960, when Canada was granted membership to the Pan-American
Institute of Geography and History, Samuel began planning international
education programs. Five years later, when he was Director of the Surveys
and Mapping Branch (SMB) of the Department of Energy, Mines
and Resources (now Natural Resources Canada), he convened a seminar on
cartography in Ottawa for professionals from Latin America.
Samuel was interested not only in education, but also in the safety of
surveyors. He first became acquainted with the dangers of mining as a
student working as an assistant mine surveyor in the Noranda district
of Quebec. His recognition of the danger of rock bursts led to the First
Canadian Symposium on Mining Surveying and Rock Deformation Measurements
in 1969.
Mapping the industry
In Samuel's early days as Director of the SMB,
he saw the need for a forum where federal and provincial government survey
agencies could share matters of common interest in aerial surveying.
As aerial surveying flourished through the 1950s, Samuel, then the director
of the Topographical Survey Division, played a pivotal role in fostering
a relationship between the aerial surveying industry and the federal government.
In 1953, his efforts were rewarded when the industry and the government
co-produced the first National Topographic System maps.
During this time, Samuel also invented the Gamble Plotter, which enabled
surveyors to establish the control required to map a wide belt of Canadian
wilderness. His unique plotter was the first to use three-dimensional
imagery in mapping, allowing for a sequence of aerial photographs to be
taken kilometres apart, then plotted and viewed through one single scale.
Samuel launched the revolutionary automatic mapping operation, helping
to establish Canada as a world leader in the field of surveying. This
operation allowed cartographers to scan maps and separate layers of information
to accurately and automatically build large- or small-scale maps.
Samuel's work in the world of surveying and mapping resulted in numerous
advancements in the SMB.
For Samuel, the Branch was truly a "family he had fathered and guided…for
nearly fifteen years." It was through his direction and dedication
that the Branch became a "nucleus of expertise in legal, geodetic,
topographical, hydrographic and cartographic areas."
Life achievements
- 1944 — Assistant Director of Surveys, First Canadian Army
- 1949 — Chief Topographic Engineer, Surveys and Mapping
Branch - 1958 — Director of the Surveys and Mapping Branch
President, Canadian Institute of Surveying - 1963 — Chairman, National Advisory Committee on Cadastral
Surveys and Mapping - 1964 — Chairman, Interdepartmental Committee on Air Surveys
- 1967 — Chairman, Interdepartmental Committee on Aeronautical
Charting - 1970 — (Honorary) Doctor of Science, University of New
Brunswick - 1972 — Congress Director, 12th Congress, International
Society of Photogrammetry, Ottawa
(Honorary) Doctor of Geodetic Science, Université Laval - 1972–1976 — President, International Society for
Photogrammetry
Assistant Deputy Minister (Administration), Department of Energy, Mines
and Resources