Norman Bertram Marshall facts for kids

Norman Bertram Marshall, known as Freddy, was a British scientist who studied ocean life. He was born on February 5, 1915, and passed away on February 13, 1996. Freddy worked at the British Museum (Natural History). He was especially interested in exploring the deep parts of the ocean and the fish that live there. He became an expert on fish, especially those found in the deep sea.

Early Life and School

Freddy Marshall was born in a village called Great Shelford in Cambridgeshire. His family had lived there for many generations. His father and grandfather were both builders. Freddy was the oldest of four children; he had two brothers and one sister. Before Freddy was born, his father joined the army and fought in the First World War in France.

From 1920, Freddy went to the village's church school. In 1926, he moved to the Cambridge and County High School. During his school years, Freddy loved fishing more than his studies. He almost got expelled from school because of this! However, he still managed to earn a special certificate called a Higher School Certificate. He did very well in subjects like zoology (the study of animals) and botany (the study of plants).

University and First Jobs

In 1933, Freddy Marshall started studying at Downing College, Cambridge. He received scholarships to help pay for his education. He studied Natural Sciences and focused on Zoology. As a student, he was interested in embryology, which is the study of how living things develop from an egg.

His professor, John Stanley Gardiner, introduced him to another scientist named E.S. Russell. Freddy admired Russell's book about development. They talked about fish biology, but Freddy still wanted to study embryology.

However, Professor Gardiner told Freddy to try new things. He introduced him to Commander Hawkridge, who helped insure fishing boats. Commander Hawkridge arranged for Freddy to go on fishing trips during his holidays. Freddy visited the waters near Iceland three times. He also went to Bear Island and the Faroes once each. On these trips, Freddy first saw the macrourid fish. These are deep-sea fish that he would later become an expert on. These voyages likely made Freddy decide to focus on marine biology. He then applied for a job as a marine biologist in Hull.

In 1937, Marshall joined Alister Hardy's department at University College, Hull. Here, he researched tiny ocean creatures called plankton. He spent many hours working with special silk reels. These reels were part of machines that collected plankton. The machines were hidden inside fake herrings and pulled behind commercial ships. Freddy was looking for specific types of arrow worms, which are small sea creatures.

Freddy lived in a place in Hull that wasn't very good. His friend Jacob Bronowski suggested Freddy move into his lodgings. It was Bronowski who gave him the nickname "Freddy." There, he also met Olga Stonehouse, his landlady's daughter. Freddy and Olga got married in 1944. He also became friends with Cyril Lewis during this time.

Army Service During World War II

In 1941, Freddy Marshall joined the Royal Army Ordnance Corps. He was first stationed near the River Thames. Later, like many other scientists, he was moved to a special unit that worked on "operation research." This involved using scientific methods to help the army.

In 1944, the Army sent him to work for the Colonial Office for special duties. He learned that a secret British mission, Operation Tabarin, needed volunteers. This operation aimed to stop enemy forces from using Antarctic islands. It also helped to strengthen Britain's claims in the region.

Freddy contacted Brian Roberts, who was organizing the mission. Roberts sent Freddy to Canada to collect 25 huskies. These dogs would be used by the teams in the Antarctic. Freddy flew to Labrador on September 19, 1944, just ten days after marrying Olga. He returned to Liverpool on a French cargo ship called the Indochinois. He was with Surgeon Commander Edward W. Bingham, who knew a lot about huskies. In Liverpool, Freddy and the dogs boarded the RSS John Biscoe. They sailed to the Antarctic, where Freddy was based at Hope Bay as the zoologist.

After the War: A Career in Science

When Freddy returned to Hull in September 1946, he spent a lot of time at the British Museum (Natural History). He worked on the fish collection he had gathered during his time in the Antarctic. In the summer of 1947, Freddy was hired by the Museum's Department of Zoology. He took over from J.R. Norman, who had passed away.

For the next 25 years, Freddy worked at the Museum. He became a very important scientist there in 1962. He traveled widely, visiting the United States and going on many ocean research trips. Following advice from Albert Eide Parr, he became an expert in studying the swim bladder of fish, especially deep-sea fish. The swim bladder is an organ that helps fish control their buoyancy.

He also gave popular lectures at Harvard University and worked at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in 1963. He also spent time at the University of Miami and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. In 1970, he was chosen to be a Fellow of the Royal Society, which is a very high honor for scientists.

Freddy received the Polar Medal in 1953 for his work in the Antarctic. In 1971, he was given the Rosenstiel Gold Medal for his contributions to marine biology. In 1972, Freddy left the Museum. He became the Chair of Zoology at Queen Mary College, London University. He stayed in that position until he retired in 1977.

Freddy Marshall wrote three important books about marine biology. These were Aspects of deep-sea biology (1954), Explorations in the lives of fishes (1963), and Developments in deep sea biology (1979). His wife, Olga, drew the illustrations for these books. He also wrote many scientific papers.

Personal Life

Freddy Marshall married Olga Stonehouse on September 9, 1944. They had one son, Justin, who also became a marine biologist. They also had three daughters. While Freddy worked in London, they lived in Saffron Walden. Their house was built by Freddy's brother, Peter, who was an architect. He used bricks from an old ruined building on the site.

Freddy loved music. While staying with his friend Lewis in Edinburgh, he became interested in the music of Donald Tovey. He also enjoyed playing golf and listening to the composer Bach. He was interested in many different subjects. He was good friends with the writer Arthur Koestler, who often visited him to talk about books and ideas. In 1996, Freddy and Olga moved to Great Chesterford in Essex. Freddy passed away suddenly on February 13, 1996, while working on a new book about simplicity in biology.

Legacy

Several things are named after Freddy Marshall to honor his work. A type of grenadier fish is called Coryphaenoides marshalli. Another fish, the needletooth cusk, is named Epetriodus freddyi. Marshall Peak in Antarctica is also named after him. This peak was named by the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey to recognize Freddy's important work during Operation Tabarin.