Dixey was born in
Bristol, the third child of George Dixey and Mary (née Nippress). When he was two years old, the family moved to
Barry, Glamorgan. He attended Clive Road school, Barry Island until 1902, High Street Boys’ school until 1905 and Barry Grammar School until 1910. In 1910, Dixey went to
University College, Cardiff to study physics, chemistry and mathematics. He graduated in 1914 with first class honours in
geology. He remained in Cardiff, in the post of Assistant Lecturer, to work with
Franklin Sibly on the Carboniferous limestones. He was awarded an MSc in 1916. In 1915, joined the
Royal Engineers and served in France and Belgium, and ended up as a gunner with the
Royal Garrison Artillery. In May 1918, Dixey was transferred to
Sierra Leone, to conduct a geological survey. By 1922, he had completed three long tours overseas, and this work had earned him the DSc from the
University of Wales. the southern extension of the
rift valley through Malawi and the carbonatites at
Chilwa; and he conducted the geological groundwork for the
Zambesi bridge, at that time the longest bridge in Africa. In 1928, Dixey was appointed director of the Malawi survey, and turned his attention to groundwater resources. He wrote a ‘handbook of practical water supply’, which was influential in changing practices around water supply in several other countries in Africa. In 1939, he extended his work to present day Zambia, and later to Kenya, Tanzania, Sudan and Eritrea. but continued to work for
United Nations and
Unesco, advising on mineral and water resources. In 1965, he was one of three founding editors of the
Journal of Hydrology, a role he retained until 1977. In 2009, Dixey was honoured with a
Blue Plaque in Prince's street, Barry. Dixey's archives are held at the
British Geological Survey. ==Awards==