(Tim Dinsdale (1924-1987))
In April of 1960 Dinsdale drove to Loch Ness, and there at
the end of a week's exploration, on the very morning of his departure,
Dinsdale shot a brief piece of film of a mysterious object churning its
way across Loch Ness. The Dinsdale film is credited with being one of
the most convincing pieces of film ever shot. The film was taken with
16mm equipment, using black and white film, Dinsdale's footage showed a
dark indistinct blob moving across Loch Ness at a distance of 1 mile,
then changing course and travelling parallel with the shore.
In 1966 the status of Dinsdale's film soared when it was analysed by
R.A.F. photographic experts at the Joint Air Reconnaissance
Intelligence Center (JARIC) who commented that what the film showed was
"probably an animate object". Here at long last was conclusive proof of
the monster's existence. It was a turning point in the investigation.
In the Spring of 1961 Dinsdale returned to Loch Ness full of
enthusiasm. He later wrote "There was every reason to suppose that
close-up cine film would at last be obtained." At the end of March he
spent day after day watching the Loch from a variety of places along
the shoreline. 1961 had drawn a blank, but Dinsdale put a brave face on
the failure. It was a great boost to his morale to learn that some
important people had been greatly impressed by his film. In 1962 the
Loch Ness Phenomena Investigation Bureau was formed by various
prominent public figures, including Peter Scott and David James, a
conservative MP. Dinsdale joined as a "Field Associate" and began a
collaboration which was to last for over a decade. 1962 promised to be
a very exciting year indeed. There were three major expeditions to Loch
Ness, together with a number of one-man investigations. Dinsdale
himself carried out two further expeditions in the Spring and Autumn of
this year, he failed to obtain any film of the monster. He made two
expeditions to Loch Ness in 1965, continuing his lonely vigils from the
South shore but he drew no results from either of these. Dinsdale
continued with the Loch Ness Investigation Bureau until 1971 when their
headquarters site at Achnahannet was abandoned and the camera equipment
sold. Throughout the 70's and early 80's he continued to watch the Loch
but in that time he witnessed two more sightings, and on each of these
occasions unfortunately his camera was not available. There ends the
tale of one of Loch Ness's greatest searchers, almost.
In July 1987, at the National Museums of Scotland in Edinburgh, The Society for the History of Natural History and the International Society for Cryptozoology held a symposium on "The Search for Nessie in the 1980s"; the reception given there to Dinsdale's election to Honorary Membership of the ISC testified to the wide-spread affection and respect that he had gained. Dinsdale had become synonymous with the quest at Loch Ness, respected universally for his sterling qualities even by those who had scant respect for the significance of the quest itself - as attested, for example by the obituary in The Times. Dinsdale's own words are perhaps his most appropriate epigraph:
"The cost has been great - at a private level
seemingly impossible to meet in time and money, and yet, in meeting it,
by some strange alchemy I am the richer for it, and my family no less
independent. 
And
so to - the Monster justifies itself in terms of opposites; because I
do not believe it is in itself important. Dramatic, extraordinary,
exciting, a zoological wonder perhaps - but not important, in the sense
that it is only an animal - like an elephant, or for that matter a cow
which is equally marvellous...
But, in the way it relates to our
scientific society - it is of enormous importance - in the case of
embarrassing unexplained phenomena, science just "doesn't want to know"
- and for this reason it is imperative that voluntary work continues at
Loch Ness. We stand - on new frontiers of discovery which will test the
credulence and courage of man, and his ability to adapt - will depend
on his mental flexibility...We must have this type of mental outlook,
and at Loch Ness we have such a rare opportunity to demonstrate the
need for it."
In the memory of the example set by Tim Dinsdale, the Society for Scientific Exploration has established the Tim Dinsdale Memorial Award to honour individuals for their "significant contributions to the expansion of human understanding through the study of unexplained phenomena."
Robert Rines
Robert Rines (continued)
Steve Feltham
The Feeding Habits of Nessie
Analysis of the Dinsdale Film
Map of Loch Ness
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