FOUR DECADES OF SOTON-MIN-FOSSICKING CONTENTS Page Officers of the Society ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2 Introduction ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3 Early Days ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------5 The Seventies --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------8 Through the Eighties ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------21 Into the Nineties --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------43 And on to the Twenties ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------87 The Joys of Mineral Collecting --------------------------------------------------------------------------148 Appendices: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------151 Showtime-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------153 Phil Bampton Trophy---------------------------------------------------------------------155 David Griffiths Trophy-------------------------------------------------------------------156 Roll of Members Past and Present----------------------------------------------------157 © Southampton Mineral & Fossil Society 2012 http://www.sotonminfoss.org.uk/ 1 OFFICERS OF THE SOCIETY CHAIRMAN SECRETARY Don Epps 1971 John Thomas 1971 John Thomas 1972 J Greaves 1972 Esme Bailey 1973 (2 mths) M Dawkins 1973 Caroline Bond 1973 (10 mths) Mrs C Butcher 1974 David Griffiths 1974, 1975-79? Mrs MacArthur 1975 John Thomas 1980-1983 David Griffiths 1976-1980 David Griffiths 1983-1984 John Bartlett 1981-1982 Barbara Thomas 1985 Chris Wallage 1983-1984 Roger Wood 1986 David Griffiths 1985-1999 John Thomas 1987-1996 Gary Morse 1999 to date Phil James 1997-2000 Jim Goulding 2000-2008 Phil James 2009 to date TREASURER Mrs J Cowie 1971 Miss Esme Bailey 1972 FIELD TRIPS Chris Pollard 1973 Doreen Hamerton 1972-1973 A Scott 1974 Ben Dye 1981-1983 1975-1979 not recorded Rob Rider 1986 Chris Pollard 1980-1981 Ben Dye 1993-1994 Ruth Compton 1982 Nick Green 1995-2001 Phil James 1983-1994 Dave Manvell 2008 Gary Morse 1995-1999 Barry Pitt 2010 to date Nick Green 1999 (Missing years either unrecorded or Gary Morse 2000 position vacant) Geraldine Hobbs 2000-2001 Nick Green 2001-2010 Phil James 2011 to date COMMITTEE MEMBERS WITHOUT PORTFOLIO William Lane 1971 Martin Sherborne 1984 D Epps, D Williams 1972 Rob Rider 1984-1985, 1987, 1991-1994 Paul Bond 1973 Roger Wood 1985 P Nelmes, D Turpin 1974 Tim Bradshaw 1985 Doreen Hamerton 1975 Chris Wallage 1986, 1987 Caroline Bond 1975 Nick Green 1 987-1994 Chris Pollard 1975, 1976 Jim Goulding 1990-2000 Don Epps 1975 Bob Bristow 1991-1996? Ruth Compton 1976, 1980, 1981 Gary Morse 1993, 1994 John Thomas 1973-1979, 1997-2011 Phil James 1995, 1996 Barbara Thomas 1977-2011 Mike Penfold 1998-2001 Norman King 1982-1984 Anita Wolfe 1999 to date David Griffiths 1982 Barry Pitt 2009 to date Apologies to those concerned for any inaccuracies or omissions in the above - it is the best that could be gleaned from the available records. 2 FOUR DECADES OF SOTON-MIN-FOSSICKING An Introduction by Founder Member John Thomas On 29th April 1971, a group of sixteen Southampton people sharing an interest in the up-and- coming hobby of cutting and polishing semi-precious stones for jewellery, decided to form a society for like-minded enthusiasts. They named it the Southampton Lapidary Society and monthly meetings were held at the Temperance Hall in Carlton Crescent. Few of the members of the newly-formed Society had much experience of lapidary work. Also, there were no dedicated British magazines at this time and very few books on the subject had been published in this country, so expertise had to be gained from American journals and books and through experimentation, often with home-made equipment. Through the 1970’s lapidary increased in popularity in Britain this was accompanied by a growing interest in the raw materials of lapidary – minerals and rocks. In the Southampton Society, as in many others, more and more people were becoming involved in collecting and finding out about these materials. Group field trips to collect minerals at quarries, mine spoil tips and coastal exposures became an important part of Society activities. Localities from Cornwall to Cumbria were visited – at a time when attitudes to access to private sites were considerably more relaxed than today! In the early 1980’s, responding to demand, we extended the scope of the Society’s meetings and field trips to include fossil collecting and later changed our name to Southampton Mineral, Fossil and Lapidary Society to reflect the wider coverage. At this time we transferred our venue for monthly meetings from an unpopular out-of- town location to the Friends’ Meeting House in the centre of Southampton – this has now been our home for the past 30 years. Lapidary never achieved prominence in the Society’s activities, despite the enthusiasm of the founder members. In the early years, this was largely because we could not find premises where members could collectively carry out practical work. Equipment for cutting and polishing stone was retained by the Society for loan to members but by the late 1980’s interest in this branch of the hobby had dwindled virtually to zero and the use of the word “Lapidary” in the title of the Society was no longer justifiable. Under the new name of Southampton Mineral and Fossil Society we set out to broaden the aspirations of the group and everyone can be justly proud of its achievements over the following two decades. 3 “Some forty years ago I decided I wanted a new hobby. Lapidary was the fashion at the time. So I tumbled, ground and polished semi-precious stones and I learnt how to work with silver to show them to their best advantage. Then I discovered I could go out and find beautiful crystals and pretty coloured stones for myself, as well as all sorts of minerals whose names I just cannot remember. But what does that matter! To find them I travelled the British Isles, searching on beaches, in china clay pits and stone quarries, and even down mines. The joy of discovering something so intriguing and beautiful, just as nature made it, was so fascinating and exciting and in the process made me good friends. I was hooked on collecting!” Barbara Thomas (From the Society’s “Members’ Miscellany” display, 2009) 4 EARLY DAYS It is now a full forty years since a group of employees at the Ordnance Survey discovered in the course of conversations round the coffee urn that they shared a common interest in the cutting and polishing of gem stones, this eventually leading to the suggestion that a club or society should be formed with this as its main aim. An advertisement was accordingly placed in the Evening Echo announcing an inaugural meeting on 29th April 1971. This took place at 128 Gordon Avenue, Portswood, the home of Mr Don Epps, and sixteen prospective members turned up to discuss the idea in more detail. They decided to call themselves the Southampton Lapidary Society and it was agreed that a Committee should be formed consisting of a Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer and one other member; the nominees for these positions were respectively Mr Epps, Mr John W Thomas, Mrs J Cowie and Mr William J Lane. It was proposed that there should be an entry fee of £1 and that in addition an annual subscription of £2 would be due as from the first AGM. On 13th May the Committee met for the first time. The subject of a suitable meeting place for the fledgling Society was discussed, and all agreed that the “Temperance Institute” premises at 30 Carlton Crescent would provide an ideal venue. It was also decided to rent a stand at the Southampton Show at a cost of £8.50. Initial fund-raising ideas included guessing the number of pebbles in a jar, and an auction of tumbled stones. Annual Subs would be £2 for an adult, £3 for a married couple, and £1 for juveniles with a minimum joining age of ten. On 2nd June some thirty-two people arrived at the Temperance Institute to attend the first full meeting of the Society. They were welcomed by the Chairman who passed on apologies for the Treasurer’s absence due to illness. The Secretary read out a letter from the “Lapidary Journal of USA” and said he had a supply of subscription forms if anyone would like to buy it. Mr Lane read out an interesting article which he had written some time ago for the New Milton Times and the Chairman read out a letter from a Mr Lester Stevenson of California announcing that he would be touring Britain in July and would be happy to give talks on gemmology and lapidary work in the States. This concluded the official business of the evening and was followed by a demonstration of hand-polishing of a beautiful blue stone named sodalite. The event was marked by a modest announcement in the Southampton Echo on the following day. At the next Committee meeting the Treasurer reported that a bank account had now been opened at the May bush Branch of the National Westminster Bank. 5 THE SEVENTIES 1972 During 1972 Committee meetings continued to be held monthly, Mr and Mrs Lane had kindly volunteered their home at “Merrie Meade”, 40, Greenfields Avenue, Totton, as a regular venue. In January Mr Epps produced a first proof of the Society’s magazine with which everyone was most impressed, especially when he announced he could get it printed for free. The possibility of a trip to Portland quarry was also discussed – Mrs Cowie suggested that more such outings should be put on and that the Society should subsidize part of the costs. In March the Secretary reported that a couple from Australia named the Batchelors were prepared to give a lecture and slide show. Mrs Cowie had bought a paper- weight costing £2.20 for Professor Hodson who had given a talk to the Society at the University, and a book for the library costing £1.00. She proposed also purchasing a book entitled “Discovering Lapidary Work” by J Wainwright at a cost of £3.60 and this was agreed.