NEWSLETTER, WINTER 2015

(40th ANNIVERSARY ISSUE)

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40 YEARS OF THE SOCIETY

By Lesley Exton

The inaugural meeting of the Geological Section of the Hertfordshire Natural History Society took place at St Albans College of Further Education on the 9th January 1975, chaired by Chris Wood. The proposed programme of lectures and field meetings was outlined and the election of officers took place. Chairman: Chris Wood; Secretary: Dr Roger Mason; Treasurer: John C. Whitcher and Field Secretary: Brian Palmer. The meeting heard with regret of the recent death of Dr Percy Evans, the leading authority on the geology of Hertfordshire who had been the proposed candidate for President of the society. It was suggested that the person subsequently nominated as President should deliver a lecture at the end of the year that would be known as the ‘Percy Evans Memorial Lecture’. Prof. John F. Kirkaldy subsequently became the 1st President of the Society (1975-6) and he delivered the first lecture of this series on the 8th January 1976. Subsequent Presidents served two years in office (occasionally three) with their lecture given at the end of their term. This next year will see the 39th lecture in this series by our current President, Dr John Catt, one of only two individuals to have served two terms (1977-80: 2013-5). The other being our current Chairman, Dr Haydon Bailey (1985-7: 2008-11).

Prof. E.H. Brown delivered the very first lecture ‘The evolution of the landscape of S.E. England.’ Since then there have been at least 365 lectures, as well as a joint meeting with St Albans & Hertfordshire Archaeological & Architectural Society to celebrate the London Geological Society’s Bicentennial (2007), a Symposium on the Chalk of Hertfordshire (2009) and the Puddingstone Pow-wow (2010). At least 28 of the lectures have had associated field trips. Only 17 lectures have been cancelled, in the majority of cases (except when the lecture was cancelled due to adverse winter weather conditions) alternative speakers from within the membership have been successfully substituted.

The first field meeting held in February 1975 was a tour round the Rugby Portland Cement Co. Quarry at Kensworth, followed by fossil collecting. We have returned to this quarry several times over the years and will be doing so again next year, twice! In total there have been 155 recorded field trips, with 40 in Hertfordshire, 21 in Bedfordshire, 21 in London, 17 in Kent, 12 in Buckinghamshire, 10 in Essex, and 10 in Wales. However, there aren’t many counties in England we haven’t visited at least once. In addition there have been 17 trips abroad, including Canada and Tunisia, with the remaining 15 trips to various countries in Europe.

The Society changed its name to the Hertfordshire Geology Society (A section of Hertfordshire Natural History Society & Field Club) in 1984 and in 2003 it became an independent organisation. In 2012 the Hertfordshire RIGS Group became associated with the Society. The Society became a local group of the Geological Association in 2013 after being an affiliated member since 1991.

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FAULD MINE, BRITISH GYPSUM (SAINT-GOBAIN) NEAR TUTBURY, BURTON UPON TRENT, STAFFORDSHIRE, SATURDAY 22nd MARCH 2014

By Nikki Edwards Photographs: Clive Maton

Upon arrival, we were greeted with coffee and a full safety briefing from the mine manager Jim Daykin. Noel Worley (formerly Minerals and Estate manager at British Gypsum) then gave an illustrated talk on evaporate geology, depositional environments and the paleogeography of the Permian/Triassic. The deposits form part of the Mercia Mudstone Group with the Tutbury seams at the top of the Blue Anchor and the Westbury formation above the Sherwood sandstones. The whole formation is capped by glacial drift of Devensian and Anglian origin.

The Mercia Mudstone was formed about 237 million years ago in the upper Triassic when the UK was just north of the equator, on the edge of the large sedimentary Needwood basin in the Tethys Ocean. The gypsum formed sub-aerially on mud flats or sabkhas along the water table, just below the surface where it was saturated with sea water. This was a period of intense evaporation, with hypersaline water being drawn through the muds below. At Fauld they are mining the Tutbury gypsum seam which is up to 3m thick.

After the presentations we were kitted out with the necessary PPE and Self Rescuer (for carbon monoxide in case of fire) (Fig 1), and signed an indemnity form for radiation exposure. Uranium materials are concentrated around small black nodules of organic origin, B-particles caused Fe 3+ to Fe 2+ reduction so that they are surrounded by a pale aureole.

Fig 1. The group before entering the mine.

We entered the mine via an adit into an area of old workings where the tunnels twist and turn with many blocked off passages. The original miners (it started in the mid-nineteenth century with a

2 quarry then went into the hillside) just followed the seams, whereas the modern workings (now covering 13 sq km) are on a grid system with 75% of the gypsum extracted, the remainder left as pillars to support the operation.

One of the most interesting features are the diapirs (Fig 2). These were caused first by the gypsum seams being buried to 2 to 3 km such that the temperature and pressure drove out the water and converted the deposits to anhydrite which take up 40% less volume. Subsequently as the cover was removed the stress was reduced so the addition of meteoric water converted the anhydrite back to gypsum and the lateral stress forced the gypsum into diapirs above the Tutbury seam up to 9m thick. The folded structures can clearly be seen in the roof of the mine workings.

Fig 2. Part of a diapir in roof of tunnel. Fig 3. Alabaster in the tunnel.

We also saw areas where the unique translucent quality of the gypsum showed that it reflects little light but glows when illuminated, due to having low light dispersion (Fig 3). This lead to its extraction as alabaster which was used extensively by the Victorians in churches for sculptured memorials. We were able to observe some fine examples of this craft in detail when we visited St Werburgh's church in nearby Hanbury at the end of the day (Fig 4).

Originally the majority of the gypsum was used for plaster being either quarried or mined under limited cover e.g. where we were it was about 50m. The working part of the mine has over 100m cover, the increased pressure means it contains a much greater proportion of anhydrite and therefore sulphur. This is now all used in the production of Portland Cement (about 4%) where it acts to delay setting times. Fauld is centrally sited with many cement works within a 50 mile radius.

On leaving the mine Noel lead us up the hill above the mine workings to an incredible view of The Fauld Crater, 250m across and about 30m deep (Fig 5). Although little known, it was the result of the largest non-nuclear explosion of the Second World War, when in November 1944 about 3500 tonnes of explosives detonated underground.

The Peter Ford Mine to the east of the present mine was used from 1937 to store bombs. It developed into a site for both storage and maintenance of bombs, incendiaries and detonators for both RAF and US forces, separated from the working mine by blast doors.

The accident occurred in the maintenance area where detonators were removed to replace the

3 contents of the bombs. The explosive force was channelled upwards forcing about 1.5m cu m of debris over 1000m into the air, wiping out the farm at the surface, causing damage to buildings in Hanbury and destroying a dam near the top of the hill used for water power which caused a major flood. In total 80 people were killed, about 30 of them Italian ex-POWs working in the plaster factory near the mine as Italy had changed sides by this date. The tragedy was compounded by the event being covered by the Official Secrets Act for 40 years, so families were not compensated for their loss and the story is not widely known (except by the locals).

Geology was key to the event as the 40m of cover had been assumed to be a secure place to store such material. However as it consisted of glacial drift rather than lithified rock, the force did not go laterally to be contained by the blast doors, rather they ensured it to took the easiest route up through the glacial drift to the surface.

Crater Rim

Fig 4. Alabaster memorial in Hanbury church Fig 5. Fauld Crater

This was a memorable trip and our thanks go to Noel Worley and Jim Daykin for their time and British Gypsum for the permission to visit the mine.

BRYANTS LANE QUARRY, LEIGHTON BUZZARD, BEDFORDSHIRE, SATURDAY 9th AUGUST 2014

By/Photographs Lesley Exton

There was a restriction on numbers for this trip, therefore it was a disappointment when four individuals dropped out a week before and then there were two no-shows on the day itself. However, those that did make it on a sunny morning in August met our leader Clive Rogers at Heath Inn car park and then made the short walk to the quarry entrance. There we waited while Clive ascertained where he was allowed to take us from the quarry worker who’d come to open up. On our walk in we stopped at a site that had been recommended by the worker as an area where ammonites had been found previously. Our boots rapidly became weighted down with mud as we searched as there had been a heavy rainstorm the previous night, but we only managed to find some Gryphaea.

The quarry is completely privately owned. It was brought by the present owner’s father in the 1940’s and proved very economic due to the fineness of the sand there which is known as the Woburn Sands. They tell the story of a sudden rise in sea level 115 million years ago as a result of significant global warming during the Cretaceous period. In Bedfordshire this event is represented

4 by the sudden influx of marine sands into a narrow seaway running right across the county.

The first beds we looked at were thought to be sand bars that formed in the Cretaceous period at the mouth of the estuary that fed into the sea. The cross-bedding here is spectacular and has been the backdrop to several films. Cross-bedding is formed by currents and tides that moved the sands back and forth on the sea floor, with the sediment being deposited on the down-current side (Fig 6). These movements built up many thin layers of sand. We could see burrows and tree roots going through the sand, and iron has later gone into the burrows, however, fossils are extremely rare. One of the party did find what looked like a small cannon ball – it turned out to be a marcasite nodule. Marcasite is iron sulfide with an orthorhombic crystal structure and if the find was cracked open it could have a pretty radiating crystal structure. However, the fresh surfaces react with moisture and oxygen in the air (just like pyrite) and the specimen eventually disintegrates, so the offer of a hammer was declined. A specimen can be preserved after being cracked open if it is sprayed with hair-spray immediately on exposure, but surprisingly no one had any to hand.

Fig 6. Cross-bedding Bryants Quarry.

We started at the bottom of the quarry and worked our way up looking at the differences in the colour of the sand and the changes in angle of the cross-bedding as we ascended, which was over 50 degrees. As well as the expected shades, the quarry also has produced purple sand which goes into cosmetics; these deposits are mostly worked out now. There are also areas of rainbow sand which is formed when petroleum has flowed through the deposit. We didn’t see any in situ but found some examples on the floor. There is more iron as you go up the succession and in one area it has formed an iron pan. This is an area where there is enough iron oxide to bind the sand together to form a hard subsurface layer. Clive took us up to this area, which is another favoured area for the film makers, but there was very little of the iron pan left. The specimens we found contained polished pebbles as well as the fine sand and this was something a lot of the group hadn’t seen before.

Fossil wood could also be found a little higher up in this deposit (Fig. 7). It had been brought down

5 by the rivers in the Cretaceous from the cycad forests growing on higher ground. We had more success in finding pieces of fossil wood in the sand than we had ammonites in the mud earlier on.

Fig 7. Looking for fossil wood.

We finished by looking at the piles of waste ironstone and the bags of sand all ready to be collected. By this time we had found several other marcasite nodules, so one was offered up to the hammer, unfortunately it didn’t turn out to be as pretty inside as expected (Fig 8).

Fig 8. Inside of a marcasite nodule.

6 After a thoroughly enjoyable morning we thanked Clive Rogers and then most of the group retired to the Health Inn for a well earned lunch.

THE MESOZOIC ROCKS OF DORSET, 9th – 12th OCTOBER 2014

By/photographs Nick Pierpoint Group photograph Chris Green

A trip to Dorset’s Jurassic coast is a delight for everyone, in particular geologists. It had an elegant fit to last year’s trip, which had covered the coastal section from Devon through to Lyme Regis in Dorset looking at the Triassic and early Jurassic succession. This year’s trip to the south east coast of Dorset provided easy access to a variety of different exposures within a hydrocarbon system. The objectives of the trip were to review the structural evolution of the Wessex Basin, assess the controls of source rock maturation, consider the development of hydrocarbon pathways, and assess reservoir potential characteristics of the Upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous.

The party set off in heavy rain from St Albans early Thursday (9th October) evening heading for Dorchester, the County town of Dorset. It was an ideal base to explore coastal locations both to the west and east. Our base was the Premier Inn there and as most members of the group settled down for the night, the ‘pioneers’ located the nearest pub which had its own brewery!

Matt Wakefield, BG exploration geologist and biostratigrapher specialist was our party leader. On Friday morning following a cooked breakfast – a real treat for some, we departed at 09:00. After a health and safety briefing we collected our picnic lunch from the local Tesco and set off to West Bay to examine the Bridport Sandstone from a reservoir properties perspective (Fig 9).

Fig 9. West Bay – Bridport Sandstone looking west.

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The first location was East Cliff – the Bridport Sandstone which extends eastwards towards Burton Bradstock which was capped by Inferior Oolite and Fullers Earth which forms the seal at Wytch Farm.

The Jurassic Bridport Sands were deposited in shallow marine environment with a potential sediment source probably in south Wales. It is a secondary reservoir at Wytch Farm which has porosities which vary between 15-32% and permeability’s up to 3000mD. The form of the cliffs is controlled by differential erosion. The poorly cemented horizons often appear honeycombed and are generally more heavily bioturbated with Thallasssinoides.

The Swales were originally considered to represent channels but recent interpretation now considers them to be erosional wavy sandy bedforms from below standing waves during periods of heavy storms such as tropical cyclones. They have a wave length in excess of 30m and amplitude of 1- 1.5m.

For lunch and early afternoon we were going to visit view points on Golden Cap but Dorset roads proved too narrow for the mini coach, so we dined al fresco in the sunshine on the beach at Charmouth making use of some convenient picnic tables on the banks of the river Char to the east of the town. The Charmouth section was in stark contrast to West Bay in that the objectives were to examine the sedimentology and source rock potential of the Lias. This also included looking at the rotation sip and failure along the cliff section which has proved a robust analogue for the Statfjord Field in Norway which also has this complex configuration of rotational failure shortly after lithification, which has resulting in highly compartmentalised reservoir.

This section of Lower Jurassic Lias consists of the Charmouth Mudstone Formation which includes Shales with Beef (TOC 8%), the Black Ven Marls, and the Belemnites Marls and the lower Green Ammonite Beds. A number of faults can be seen in the cliff which are likely conduits that allow the oil to escape once generated from the kerogens in the mudstones. Matt described the records of cliff fires from the organic rich sequence, for example in the Black Ven Marls as recent as 1987/88.

Much of the Lias was deposited in an offshore marine facies and is the source rock for both the Wytch farm and Kimeridge Bay oil fields. The organic matter or Kerogin type II liptinic is a mixed type of marine algal plankton with some zooplynton (microscopic marine animals). For the fossil hunters the Black Ven marls represented the best opportunity with numerous small pyritised ammonites which were best to look for along the strand line clear of the unstable cliffs.

To the west of Charmouth towards Lyme Regis was the fossil hunting territory of Mary Anning where she discovered Plesiosaurus. The day had remained dry and relatively warm and all looked set for a good day on Saturday. There were many dining options in Dorchester to suit taste. Clive’s logistics worked a treat, he did not disappoint making a reservation at a restaurant called No.6 a stone throw from the high street. Stylish without being too fussy just the job for geologists!

The same formula was repeated on Saturday, a good breakfast following by a brief stop at Tesco for sandwiches, suichi, fruit and scotch eggs (we know how to live). The first stop on Saturday was Chisel Beach to consider the processes which have resulted in the formation of such a formidable structure, its age and sediment source (Fig 10).

It is 18 miles long from Bridport to Chesil/Portland. On a clear fresh morning we could clearly see both Charmouth and Lyme Regis. The sources of the beautifully rounded pebbles varied from the Paleozoic of West Cornwall, the Permian from Dawlish and Chert from Cretaceous rocks. The present beach has formed since the last glaciation - the Devensian. The ice limit was extended from

8 London to Bristol and the sea level was lower than current levels. In fact the current English Channel was a land bridge to France, however as the channel was progressively flooded about 10 000 years ago the evolution of the bar was initiated.

The Fleet which is the lagoon behind the beach creates an interesting and unique wildlife habitat in that it varies considerably from brackish at the western end, contrasting with the saline waters of the eastern end which feel the impact of the tides through small channel to Weymouth Bay. A couple of bird watchers informed us that amongst the birds we could see were some rare Mediterranean Gulls – I will take their word for it!

Fig 10. The group on Chesil beach.

The clear morning was getting warmer and by mid-morning we then headed eastwards to our next location Kimmeridge Bay via the dramatic village of Corfe Castle. This is an iconic location in the world of Petroleum Geology. The twin objectives at this location were to consider the Kimmeridge Clay formation and visit the Steve Etches fossil collection in the nearby village of Kimmeridge, which is soon to be rehoused in a purpose built lottery funded premises not more than 100m away from where they are now (see Adrian’s write-up that follows). In fact Steve joined our group for this excursion along the beach.

The Kimmeridge Clay Formation, although not the source rock in the Wessex basin as it had not been buried deep enough to generate mobile hydrocarbons, is a primary source rock in the mid and central North Sea. Examination of the cliff section suggests it is an organic claystone at this location. In fact there is evidence in the cliff of former workings which included railway lines protruding from the cliff where the richer organic seams had been mined. This endeavour started about 150 years ago financed by the Kimmeridge estate employing former Welsh miners who were housed in the cottages which still stand near the cliff edge in Kimmeridge Bay. They attempted to scrape out a living providing fuel for a local glass factory.

Having paid the for the toll road, we parked and the group headed down the path to SE of the bay along a beach covered in warm honey coloured Dolostones (Microcrystalline Dolomite) blocks (Fig 11). We followed the shore line below the folly known as Cavell Tower perched on Hen Cliff. This

9 unit of microcrystalline dolomite is visible halfway up the cliff then drops to sea level eastwards towards Cuddle. The Kimmeridge Bay is characterised by visible rhythmic cycles on the meter scale of four distinct units. There has been much debate regarding these cycles including those in the Blue Lias which are possibly controlled by the variations in the earth’s orbit representing Obliquity of the Ecliptic 41 000 years or Precession of the Equinox cycles 22 000 years.

Fig 11. Kimmeridge Bay looking west. Dolostones in the foreground with Kimmeridge Clay anticline across the bay.

The petroleum system relies on organic material which is buried and cooked. The product depends on the nature of the organic content: i) algal/fresh water – thick oil; ii) spores marine algal – oil wet gas through to dry gas; iii) Wood gas. Biogenic gas is a consequence of bacterial activity working on organic matter. So the key to a successful hydrocarbon system is a source which has been buried deep enough to generate hydrocarbons – flowing expulsion from the source rock the hydrocarbon buoyancy effect will drive hydrocarbons along carrier beds or permeable conduits such as faults to a porous/permeable rock such as the fractured Cornbrash limestone in the case of the Kimmeridge Bay oil field. Key to a resulting accumulation of oil is the timing and trap presence. In the case of the hydrocarbon generation in the Wessex basin, the Kimmeridge has not been buried deep enough as the Lias. The formation of ‘traps’ such as anticlines occurred very late during the mid-Tertiary mountain building event – Alpine movements were simply to late which explains why most of the anticlines drilled in the Wessex basin are dry.

For the final evening we dined in Zizzi’s a stone throw from our hotel in Dorchester – ideal after a full day.

10 On Sunday morning we had the opportunity to visit Lulworth Cove (Fig 12) – which included the Greensand seeps, the Cinder Bed – distinctive shelly limestone composed mainly of blue grey oysters (Praeexogyra distortia) (Fig 13) the fossil forest on the east side of the cove and consider the deformation in Stair hole. The weather held out as promised until our departure time at 4pm when the rain returned providing a climatic symmetry to the weekend.

Fig 12. Lulworth Cove looking west.

Lulworth Cove an almost circular bay with a narrow opening to the sea is one of the finest examples of the interaction between marine erosion on alternating sequence of hard and soft rocks). The complete sequence from Jurassic limestone’s of the Portland Beds through to the Cretaceous chalk provides a continuous record of almost 80 million years. The Portland provides the outer protective layer and it is within these beds that the tree stumps of the fossil forest are so well preserved. The retreat of the sea level exposed the limestone which in turn became colonised by the cycads and pine trees which formed a stony soil (paleosol) which we saw still preserved. The trees were drowned by sea level rise and their trunks and roots are preserved by mounds of fresh water algal limestone which grew around the stump (Fig 14).

As we retraced our steps around the cove we took a closer look at the younger sediments and examined their structural relationship. The Purbeck beds pass into the multi coloured grey, brown, yellow sands and clays of the fresh water Wealden beds, some of which are stained by sticky brown oil which is probably seeping from the underlying Jurassic strata. Marine conditions returned by the mid Cretaceous when shelly sands typically rich in glauconite were deposited, this was followed by a deepening of the seas during which billions of algal coccoliths were deposited to form the chalk.

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Fig 13. Cinder bed Cretaceous Praeexogyra distoria. Fig 14. Fossilised tree stumps in Portland.

Having walked back to West Lulworth village for lunch there were various dining options near the visitor centre – I did see a number our party with ice creams. Our final stop of the trip was to climb out of the cove on to the headland at the west end of the bay where a large plinth commemorates the UNESCO heritage site of the Jurassic Coast. This is an ideal spot to examine the monocline fold and the Lulworth Crumple (Fig. 15) which was formed about 30 million years ago in the Miocene as a consequence of the African and European plates colliding in the Mediterranean area. We see a complete succession from Portland to chalk on the vertical limb but the interbedded Purbeck mudstones and limestone behave very differently to the north/south compression and been complexly folded.

Fig 15. Lulworth Crumple.

As Matt was running through his final comments pulling together what we had seen and how each component was vital to a successful hydrocarbon system and after Clive had thanked him on behalf of the group (HGS) our rain coats came out for the first time. It was time to head home and thank

12 Clive for his organisation and Nigel (coach driver) for his safe driving and good company. These notes are a brief synthesis of what we saw and discussed; we were fortunate that Matt produced an informative field guide providing a holistic overview of the area in a concise a clear way.

STEVE ETCHES FOSSIL COLLECTION, SATURDAY 11th OCTOBER 2014

By/photographs Adrian Champion

A final treat awaited us. At the end of Saturday afternoon we went to the Museum of Jurassic Marine Life (MJML) (Fig. 16), a nationally and internationally renowned collection of fossils currently housed in Steve Etches’s dining and other rooms in his house.

Fig 16. Museum of Jurassic Marine Life.

Over some 35 years Steve has discovered, conserved and curated a stunning collection of fossils. He has shown the Kimmeridge to be rich not only in ammonites, but also many other invertebrate and also vertebrate species. There are examples in his collection of species either new to science or which show previously unknown anatomical details.

He specifically drew our attention to an almost complete skeleton of an Ichthyosaur [A] where the body cavity is packed full of bone, vertebra and squid hooks showing it to be a top level predator. There is even a patch of tissue visible. The remains of a larger ichthyosaur [B] is also on display. Many broken bones are visible showing some bite marks proving that it too was predated. Another specimen showed bite marks on the skull where it had had its head bitten off!

Soft body parts have been preserved in the Kimmeridge beds due to the anoxic conditions and Steve showed us some of his collection of squid and cuttlefish [C]. The ink sack is still preserved in some examples and he mentioned that if the melanin was ground up and mixed with industrial alcohol you could still write with the ink.

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Occasional dinosaur remains have been discovered and Steve has the humorous of a sauropod dinosaur [D] which he removed from the shale on Kimmeridge beach and then transported to his house in a wheelbarrow!

Other discoveries he showed us were a dragonfly wing, a crocodile skull, various fish, rays and sharks

Towards the end of our visit he challenged us to identify the little blobs (about 1 mm long) (Fig 17). Our guesses correctly suggested eggs, but none of us realised they were most probably ammonite eggs. Over several years he has found many examples and one specimen is to be analysed at CERN in Switzerland to try to confirm the internal structure of the eggs. Fig 17. Ammonite eggs.

As we were preparing to leave Steve suddenly said ‘hang on a minute’ and he went to fetch one more fossil. The pterosaur shown below is 33cm long and has been named Cuspicephalus scarfi. An unusual name?

Fig 16. Cuspicephalus scarfi, fossil pterosaur.

The name Cuspicephalus is derived from the sharp pointed skull. Scarfi honours Gerald Scarfe CBE who is widely known as the satirical artist who provided cartoons and drawings for The Sunday Times and Private Eye. He also drew the caricatures for the TV series Yes Minister. His cartoon of Margaret Thatcher as a ‘Torydactyl’ is the reason for the name scarfi.

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The MJML collection has been recognised for its global importance and Steve talked of the project, sponsored by the Heritage Lottery Fund with matched donations, to provide a secure and permanent home for the collection. A total of over £5 million has been pledged to build a museum, educational facility and workshop together with a village hall in Kimmeridge. The project has started and construction is expected to be completed in 2015. The opening is scheduled for February 2016. Perhaps HGS should plan a field trip in 2016 to view the MJML collection in its new home?

CHAIRMAN’S CONCLUDING REMARKS

By Haydon Bailey

It’s been quite some year and it isn’t quite finished yet, so it’s worth a brief step back to review our past twelve months. The lecture series has been up to its traditional high standard, even though we’ve had to make a few last minute changes such as substituting Steve Smith into the Percy Evans lecture slot, which he filled admirably. Prior to that both Chris Brierley (UCL) and Charlie Bristow (Birkbeck) had provided us with vivid accounts of Pliocene climates and the infinite amounts of dust from Chad.

The March visit of Charlie Bell from the Hertfordshire and Middlesex Wildlife Trust to talk to us about their Chalk Stream projects proved to be an area of mutual interest and resulted in me paying a return visit when she organised a seminar of the “Science of Chalk Steams” later in the year. This is fast becoming a topic of wider interest as other potential lobbying groups recognise the importance of these fallible water sources. It’s an area I’ll be visiting again when I speak to the Affinity geology group in the New Year.

We’ve had a diverse range of additional talks ranging from Cross rail (Jackie Skipper) to Dinosaurs in Art (Dick Moody). I have to admit to a little scepticism when I included the latter in the programme, but I take it all back as it was a gripping presentation looking at the subject from a social historical perspective which I found fascinating. We’ve also had a flurry of BG contributions into the autumn (thanks Nick!) with Simon Woods introducing us to operations geophysics and then Matt Wakefield organising brilliant sunshine for the field trip to Dorset.

Other field trips during the year to the Faulds gypsum mine with Noel Worley and to the Woburn sands of Leighton Buzzard both went well and my thanks go to Clive for organising these events. I trust I’ll be back into a more normal state of health next year with the intention of getting to some of the trips we’re planning. We’re linking up with the Reading Geological Society and providing them with a trip to Hertfordshire in June and in response they’ll be guiding us around some of their Fig 17. Another dinosaur encounter.

15 favourite haunts in 2016. We’re already planning our autumn trip to the Devonian limestone scenery around Plymouth later next year, so be sure to sign up for that one.

I can’t complete this annual review without noting the sad passing of our long time friend and member Bob Payne. Bob was never slow at expressing his opinion on our programme if he wasn’t too keen on its content, as I found to my cost. However, he was also very good at coming up with alternative suggestions so I was certainly grateful for that. As most of you are aware Bob was an avid field trip attendee, having joined organised tours across the world. These trips he photographed and documented with an engineer’s precision and he cross referenced all the samples he amassed into an unsurpassed collection. This has been recognised by his colleagues in the Geologists’ Association and his library of field trip information, guides, photographs and samples will be form part of the GA Carrack Archive which is held at the BGS in Keyworth, Nottinghamshire. It’s a fitting tribute to someone who loved his geology.

We have an amazing programme coming up for the William Smith bicentenary year of 2015 and I Fig 18. Bob Payne (1927-1914) look forward to sharing it all with you.

Fig19. HGS stand at the 2014 Festival of Geology with some of Bob’s collection on show.

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