Charnia

Obituaries




19 August 1925 - 22 February 2017

With sadness we noted the passing of our Life President Dr Trevor Ford.

Trevor Ford died on February 22nd, just two months before his 92nd birthday. As many will know, Trevor had been confined to a wheelchair for many months after surgery, but had continued to add to his published papers.

He read geology at Sheffield University 1947-1950, followed by a Ph.D on the Ingleton Coalfield 1950-1053. He was appointed Assistant Lecturer at the University of Leicester 1952, and was successively Lecturer, Senior Lecturer and, finally, Associate Dean for Combined Studies in Science, 1986-1988.

He retired in 1989, and was made an Honorary Research Fellow.
In 1997, Trevor was awarded the O.B.E. in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List, for “Services to Geology and Cave Science”.


1938 -2017

On March 14th Dr Peter Ernest Long passed away in Oxford, aged 79.

Whereas Peter was not a professional geologist, his interest in the Pleistocene Crags led to his expert status; and he published on the subject, despite, technically, being an amateur, from 1991 to 2012. Being a Member of the Section C, Peter co-led the recent field trip to study the Crag deposits of East Anglia.

Peter successively held the post of Lecturer in the Botany, Biology, and Microbiology Departments at the University of Leicester, from 1968 to 2001; and then continued in part-time education for the University, in ecology and nature conservation, at the Vaughan Centre for Lifelong Learning, in Leicester.

He was a skilled field mycologist, and was co-author of a successful text book - Environmental Microbiology - published by Black in 1981.


14th September 2020

It is with sadness that we record the sudden death of someone, who, for many years, had been prominent in our local geological scene. Dr. Helen E. Boynton (nee Sadler) was born in Leicester; and educated at Wyggeston Grammar School for Girls.

Helen received her geological training at Bedford College, London; followed by a PhD at Manchester University. In the early 1960s Helen carried out post-doctoral work in the Department of Geology at the University of Leicester. There she worked on Lower Carboniferous palaeontology with our late Hon. Life President, Dr. Trevor Ford. This collaboration led to a number of publications.

During the 1980s through into the 2000s, Helen developed a lively interest in Leicester's local history, which also resulted in a number of popular publications.

But, from our point of view, she will be best remembered for another interest that developed in later years. This was in the fossils of the late-Precambrian rocks of Charnwood Forest. Helen did a lot of field-work, identifying new fossil-bearing localities and finding new forms, thereby extending our knowledge of this distinctive Ediacaran biota; again leading to a series of publications.

Building on Trevor Ford's initial work, Helen significantly helped to maintain interest, and impetus, for further research into this biota. Her enthusiasm contributed to the success of our Section's 2007 Seminar - Leicester's fossil celebrity: Charnia, and the evolution of early life, during which she spoke on Further Discoveries of Charnia fossils.

So was formed, under her leadership, the Charnia Research Group, which continues to act as a communications channel for this important research.


1950 - 2023



We record the passing of Dennis Gamble who was a warm, and friendly, polymath. His enthusiasms ranged from stamps, to trains, to birds and natural history generally. Members of Section C (Geology), of the Leicester Literary and Philosophical Society, will have known him as a keen, and knowledgable, amateur geologist - the latest of many such in the the history of the Section and the Parent Body.

Following a career in business as a plantsman/nurseryman, Dennis worked for many years as a porter on the campus of Leicester University, where he was able to get close to books and learning; and where, incidentally, he gained many friends in the Geology Department.

On retirement, Dennis was able to spend much more time adding to, and curating, a remarkable collection of rocks and fossils. The collection consisted of materials that he himself had collected; and of materials that he rescued from abandoned, old, collections. He held collection open days at his home for Members of the Section. He was an enthusiastic member of the Section; and was a long-term stalwart of the Committee, having had a long, successfull stint as Field Secretary. Latterly, he served as the Section Representative to the Parent Body Council.

He supported education of the public, and of school students, manning stands in Leicester Museum, and elsewhere, and could always be relied upon to bring specimens from his collection to Section events.

His rather sudden death, on the last day of 2023, came as a great shock to his fellow members (and many friends) in the Section. His enthusiasm and demeanour belied his 73 years, and is sadly missed.