Aged only nineteen his self taught skill and knowledge enabled
him to construct a Solar-Camera telescope in order to witness the
total solar eclipse of 1927,
…In June 1927 I made a 7ft 6 inch
focus Solar-Camera at Glencaple to photograph the total eclipse of
the sun on the 29th at 6.24am. I cycled to Richmond in Yorkshire,
which lay in the belt of totality, accompanied by my two brothers.
I carried the camera. It required quite an effort to mount the
bicycle and stay on it let alone cycle the 150 miles! We were up at
3 am that morning and duly orientated the camera in readiness for
the exposures but were defeated by clouds at the critical moment.
Several successful photographs of the sun's disc were however
obtained before and after totality…
Two years later Robert Waland completed a domed observatory in
his garden at Glencaple, near Dumfries. It housed a 10 inch
reflecting telescope. Over the following decade, he designed a 6
inch refracting telescope which incorporated cameras for
photographing the stars. It took 17,000 hours of his spare time to
make and was completed in 1945 by which time he had moved into
Dumfries.
A chance encounter with Professor Erwin Finlay-Freundlich who
was on a visit to Dumfries led to Robert Waland's appointment as
Head Technician at the Department of Astronomy at St Andrews
University. He remained there for 17 years working on an 18 inch
then a 37 inch Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope research project.
In 1950, Robert Waland undertook a study trip to the United
States to examine telescope design. He returned there in 1962 as
Research Associate and Chief Optician at the Lunar and Planetary
Department of the University of Arizona at Tucson. He worked on a
61 inch reflecting telescope which was completed in 1965. It
enabled astronomers to compile an atlas of the moon surface which
was used by the first astronauts to land on the moon in 1969. He
continued his research, working on a 70 inch telescope for asteroid
observation.
Robert Waland retired from the Steward Observatory at the
University of Arizona in 1980. He returned to St Andrews to work on
his book, "Optics of the Cassegrain Telescope". This book sums up
his years in optical engineering. He describes the design process
of telescopes, including the grinding, polishing and handling of
the mirror itself. It was published in 1990.
He finally returned to Dumfries where he spent the last years of
his life. In 1998 a modern 9.25 inch Schmidt-Cassegrain Reflecting
Telescope was added to the collection at Dumfries Museum and Camera
Obscura. The selection was made under the guidance of Robert Waland
whose generosity made the purchase possible. He died in the
following year.
