The Russell Society

Topographical mineralogy, the conservation of minerals and the preservation of mineralogical sites

Archives for September 2025

Mineralogical Society – 150th Anniversary Meeting 2026: Past Discoveries and Future Frontiers

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In 2026, the Mineralogical Society of the UK and Ireland will celebrate its 150th anniversary, with a special conference at the University of Manchester.
 
This conference will celebrate the history of Mineralogical Society and also explore the leading-edge mineral science across the whole earth system, and the applied science that  supports  key scientific and societal challenges of the 21st century and beyond.
 
Details of this event, which will take place from 23–25 June 2026, can be found at https://minsoc-150.org. Scientists from all countries are welcome. Note that this will be a fully hybrid conference, delegates can attend in person or remotely.

17th October our Zoom speaker is Courtenay Smale

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The programme of virtual talks for the coming season is now on the members’ page. The first is on Friday 17th October when Courtenay Smale will give a talk entitled “The Williams Collection at Caerhays Castle”. As usual the link to log into the talk will appear on the members’ page a few days before.

Mendip Rocks 2025

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For those who have attended the Southern Branch Symposium at the Somerset Earth Science Centre you will be aware of the annual event they organise – “Mendip Rocks”. This includes a number of workshops and field trips which take place between 1st to 25th October all of which are open to the public but must be prebooked.

This year they have a very wide range of geological based trips organised, including a few quarries we have not visited for many years.

If you are interested then the link below takes you their full offerings:

https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/mendip-rocks-2025-4600963

and many more………

Russell Society medal awarded to Austin Woodbridge for his work at the Natural History Museum

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By Dr David Aubrey-Jones

It was a real privilege to be able to present Dr Austin Woodbridge with the prestigious Russell Society medal at a small presentation ceremony at the Natural History Museum on Monday 16th June.  The museum was thrilled and had laid on a special room and refreshments, with other volunteers and some museum staff in attendance (see photos).  The medal is awarded for outstanding services to Mineralogy and was last given in 2021

Austin started working at the museum as a volunteer on 17th of April 2002.  He was given the huge task of identifying, tracing, and curating specimens from the famous Ludlam collection which had been dispersed to various parts of the museum / storage when new galleries and exhibitions were developed in the 1980s.  Austin was helped initially by the late John Crocker (for 18 years), and more recently by other volunteers (Susan Tyzack, Nick Hawes and Michael Dunmore), with advice from Alan Hart, Peter Tandy, Mike Rumsey and Robin Hansen.  During this time, he has shown incredible commitment, working faithfully on the task for one or two days a week and has now been volunteering at the museum for an incredible 23 years. 

Henry Ludlam amassed his wonderful collection while working as a hosier, and upon his death in June 1880, bequeathed his collection to the Museum of Practical Geology.  The quality of the specimens in the collection is superb and was regarded at the time as “the most complete and probably the finest collection of minerals ever made by a private collector” (Davies 1881).

Austen is an example to us all, through his contribution to British mineralogy in carefully curating and reconstituting the wonderful Ludlam collection for the past 23 years.  The medal is very well deserved – well done Austin!