We have been asked by Dr Mike Howe, Chief Curator and Head of the National Geological Repository for help in locating rocks, minerals and fossils owned by Florence Nightingale. This is Mike’s message and request for help:

I have recently heard from Jane Middleton-Smith, Archive manager for John Smedley Ltd, Lea Mills, Lea Bridge, Matlock, Derbyshire. She is trying to locate a collection of rocks, minerals and fossils donated by Florence Nightingale to Lea School (Derbyshire) in 1881. (The Nightingale Family was a prominent family in the local area; 2020 is the bicentenary of Florence’s birth.)

The fine quality specimens were purchased from a ‘Mr Butler’ (possibly Francis H Butler?) and sent to Mr Burton, the Schoolmaster. Apparently, Burton had a case made and gave lectures on geology to the children and to the local Institute.

The collection has disappeared – almost certainly prior to the 1960s. The present staff of the school have never heard of it. Jane has contacted all of the obvious places: Buxton and Derby Museums and the Derbyshire Record Office and drawn a blank. Can anyone help?

If you can help Mike, please contact him by email at: mhowe@bgs.ac.uk.

Members and non-members are invited to a one-day symposium that will explore perspectives on UK Museums and their Mineral Collections in the 21st Century. The event takes place on 21 March 2020 at Woodhouse, near Leicester.

Points of view on this important topic will be discussed by several influential speakers including Mike Rumsey of the Natural History Museum, and Tom Cotterell from the National Museum of Wales.

More details about the event and how to book your place are here.

The Annual Society Meeting (ASM) is a great combination of social events, field trips, visits and presentations.

The 2020 ASM will be held from Friday 3rd April to Sunday 5th April 2020 at the Cheltenham Chase Hotel, Brockworth, Gloucestershire. Full details of the ASM weekend and a booking form are provided here:

Full details can be downloaded as a pdf file here.

The ASM booking form is found in pdf format here.

The Russell Society and the Cheltenham Mineral & Geological Society have a fascinating event of geological talks and displays organised for  Sunday 10 October 2019. There’s even the opportunity to bring along mineral samples and fossils for identification.

This special day is being held at  Shurdington Millenium Hall, Gloucestershire – and more details are in the pdf document here.

Two of our members, Chris Finch and Alistair Napier, have been promoting the Society and celebrating minerals from the Mendips.

This was part of the 10th anniversary of the Somerset Earth Science Centre. Chris and Alistair put on a display of Mendip minerals and encouraged younger visitors to take interest through education and free samples of locally-collected specimens.

You can find out more and see photographs of the minerals on display in a pdf file here.

Mendip Rocks! 2019, a festival of events celebrating the 450 million year geology of the Mendip Hills is from 10 August to 20 October. The festival includes a diverse and interesting calendar of events that includes quarry tours, cave visits, walks and talks.

The Southern Branch will also be participating on August 21, with a display at the Somerset Earth Science Centre.

The festival calendar and further details can be found on the attached downloadable files:

Festival calendar here

Finale lectures here

 

 

 

 

Given our website’s visibility within the wider mineral collecting community, The Russell Society has been asked to publicise the attached urgent notice from the Glenbuchat Estate in Scotland.

While there is no suggestion that any Russell Society members have been involved in irresponsible activities at Glenbuchat, it is a reminder that:

– Permission to collect minerals is a privilege, not an entitlement
– Permission should be obtained in advance
– All rules and restrictions must be followed.

Please share this important update with other collectors as appropriate. The update can be downloaded as a PDF file here.

The third, annual North Pennines Mineral Expo takes place on July 27 and 28, 2019. As in previous years, the Expo will be located at the Town Hall, St. John’s Chapel, County Durham.

More information can be found at the Facebook page for NorthPenninesMineralExpo.

Following a very successful 2019 Annual Society Meeting (ASM) in Devon, the Wales & West Branch has started planning the 2020 ASM. Members will receive more details in the coming months, but for the moment, please keep the weekend of April 3 – 5 clear for the ASM which will be held at the Cheltenham Chase Hotel, Brockworth, Gloucestershire.