Hull Geological Society
Over the last year we have held the following meetings - 10 field meetings and
geology walks, 9 lectures, 8 Club Nights, a Quiz Night; 4 seminars; one Members’
Evening; a conservation visit to Rifle Butts SSSI and two Roadshows
14 new members were elected to membership of the Society since our last AGM.
There are now 76 members, including some families, one institutional member and
three honorary members.
I
wish to thank the Committee, Officers and Editors for their help in running the
Society; also the speakers and event organisers for their contributions. In
particular I thank David Hill in particular who has finished his three year term
of office as President. Peter and Elayne Carpenter are stepping down from the
Committee because they are planning an extended holiday later in the year; I
thank them for their help and hope they have an exciting adventure. On behalf of
the Society I think the Department of Geography, Geology and the Environment at
the University for continuing to support the Society and host our meetings. Most
of all I thank all Society members for your continued participation in our
events.
If I am re-elected, this AGM will mark my 40th Anniversary as an
Officer of the Society: an occasion that leads me to reflect on the changes we
have been through. In 1984-5 we held 6 lecture meetings at the University, 8
field trips and a joint meeting with the YGS. We printed a volume of
Humberside Geologist which contained
9 articles plus a list of members: there were 59 including some families and 7
honorary life members. In 2022-3 we held
37 meetings; which included informal Club Nights and virtual Club Nights and
virtual lectures. We no longer print our journal because we publish it on-line,
and our website also includes informal articles, meeting abstracts, news and
archives. Since 1987 we have actively been involved in the conservation of Rifle
Butts SSSI and in 2016 the East Yorkshire RIGS Group merged with the Society and
we took on the responsibility of selecting and recording Local Geological Sites.
Then there are the research projects we have started, for example – the revived
East Riding Boulder Committee, the Centenary Chalk, Flamborough Quaternary, the
Wetlands, Skipsea Withow Mere and the Bisat Research Group; these have
encouraged members to participate in accurate scientific research. We also try
to share our love of science with a wider audience through Roadshows, Yorkshire
Geology Month (which we started in 2005) and social media.
So far I have given 77 talks to the Society, led 153 field trips, published 103
papers and 99 webpages, organised (or co-organised) 15 conferences, written 309
e-newsletters and convened 216 Club Nights and Microscopy Evenings. I would not
have been able to do that without Annie’s support, for which I am forever
grateful.
I also remember the members of the Society when I joined and am grateful for the
knowledge and experience they shared, in particular: Kenneth Fenton the previous
Secretary for his enthusiasm for the Quaternary of Holderness and Yorkshire
Jurassic Plants; Lynden Emery for his detailed knowledge of the Speeton Clay;
Ron Harrison for his love of erratics and pioneering use of shop fronts and
buildings to demonstrate the joy of geology to the public; and Felix Whitham for
introducing me to Cave Oolite, Kellaways Rock and the Chalk. Our previous
publications and archives opened up an earlier world of interest in local
geology: especially G W Lamplugh and his accurate litho-stratigraphy of the
Speeton Clay and Chalk; J W Stather who was our Secretary for 49 years and was
involved in all sorts of research projects; Tom Sheppard who popularised local
geology and so much more, and made Hull Museums truly great; to name a few.
So together we have all been through a lot of changes yet we still come together
to share our enthusiasm for all things geological. I hope the fun will continue
for many more years!
Copyright - Hull Geological Society 2025
Registered Educational Charity No. 229147