## **THE GEOLOGISTS’ C N** 

**ANNUAL R RT AND FINANCIAL** 


**BURLINGTON HOUSE, PICCADILLY, LONDON W1J 0DU** 


**Registered  Charity No VAT No 689 5297** 





## **REPORT FROM TRUSTEES for the year ended 31[st] December 2023** 

## **This report provides information concerning:** 

- **The Geologists’ Association’s objectives and how it fulfills its legal purposes** 

- **The activities undertaken by The Geologists’ Association** 

- **The achievements of The Geologists’ Association** 

Since 1858, The Geologists’ Association (GA) has served the interests of professional, amateur and citizen geologists, and made geology available to a wider public.   The GA is a national organisation based in London, and is represented by Local Groups in 15 centres around the country;  73 other geologically related societies are affiliated with the GA in the furtherance of our common aims and objectives. 

The GA’s objectives are :- 

- To promote the study of Geology and its allied sciences by holding Ordinary Meetings to hear lectures and encourage discussion among Members, and to arrange Field Meetings. 

- To extend knowledge of the science by publication, by the maintenance of a library, and by such other means as the Council may from time to time determine. 

- To promote interest in Geology at all levels of knowledge. 

- To promote awareness of our geological heritage and to campaign on geo-conservation. 

The GA kept in mind the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit with its activities to pursue these objectives during 2023. 

- Monthly Ordinary Meetings: held live and on-line via web conferencing communication technology;  talks were by distinguished geologists, from home and overseas. 

- The GA-Elsevier Annual Conference was held in Kendal;  along with several field trips. 

- Festival of Geology was relaunched at University College London. 

- Public Outreach—the GA attended  Science Fairs and Geological related events. 

- Financial support: primarily from Endowment Funds (such as the Curry Fund), was provided for Education, Geological Research and Geo-conservation projects. 

- Geological research: was encouraged through financial support for postgraduate researchers, and by the publication of a scientific journal (Proceedings of the Geologists’ Association), the quarterly GA Magazine, Geological Field Guides and Geology Today Magazine. 

- Geo-conservation: Earth Heritage Magazine (twice yearly) was published on-line, free to the general public. 

- Children’s interests: were supported via Rockwatch, the junior club of the GA, and SchoolRocks! which provided geological teaching resources to both junior and secondary schools. 

- “Geolab”: was available to provide theoretical and practical experience to members of the general public who had no previous experience of geology. 

- The website: provided a forum for information concerning the GAs’ activities, including the GA lectures. “Geology from your Sofa” (GFYS) provided virtual field trips, lectures, geological courses, and news concerning the activities of the GA’s Affiliated and Local Groups from around the UK.   GYFS proved popular with members, our groups, and the public. 

- Library: contains books and maps for loan to GA members, courtesy of University College London Geological Department. 

- Financial activities: included the sale of publications (such as Field Guides) and small geological goods (such as geological field equipment). 

- Management of the GA’s financial investments: the moneys generated supported the charitable aspects of the GA’s work. 

The Geologists’ Association is an unincorporated association governed by a set of rules from a scheme at the Charity Commission dated 18[th] January 1967 as amended 06[th] July 2018.   The management of the Association is vested in a Council normally consisting of 24 members which includes the following Officers: President, Treasurer, General Secretary and up to three Vice-Presidents. Council Members, being trustees, are appointed annually at an Annual General Meeting by nomination by members of the GA.   A ballot of all members is held if there are more nominations than vacancies. 

_**Front photo: winner of 2023 photographic Competition, Yesnaby Castle, sea stack Orkney  by Mark Biswell**_ 

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## **REPORT FROM TRUSTEES** 

## **For year ended 31st December 2023** 

2023 was a busy and quite successful year especially with relaxation of covid related rules. In relation to the regular events; 

Lectures were either hybrid, at Burlington House and on Zoom, or Zoom only. There was definitely a welcome feeling of being able to have a face-to-face lectures and meetings. 

Field meetings, varied locations and focus in the UK, and one overseas to Turkey, were held. Planning is  ongoing for the 2024 calendar. A new Overseas Field Trip Co-Ordinator was appointed, we welcome Lyudmyla Bartkova to this important role. 

A special project of the year was the Mary Anning Maquette Road Trip.  We are very grateful to Nick Pierpoint who has facilitated this with various museums across the country and with the Mary Anning Rocks Team.  We have been amazed by the uptake and popularity of this venture. 

The GA Magazine continued to document the varied activities described above as well as including Opinion Articles, Book Reviews and some newsworthy articles that made headlines during the year. Also advertised were numerous events  such as Gem/Mineral/Fossil shows organized by some of our Affiliate Groups. A special thank you must be extended to Dr Liam Gallagher who has edited the GA Magazine for the last 10 years but is now moving on to become the next GA President. 

There was an increase in the number of GA Local and Affiliated Groups, which now numbers 90. 

Dr Jonathan Turner who led the successful Pembrokeshire Coast Field Meeting took over the role of the Guides Editor.  Jonathan brings a wealth of experience with him from a career in both industry and academia and we are grateful for him taking up this role.  Jonathan takes over the role from Professor Susan Marriott.  We would like to thank Susan who is retiring after more than 15 years in the role, she has performed an excellent service helping to publish numerous GA guides. 

Dr Tom Hose the UK Field Meetings Secretary  led a number of trips during the year.  Tom has a particular interest in the history of geology and is also the editor of the GeoConservation UK newsletter.  If you are interested in helping to run or organize a field meeting, Tom would be delighted to hear from you. 

Significant and successful events were: 

1. Geologists’ Association Student Symposium Burlington House, 19th May: attendees were generally very impressed with the quality of the talks given by the students 

2. The GA Conference in Kendal, 22nd-24th September, to help celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Westmoreland Geological Society, was well attended and well received with a very interesting mix of topics. The unfortunate weather patterns disrupted some field trips, but didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of the event. 

3. Along with the Conference was the publication of the new GA Field Guide No 77 in two volumes on the Geology of Cumbria and Westmoreland. There was also a new edition printed of the London Guide. 

4. Festival of Geology, University College London, 4th-5th November, was a welcome return with the fascinating lecture  given by Dr Leanne Hughes on The Geology of Hogwarts  as well as the showcasing of the William Smith and George Bellas Greenough Geological Maps. 

5. During 2023 the Schoolrocks team reached a milestone in providing 120 rock boxes and lesson plans, enabling over 3,000 children to handle real rocks and fossils as part of the Year 3 Rocks and Soils section of the Science National Curriculum 

6. Education—the team have recently developed a set of new boxes and activities to cover most aspects of the Year 6 Science topic, Evolution and Inheritance.  This was launched in a workshops in February 2024 

7. The yearly photography competition with some fantastic entries, available for viewing on the GA website, as well as the publication of the GA Calendar using the winners and commended entrants images. 

GASS 2023—Dr Rebecca Bell, Jennifer Davies, Dr Liam Gallagher, Hayley Hunt, Nick Pierpoint, Matthew Staitis, Janet Wright. 

GA Conference Kendal 2023 – Richard Wrigley, Audrey Brown, Bob Entwistle, Peter Lincoln, Sarah Stafford and Graham Hickman. 

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GA Festival of Geology 2023 – Kate Adler, Clare Byrne, Diana Clements, Dr Amy Edgington, Dr Liam Gallagher, Dr Wendy Kirk, Gerald Lucy, Sarah Stafford. 

During the second half of the year we appointed and welcomed a new staff member, Kate Adler, as an Administrative Assistant for Rockwatch and with some GA support work on a 3-day per week basis.  As a former Rockwatch member Kate brings fond memories from her childhood, although as she acknowledges ‘blissfully unaware of the hard work required behind-the-scenes to organise these events.’ Please take the opportunity to welcome Kate and offer her your congratulations and support in her new role. 

From the Council and Executive perspective we also had some challenges to face and some of these are still ongoing from previous years. 


First and foremost was the GA Journal, _The Proceedings of the Geologists’ Association_ was up for renewal at the end of the year. The Publications Committee spent the year renegotiating a contract which was finalised. Members were kept informed through the GA Magazine as well as by communication from the President, Graham Hickman.  Dr Colin Prosser must be singled out and thanked for helping to move the negotiations forward and to a satisfactory agreement. 

Secondly, Governance and a risk assessment for the GA was discussed.  Prof. Tony Doré 

_Kate Adler (left) and Sarah Stafford  (right) manning the  desk at the GA’s annual conference at the Brewery Arts Centre Kendal.   Back: Richard Wrigley signing the Geology of Cumbria guide for Nick Pierpoint_ 

worked hard with the team of Trustees to _Wrigley signing the Geology of Cumbria guide for Nick Pierpoint_ identify issues around membership, the PGA, succession of Trustees and Council positions as having potential impact on the future of the GA and its funding. There were a number of vacancies advertised for positions, Trustee and Non-Trustee roles throughout the year. Some were taken up; some new ones from the end of the year remain vacant. 

Thirdly, we had a few of changes to Council, significantly the retirement of the Treasurer, Graham Williams and the appointment of his successor, Paul Varotsis. Graham Williams has been a pillar within the GA and has served as the Hon. Treasurer for around 15 years.  We are truly grateful for his contributions and long service and have recommended him to become an Honorary Member. 

As a consequence of the change, Paul has initiated the move towards a more up-to-date accounting system and this will be on-going into the first half of 2024.   Sadly Paul has now expressed his desire to stand down as he is unable to dedicate the time necessary to fulfil the role.  It has become apparent that the task of handling both the GA’s finances and investments is too large to expect a single volunteer to handle both jobs.  Council therefore decided to split the role into an Hon. Treasurer role and an investment Portfolio Administrator role. 

The need to fill Trustee roles will continue to be a focus on the continuance of seeking volunteers for various roles for succession planning of key Executive roles as well as filling in for Trustees who have indicated a desire to retire from their roles in the near future. 

The GA had 2 minor First Aid incidents that were reported from a field meeting. These were promptly actioned and reported. Members were reminded in the Council Matters section of the June GA Magazine of their personal responsibility for ensuring they understand the protocols and procedures of the Risk Assessments in place for all GA events and trips. 

_Festival of Geology 2023 special event: display of the two maps,  William Smith map & Greenough, Jonathan Larwood and  on the right, Duncan Hawley_ 

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## **GA COUNCIL AND COMMITTEES** 

## **2023** 

**Officers** : President: Graham Hickman, Senior Vice President: Dr Liam Gallagher; Vice Presidents: Alison Barraclough, Prof. David Bridgland; Treasurer: Dr Graham Williams, Honorary General Secretary: Edward Dubowski 

**Postholders** : Awards Panel and Curry Fund Chairman Dr Haydon Bailey, Education: Alison Barraclough;  Minutes Secretary: Dr Vanessa Banks; Chair of Publications: Prof. David Bridgland; Rockwatch Chair: Clare Byrne; GA Magazine Editor: Dr Liam Gallagher; Curry Fund Secretary: Dr Jonathan Larwood; Meetings Secretary: Dr Michael Oates; Awards Panel Secretary: Ahmed Alghuraybi; Chair of External Relations & GASS: Nicholas Pierpoint; Geoconservation: Dr Colin Prosser; Field Meetings Secretary: Dr Tom Hose;  Marketing: David Ward; Governance, Dr Tony Doré; Safeguarding: Peter Jones; GDPR: Dr Graham Williams/ Edward Dubowski 

**Ordinary Members of Council:** Prof. John Cosgrove (Publications Minutes’ Secretary), John Lonergan, Janet Osborn, Dr Roger Wall, Richard Wrigley. 

**Co opted** : Jen Davies (Student Rep); Hayley Hunt (Overseas Student Rep); Richard Trounson (Legal matters) 

**Non Council Roles** : Proceedings Editor-in-chief: Prof. Malcolm Hart; Guides Editor: Prof. Susan Marriott. Geolab: Alison Barraclough, Nikki Edwards,  SchoolRocks!: Dr Haydon Bailey Alison Barraclough & David Ward; Geology from your Sofa: Alison Barraclough & Janet 

Wright; Earth Heritage rep.: Prof. David Bridgland; Librarian: Dr Sandy Colville-Stewart; GA Archivist: Dr Jonathan Larwood; Social Media: Liz Hoy,  Overseas Field Meetings Secretary: Llyudmila Bartkova. 

**Executive Committee** : Officers, Sarah Stafford 

**Investment Panel** : Treasurer: Dr Graham Williams; Professor Bernard Leake; Susannah van Rose, Dr Christopher Green, Susan Brown, Graham Hickman. 

**Curry Fund Committee** : (President), GA Treasurer; Curry Fund Chairman Dr Haydon Bailey; Curry Fund Treasurer: Dr Christopher Green; Curry Fund Secretary: Dr Jonathan Larwood; Curry Fund Minutes Secretary: Dr Sandy Colville-Stewart; David Bone, Susan Brown, Alan Holiday, Nick Pierpoint, Jonathan Radley,  Dr Ruth Siddall, Dr Barbara Silva, Sam Scriven. 

**Publications Committee** : President, Treasurer, Chairman: Prof. David Bridgland; Secretary: Professor John Cosgrove; GA Magazine Editor: Dr Liam Gallagher; Colin Prosser, Ex Officio Proceedings Editor-in-chief: Prof. Malcolm Hart; Geology Today & Rockwatch: Prof. Peter Doyle; Guides Editor: Prof. Susan Marriott. 

**External Relations Committee** : President; Chairman: Nick Pierpoint; Social Media: Liz Hoy; School Rocks! Haydon Bailey, Alison Barraclough; Geolab: Nikki Edwards: Webmaster: Barbara Silva; GASS: Dr Liam Gallagher; Rockwatch: Clare Byrne; (Additional Meetings team members: Peter Jones, John Lonergan, Jane Michael, David Ward) 

**Equality, Diversity and Inclusion** (EDI)  Dr Vanessa Banks and Dr Jonathan Larwood 

**GA Festival of Geology Organising Group** : Kate Adler, Clare Byrne, Diana Clements, Dr Amy Edgington, Dr Liam Gallagher, Dr Wendy Kirk, Gerald Lucy, Sarah Stafford. 

**Geology Today Owners & Editors** : Editor: Prof. Peter Doyle; Dr Graham Williams, Susan Brown 

**Rockwatch Management Committee** : Chairman: Clare Byrne; David Bone, Prof. Peter Doyle, Alan Holiday, Dr Wendy Kirk, Dr Jonathan Larwood, Dr Michael Oates, Susanna van Rose; Kate Adler. 

**Earth Heritage** : Prof. David Bridgland plus non GA members. 

**Library Committee** : GA Librarian: Dr Sandy Colville-Stewart (others if required). 

**Awards Panel** : Chairman: Dr Haydon Bailey, Secretary: Ahmed Alghuraybi, Prof. David Bridgland, Dr Graham Williams 

**GA Student Symposium:** Chairman: Nicholas Pierpoint; Dr Rebecca Bell, Dr Liam Gallagher, Janet Wright 

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## **MEMBERSHIP** 

The deaths of the following GA Members were reported during 2023:- 

Ronald Austin,  Clive Boulter  William Byrnes, Mike Chaplin, Tim Charlesworth, Robin Cocks, Alice Coleman, Beris Cox, Rosemary Halsey, Simon Kelly, Alan Lello, Michael Le Bas,  Paul Rainey, Allan Rogers, David Rogers, Barbara Strickland, Arthur Stride, Richard West,  Ronald Williams. 

103 New Members  11 formally resigned. Total 2023 Membership 1053 ,  22 Joint , 833 Full, 94 Associate , 47 Student,  35  Honorary Life & Life Members. Rockwatch 2023  Membership comprising of  13  adults, 447 children, 252 families. 




## **OUR LONG SERVING MEMBERS** 

**Members who joined in 1973 and reached 50 years** 

Martin Bradshaw, Kenneth Douglas, Christopher Duffin, Stephen Howe, Richard Milton-Worssell, Hugh Pedley, Anthony Smith, Alice Tyler. 

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## **ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 12  May 2023** 

Friday, 12th May 2023 at 6 pm in person at Burlington House and by Zoom, chaired by Graham Hickman (President of the GA), hosted by Sarah Stafford 

Minutes of the 2022 AGM: no corrections, minutes accepted as read. 

Introduction of Annual Report and Accounts for 2022: the accounts have been audited and accepted as read. 

Introduction of proposed Officers and Post Holders for 2023/24: 

Retiring Officers: Vanessa Banks (Senior Vice President) 

Proposal for new Officers: Ted Dubowski (Hon. General Secretary), Liam Gallagher (Senior Vice President), Alison Barraclough (Vice President) 

Continuing Officers: Graham Hickman (President), Graham Williams (Hon. Treasurer), David Bridgland (Vice President) 

Retiring Post Holders: Ian Sutton (Overseas Field Trip Sec), Janet Wright (website liaison, GFYS) 

Proposal for new Post Holders: Tom Hose (UK Field Meetings Sec.), Clare Byrne (Rockwatch), Peter Jones (Safeguarding) 

Continuing Post Holders: Haydon Bailey (Chair Curry Fund, Awards Panel), Vanessa Banks (Council Minutes Secretary and Chair EDI), Alison Barraclough (Education), David Bridgland (Chair Publications), Anthony Doré (Governance), Liam Gallagher (Magazine of GA Editor), Jonathan Larwood (Curry Fund Sec, EDI), Mick Oates (Meetings Sec), Nick Pierpoint (Chair External Relations), Colin Prosser (Geoconservation), David Ward (Marketing), John Cosgrove (Publications Committee Secretary) 

Remaining Ordinary Council Members: Richard Wrigley, Janet Osborn 

Introduction of proposed Council Members for 2023/24: 

New Council Members: Roger Wall, John Lonergan 

Co-opted Members of Council Jen Davies (Student Rep.), Hayley Hunt (Overseas Student Rep.), Richard Trounson (legal matters), Ahmed Alghuraybi (Awards Panel Sec) 

Non – Council: Malcolm Hart (PGA Editor-in-chief), Susan Marriott (GA Guides), Liz Hoy (social media) 

Retiring co-opted members of Council: Gerald Lucy (photographic competition) 

The above were proposed by Graham Hickman, Seconded by Di Clements and Nick Pierpoint and carried. 

Expression of thanks of the Association to retiring Council and non-Council Members: Gerald Lucy, Susan Marriott, Ian Sutton and Janet Wright. Graham expressed the gratitude of the Association for the hard work that each of these people have contributed to the successful running (Janet Wright) and outputs of the organization (Gerald, Susan and Ian). 

## Winner of the Foulerton Award: David Osborn: 

David Osborn has furthered the key objectives of the Geologists' Association over many years, and he continues to do so. A member of the Geologists' Association since 1981, David has consistently contributed work of merit to a broad range of roles and has done so in a variety of ways in the context of the North Staffordshire Group of the GA. This exceptional support of the North Staffordshire local group was aligned with David’s interest in all aspects of geology, which flourished at Aston where he pursued a BSc joint honours degree in Geology and Physics. This led him to a career in the oil industry working initially as a mud-logger and eventually as a specialist well-site geologist. Alongside NSGGA administrative and outreach activities, the varied global experiences gained by David during this work have resulted in him presenting NSGGA lectures on topics such as “How (or how not) to drill an oil well”. 

On accepting the award David Osborn expressed his thanks and surprise at being recognized for doing what he enjoys doing over many years. 

## Winner of the Halstead Medal: Anjana Khatwa 

Anjana Khatwa has worked for the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site, where she was involved with developing and managing the strategic education programme. She has also worked with local, national, and international partners to develop formal learning resources, train teachers, write learning strategies and evaluate current learning provision as recognised in several other awards. This expertise and insight are something that she has contributed to the Curry Fund Committee of the GA. She is a great geoscience communicator with much passion, inspiring young people, and disadvantaged groups to connect with the natural world and geology, and it is for that reason she was nominated for the Halstead Medal with a nomination that stated that we need more ambassadors like her. 

Anjana Khatwa noted that, as indicated by the portraits in the Council Room of the Geological Society of London, it has taken a long time for someone like her (as a woman of colour) to be recognized in this way. She expressed her _**GA Map Store at  UCL Library**_ thanks to the broader Geoscience community, which enthused her learning with respect to rocks and provoked her interest in sharing this. She described how her career has brought her joy, happiness, and the resilience to break 

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## through like a volcano and seize the opportunity to influence others. 

## Winner of the Halstead Award: Emma Jude 

Emma Jude is in the early stages of her career as a sedimentologist with BP. It is, however, Emma’s significant contribution to ‘Art and Geology’, outside her day job, that was recognised in the nomination for the Halstead Award. She has focussed on bringing the principles of Fine Art, such as observational drawing skills, into the realms of geological field sketching, landscape and fossil drawing. 

In expressing her thanks, Emma observed how scientists may be dismissive of Arts and she has appreciated the opportunity to demonstrate how art can help effectively communicate the science in an alternative way. 

Winner of the Richardson Award: Richard Preece was unable to attend in person. 

The Richardson Award is made in recognition of an important research project within the geosciences and identified as the best research-based paper in the 2022 volume of the Proceedings of the Geologists' Association, titled: New Palaeontological evidence suggests an early Middle Pleistocene age for the lower levels of the Sun Hole Cave, Cheddar, Somerset, UK. The paper was co-authored with S.A.Parfitt. 

## Winners of the Curry MSc Award: Calum Macfie & Shashank Nitundil 

Calum Macfie, University of Bristol, MSc in Palaeobiology. Thesis title - Through the morphological lens: Antarctic bivalve resilience over the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction. 

Upon receipt, Calum Macfie observed that the nomination for, let alone the winning of, the award was validation of the effort, late nights and coffee intake associated with the completion of his research project. Further to this, he observed that he is looking forward to the GA Student Symposium later in May. 

Shashank Nitundil, University of Manchester, MSc in Environmental Monitoring, Modelling and Reconstruction. Thesis title - Investigating records of dune activity in the Thar Desert, India by combining portable optically stimulated luminescence (port-OSL) with laboratory techniques. 

Upon receipt, Shashank Nitundil described how his expertise has migrated from Engineering to Environmental Geology and reflected on the issues associated with bringing 50 kg of sediment into the UK for OSL dating. 

Research Awards. Two research awards were announced: 

Jon Radley received a research grant of £475.00 from the Palaeontological Fund to study temporary exposures of the youngest Jurassic sections in the southern Midlands. 

Alison Ure received a research grant of £750.00 from the Callomon-Porter Fund to carry out analytical studies on samples taken from a potential impact site in Turkey. 

Long serving members. The following were congratulated: 

Ewart Chaplin, Mark Cooper, Sheilah Dellow, Gerald Lucy, Peter Riches, David Watts for reaching 50 years and 

Anthony Barber and Alan Lello for reaching 70 years of membership. 


Winner of the President’s Medal: Dr Haydon Bailey 

Dr Haydon Bailey was nominated for this award to acknowledge his long service to the Council of the Geologists’ Association and for his dedicated contribution to several committees including the Curry Fund, SchoolRocks and Awards. As a long-standing member of the Council of the Geologists’ Association he is valued for his understanding of Trustee responsibilities with his particular interest in links to schools and Universities. He is a past President of the Geologists’ Association and at the time of the award the Chairman of both the GA Curry Fund committee and the Awards committee. He was also the Co-Ordinator for the GA SchoolRocks! initiative. 

In an emotional response Haydon described how this award was instigated during his Presidency of the GA (6 years previously). He observed that in his view it was also a recognition of Council Members that he has been working with on the various committees, e.g., John Cosgrove, David Bridgland, Graham Williams and Ahmed Alghuraybi on the Awards Committee, as well as the diverse range of people associated with the Curry Fund which Haydon chaired following his Presidency. As he reflected, Haydon noted that his roles were associated with the dispersion of funds, a key remit of the Charitable status of the GA. Haydon also described his role in the coordination of School Rocks and how with David Ward and Alison Barraclough he 

has enabled the introduction of thousands of children to geology. He concluded by acknowledging the importance of the support of his family. 

The AGM was followed by the Presidential Address for 2023: Graham P. Hickman – The Bilston Stone Quarry: _**GA Map Store at  UCL Library**_ Digging up the past - geology & genealogy. 

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## **LECTURE MEETINGS 2023** 

The 2023 monthly lecture programme covered a multitude of topics as usual, with a conscious attempt to bring in some current research from active PhD students. 

January started with Paul Hildreth, recently Yorkshire Geological Society president, telling us of the _Lower Cretaceous_ in his home patch, Lincolnshire.  This little-known marine succession was a source of iron ore and other raw materials but is scarcely visible nowadays. In February, we were able to hear the story of the recent _Winchcombe meteorite_ , a rare carbonaceous chondrite which fell on a Gloucestershire village but is now largely in the care of the Natural History Museum, where our speaker, Ashley King is a scientist. 

Pliosaur expert, Richard Forrest, brought alive the excitement of actually finding and excavating these enormous _Mesozoic marine reptiles_ in the March meeting, based mainly upon his own experience. For April, Mike Horne of Hull University demonstrated the wealth of different glacial boulders and pebbles that can be found along the Holderness coastline, transported to Yorkshire by glaciers during the _Pleistocene Ice Age_ .  He introduced the notion of Holderness being renamed the _Ice Age Coast_ (rivalling the Jurassic Coast of Dorset). 

Our AGM in May was followed by the _Presidential Address_ from Graham Hickman. Graham's ancestry was immersed in quarrying in the Black Country, and he presented the history of their involvement, how the stone was used and how, despite the industry eventually declining as resources were exhausted, geology still courses through the Hickman bloodline. 

In June, Jack Lovegrove described how the Mendip and Bristol area was inundated by _Triassic sediments_ ; the results of a commendable student field project. Jack first came to our notice  many years ago, in his time as a Rockwatch prizewinner. Mike Howe visited us in July, from the British Geological Survey, where he is responsible for the extensive geological collections.  He told of _two centuries of curation_ and advised the GA members of how the collections could be accessed today for research. 

_Mining for gold in Wales_ occupied the October meeting, when Mark Austin of Alba Mineral Resources explained how new technology, a better appreciation of the geology and an encouraging gold price had revived exploration at the abandoned mine of Clogau. The last lecture of the year was delivered by PhD student Amy Shipley, who has been working on the _trophic structure during the latest Cenozoic_ and particularly the impact that the _Otodus megalodon_ shark, had on the food chain before and after its extinction. 

I have to extend grateful thanks to all speakers who willingly accepted invitations to address us and allow their presentations to be available to members for later viewing and as always, to Sarah Stafford for administering the lecture programme and Kevin Perry for ensuring the talks could be viewed remotely, enabling far bigger audiences than Burlington House alone could accommodate. 

Michael Oates Indoor Meetings Secretary 

## **UK FIELD MEETINGS** 

Five field meetings, excepting those linked to the Annual Conference and Festival of Geology, were held during the year. Each was designed to provide a range of experiences for members and guests, from ‘accessible’ to ‘historical’ in focus, jointly led by GA member and kindred groups, and to a locality never previously visited. The accessible field meeting designed around the availability of good public transport and routes visited geosites along well-surfaced tracks and was suitable for cyclists, pedestrians with or without perambulators, wheelchair and mobility scooter users. The historical field meeting compared and contrasted what was experienced by members on late nineteenth and early twentieth century excursions with present-day opportunities. 

The first field meeting, on Saturday 15[th] April, was led by Tom Hose. It was an accessible meeting, mainly along the route of a former railway, explored Middle Jurassic sedimentary geology, Quaternary landforms, engineering geology, and urban and industrial history. Geoconservation and land-ownership issues meant the emphasis was on observation and recording. Whilst a couple of people withdrew due to Covid, the seven attendees came from as far afield as Doncaster (by train), with most from nearby (by 

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bus and car) and south London (by car). Its exploration of the northern edge of Milton Keynes broke new ground for the Association on its first visit to the area. It was blessed after a dull start by warm spring sunshine. 

The second field meeting, from Friday evening to Sunday over 20[th] -22[nd] May, was led by Jonathan Turner. It was based in Tenby, and explored the Pembrokeshire coast, visited by the Association as early as 1909. Originally 30 people signed up, but a more manageable 21 members attended. Car sharing helped to overcome the limited parking at some locations. The meeting examined the rocks and structures exposed around the Pembrokeshire coastline, taking in a variety of sedimentary rocks, volcanics, formerly deeply buried ‘basement’ rocks, and faults, folds and fractures associated with the Variscan episode of mountain-building that affected NW Europe in the late Carboniferous. Some 9 kms per day on average was walked as the party explored the outstanding geology and beauty of the majestic coastline, ensuring that participants were physically and mentally challenged. 




**----- Start of picture text -----**<br>
                                Smokejacks - hunting dinosaurs<br>**----- End of picture text -----**<br>


_Hunstanton - north shore fossil hunting_ 

The third field meeting, on Sunday 2[nd] July, was led by Peter Austen and Ed Jarzembowski. It celebrated, with 26 members and guests, the 40[th] anniversary of the discovery of _Baronyx walkeri_ at the Surrey quarry. The party assembled at the Visitor Centre of the Ewhurst Works, south of Dorking in Surrey. After people new (and those who had not been for over a year) to the site had undergone a site safety induction, three new temporary geological displays were examined. Two of the latter celebrated the discovery of _Baryonyx_ by Bill Walker; one was by Peter Brown, a cameraman filming for the BBC at the time, the other by Peter and Joyce Austen showing some subsequent finds. The third display was on palaeoart by Biddy Jarzembowski and unveiled the reconstruction of the first Wealden stick insect discovered there. Rita and Trevor Batchelor, Bill’s daughter and son-in-law, displayed two books of press cuttings about the original _Baronyx walkeri_ discovery. Following two introductory talks by the leaders on the Weald Clay and the site, the party walked to the north-east end of the pit - traditionally called Smokejacks by geologists. The clay had not been dug recently, but the section had been washed by rain. Party members negotiated the steep clay slopes and were soon collecting the site’s typical fossils; these included insects (beetle, cockroach, bug and dragonfly wings), clam shrimps and ostracods, a shark egg case, plants, and trace fossils. The day ended appropriately with the discovery of _Iguanodon_ bones. The dry, mild and cloudy weather was ideal, and members were most reluctant to leave the site. 

Two other field meetings to Hunstanton (pictured above) and Charnwood Forest were organised. 

Tom Hose Field Meetings Secretary 

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## **OVERSEAS FIELD MEETINGS** 

In 2023 Alison Ure assisted by Professor David Bridgland organized an overseas field trip, Archaeology and Geology of the Teke Peninsula, Turkey. The trip took place from 13[th] - 22[nd] April. The participants guided by experts in geology (Alison and David), and in history and archaeology (local guide Tolga Kanik) visited various sites of interest including the Antalya Archaeology Museum, limestones at Kirkgoz, Roman theatre at Phaselis Rock, Mount Chimaera with its eternal fires, the Sunken City of Kekova, Kas Bay, the Blue Cave of Kastellorizo, the Dirgenlir Gorge, ancient cities of Kayakoy, Xanthos UNESCO World Heritage Site, Saklikent Canyon, the Grimeler Cave, abandoned village of Kayakoy, Carain Cave, Perge, Kursunlu Waterfall Park. 

_The Group at Chimaera_ 

## **GEOCONSERVATION** 

In the year in which the Government published its Environmental Improvement Plan in England, with a commitment to conserve and enhance the natural, geological and cultural diversity of our landscapes, its pleasing that the GA, in all its guises, has continued to play an important part in achieving this. The contribution of the GA, and especially local groups, to International Geodiversity Day (IGD) on and around the 6th October, included walks run by the London Geodiversity Partnership and London Natural History Society, Essex Rock and Mineral Society, Berkshire Geoconservation Group, a lecture by the Bath Geological Society and a tour of the geosites of the Black Country UNESCO Global Geopark organized as part of the very well attended International Association for the Conservation of Geological Heritage Symposium held in Loughborough. The GA Annual Conference in Kendal provided a great opportunity for Caroline Goodship to showcase the outstanding geoconservation work being undertaken by Cumbria Geoconservation Group, and especially their Geodiversity Statement and Action Plan 2023 Geodiversity in Cumbria (cbdc.org.uk) which I strongly recommend. 

In addition, the GA continued to manage the publication of Earth Heritage magazine, working with our partners to publish issues 59 and 60, we continued to publish geoconservation papers in the Proceedings of the Geologists’ Association and to fund geoconservation projects through the Curry Fund. All of this is in addition to the practical conservation work undertaken by so many local groups, much of which is reported in the GA Magazine and Earth Heritage. Finally, there was an extremely interesting and lively discussion about the conservation of Local Geological Sites as part of the GA Local Groups Meeting in November. The enthusiasm for sharing and learning on his subject has led to a further workshop being planned for early 2024 and hopefully to further workshops on related geoconservation issues in the year ahead. 

Dr Colin Prosser Chair – Geoconservation 

## **THE CURRY FUND** 

In 2023 the Curry Fund received 21 applications, 19 of which we were able to support. A total of £31,976 was awarded (Ordinary grants £25,024, GA subvention £6,952).  This was a healthy increase in grant applications from 2022 and the high level of successful grant awards reflects the improved quality and innovative range of grant application, as well as the first full year of the redesigned grant 

11 



## Projects supported include: 

_Events_ :  in 2023 we were able to support the Yorkshire (hosted in Whitby) and Lyme Regis Fossil Festivals, a celebration of the 10[th] Anniversary of Girls into Geoscience at Plymouth University, and the North Staffordshire Geologists’ Association Group 75[th] Anniversary celebration. 

_Conservation_ : this year we funded the restoration and re-display of a Mary Anning _Temnodontosaurus_ (ichthyosaur) skull at Bristol Museum and continued our support for the early Jurassic Court Farm lagerstatte material and its conservation at Stroud Museum. 

_Education_ :  the Etches collection in Dorset received a small grant to help develop their on-going schools outreach programme and we also supported the Herefordshire and Worcestershire Earth Heritage Trust develop their schools fossil resource boxes and strengthen the link with the GA’s own School Rocks initiative. 

_Interpretation, exhibitions and websites_ : on-site interpretation of the Triassic cliffs of Budleigh Salterton, an interpretation panel celebrating Ethered Benett (know as the ‘Mother of English Geology’) in Norton Bavent, Wiltshire, and an exhibition at Kendal Museum, celebrating the life and work of Adam Sedgwick, have all been funded this year. We have also supported the creation of an on-line geoscience graphic resource as well as the Scottish Geology Trust’s development of an interactive Geosite map of Scotland (https://geosites.scottishgeologytrust.org/). 

_Arts_ : increasingly we are supporting projects that connect geoscience and the arts.  Fossil Flash Fiction in northeast England is a project merging science and art by linking palaeontology and story telling through community workshops, the documentary film ‘Timescales’ will follow a geologist-artist conversation through the landscapes of the Jurassic Coast, and ‘Typical forever’ is an eight-song album by Olivia Rafferty exploring geological events and concepts, performed at the Yorkshire Fossil Festival and the Oxford University Museum of Natural History. 

## Curry Fund ‘Award for excellence’: 

The Curry Fund ‘Award for excellence’ recognises completed projects that exemplify the objectives of the Curry Fund.  Three projects were awarded a certificate in 2022: the conservation and interpretation of Silurian plants at Capel Horeb in South Wales by The British Institute for Geological Conservation, an exhibition and display of Triassic reptiles, a collaboration between Sidmouth Museum and the Jurassic Coast Trust, and Peterborough Museum and Art Gallery’s Extinction exhibition.  The 2023 awards will be selected at our June 2024 meeting. 

The Curry Fund celebrates another year of supporting geological publication, conservation, interpretation, and innovation - to find out more please go to www.geologistsassociation.org.uk/curry/ 


**Jonathan Larwood Curry Fund Secretary** 

12 



## **EDUCATION AND SCHOOLROCKS!** 

Since the first Year 3 Schoolrocks! box was sent out in January 2018, the Schoolrocks! team have built this to a total of one hundred and twenty boxes, achieving our initial aim of enabling over three thousand children to handle real rocks and fossils.  We provide accompanying lesson plans and activities to help teachers and home educators cover the Rocks and Soils section of the Science National Curriculum. Some schools request a box each year, indicating a definite level of success. Recent comments from teachers include: 

_Many, many thanks for the box it didn’t just enthuse the children, I haven’t seen our teachers as engaged with Geology before either_ . 

_The children were so enthusiastic about the topic of rocks when I saw them again on Friday. Many of them had researched the work of Geologists at home and have started learning about the different types of rocks. I think we are going to have much more fun learning the unit this year!_ 

_Thank you for sending the rock boxes so promptly. I am really pleased with the resources and the quality of the boxes and their contents. Our children have been so excited to use them._ 


_Year 3 pupils examining volcanic lava_ 

The team and other GA members have visited primary schools to give workshops and to provide stalls at school science fairs and STEM events.  These popular occasions have enabled both teachers and children to actively experience a range of rocks and fossils, as well as giving teachers the confidence to include more geological content in their lessons. In November 2023, the Schoolrocks! team was delighted to be invited by the Ark school group to run a short training event entitled Geology in the Classroom for sixty-five secondary school teachers. All of those present were experienced geography teachers, but few had previously had the opportunity to consider ways of including actual rocks into their UK landscape lessons. 

As well as our Year 3 Schoolrocks! boxes, the Schoolrocks! team have recently developed a set of new boxes and activities to cover most aspects of the Year 6 Science topic, _Evolution and Inheritance_ .  This was fully booked before the launch workshops on 27[th] February 2024. Each participating school was sent an Evolution box containing replica fossil horse hooves and micraster echinoids of different ages. The workshop featured a superb presentation by Tom Sharpe on the life and work of Mary Anning. 

In April, a series of specially adapted GeoLab/geology education sessions are planned for a number of disadvantaged secondary school children in Stevenage, as part of the local authority Access to All STEM programme. 

13 




Very little of these incentives would be possible without the support of GA members and organisations who provide materials for the Schoolrocks! boxes or the Reading Geological Society whose members construct and pack the boxes. 

Alison Barraclough 

## **MARKETING** 

Our main aims are to introduce the public to geology, promote RockWatch and SchoolRocks!, sell GA Guides and increase GA membership. 

We have done this by attending Science Festivals where our stand has shown nice geological specimens, some introductory games and our range of GA Guides. We attempt to engage visitors by showing them specimens and involving them in conversations linking minerals, the metals produced from them and usage of items made from these metals. 

Children are always keen to examine fossils and hence open to being shown RockWatch and SR materials, which are fed back to their schools – and parents and grandparents always support this activity. 

We attended:- 

Essex Mineral and Rock Society Abingdon ATOM Lyme Regis Fossil Festival Southampton Science and Engineering Day Yorkshire Fossil Festival Sidmouth Science festival Amateur Geological Society National Trust, Biddulph Grange 

Stands were manned by myself, Diana Clements and Nikki Edwards, also by enthusiastic members of Local Groups where we  were able to recruit them. 

David Ward 

14 




This year has seen a successful return to the field for our members with Covid restrictions becoming a distant memory. As the new Chair it has been such a pleasure to meet so many enthusiastic young geologists all over the country. In addition, we have a new co-ordinator in the form of ex-Rockwatcher Kate Adler. Kate has been a marvellous addition to the Rockwatch team and has rapidly made herself invaluable. 

The residential trip to Leeson House in Swanage, running from 31st July to 4th August, was a resounding success. Ten children were able to delve deep into the fossils of the Jurassic coast, with trips to Weymouth on two days and a local foray to Worth Matravers on the first day. 

As always, the staff and amenities at Leeson House Field Studies Centre were wonderful and particular thanks must go to Mike Gould, who battled considerable odds to allow the trip to go ahead.  The original leaders from the first Dorset trip back in 2002 were back in action, so enormous thanks go to Barry Cullimore, Richard Edmonds, and Alan Holiday for giving up their time to inspire us all. Phil Vixseboxse, another ex-Rockwatcher and now a PhD researcher at Cambridge University was with us for the whole time and was a fantastic help with the trip. 

The fossil fun day at Ware Museum on Wednesday 9th August was also a first for the new Rockwatch team. Fortunately, Rockwatch committee member Wendy Kirk, Queen of the Jurassic diorama for some years, was on hand to steady the nerves of the newcomers. We were very grateful to have a new volunteer to help us, in the shape of Madhvi Gor, who really did volunteer at the Student Symposium earlier this year. 

The high spot of the day for many was the triumphant return of the racing trilobites. Owing to a shortage of space the event had less of the Derby and more of the Dodgems about it but Caly, Mene, Blumen, and Bachi, our four gigantic Dudley bugs had a firm fan following by the end of the day. Thanks are due to Diana Perkins and her team at Ware Museum for accommodating us and supplying hot drinks and dinosaur shaped homemade biscuits. 

On 16[th] August the oversubscribed trip to the Somerset Earth Science Centre was highly successful. Thanks are due to Adel Avery who organised the day for us. The team at the centre had made a fantastic effort to clear a waste coal tip at Radstock for a fossil foray in the afternoon and some excellent Carboniferous discoveries were made. 


_Immersed in the Carboniferous_ 

15 



The trip north to Scunthorpe Museum and the Frodingham ironstone pit on 19[th] August was another wonderful day. Thanks go to Paul Hildreth and committee member Mick Oates who led the trip and especial thanks must go to Mick for allowing us to visit his astonishing museum. It was a very memorable end to a great trip. Mick also identifies photos of finds sent in via the Rockwatch website and is a great Rockwatch ambassador. 

Rockwatch took their activities to Lowewood Museum in Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire, on 23[rd] August, and had a very large number of attendees. Fossil casting in the shade of an enormous cedar was particularly popular and Wendy Kirk did a splendid job on the rocks and fossil table. 

At the end of September committee member David and Anne Bone took a capacity trip to Boxgrove Priory, near Chichester and then on to Bracklesham Bay. This was another oversubscribed trip with many returning for a second or third visit. The building stone quiz was popular although the half and half lime/sandstone annoyed some! 

Our final event of the Autumn was at the Festival of Geology at UCL in November.  The stall was ably manned by willing volunteers and staff and attracted a goodly number of youngsters. The lucky dip was particularly successful with a number of GCSE Geology students coming back time and again, evidently delighted by their bargains. It is good to see these older students with a real thirst for Earth science who will, I hope, want to take their interest into adult life. 

The Rockstar prizegiving at Anglo American headquarters in London was a fantastic event. As ever, our thanks go to the Anglo-American Foundation for their continued support for Rockwatch and, in particular, the competition. 

There were 49 entries in the various categories and eighteen winners, although all entrants received a gift. Catherine Reynolds, an ex Rockwatcher, gave a fascinating talk about her experiences in exploration in Finland and South America. She emphasised that geology is still a puzzle to be solved, despite all the advances in exploration techniques. As many entries were in the form of quizzes and boardgames we would seem to have a goodly number of future exploration geologists in the making! 

There was a tie for first place so this year we have two outstanding Rockstars. Emma Bowler’s movie, ‘All about coprolites’ demonstrated Emma’s infectious enthusiasm for the study of ancient poo which enabled her to get over many facts in her movie without anyone noticing!  The adventures of Oscar Hewitt’s stop motion dinosaurs, including blood curdling audio and gruesome scenes, show how lucky we are that they are, if not extinct, at least a lot smaller. You can see many of the entries in a short movie on the Rockwatch website. This year’s Rockwriter competition was won by Jack Knight   for his report on _The Geology and Mining of Cligga Head_ . Jack must have had a great day at Cligga Head, managing to draw us into the excitement with his descriptions of the geology and mining history of Cornwall. 

2023’s Rockwatch magazines have carried on the tradition of high quality and fascinating content. Despite the high cost of production, we are committed to retaining the physical magazines as they are much loved by the membership. Enormous thanks are due to the editors Peter Doyle and Susanna van Rose for ensuring that the magazine is always factually correct and extremely entertaining and to Seabury Salmon for producing such an eye-catching layout. 

The Rockwatch team are eager to build on this year’s successes and have an even more exciting 2024. 

Clare Byrne 

Rockwatch Chair 

16 




After 8 Years of producing the brilliant GA Calendar, Gerald Lucy handed the organising of our annual photographic competition and the selection and production of the GA Calendar to Nick Pierpoint. 

For the first time, Nick opened the competition to digital entries and this inevitably resulted in many more entries and from a broad range of locations. We thank Nick and the judging panel, Gerald Lucy and Ian Sutton for the hours of work judging and selecting the photographs. 

**The foregoing reports have been approved by the Council and signed on their behalf** 

## **Graham Hickman Ted Dubowski** 



**General Secretary** 

**President** 

17 



**GEOLOGISTS’ ASSOCIATION LOCAL GROUPS** 

## **DORSET GEOLOGISTS ASSOCIATION GROUP** 

## **www.dorsetgeologistsassociation.org** 

DGAG has had another successful year. Our field trip programme was varied and interesting with the number of attendees rising to pre-Covid levels. Field trips included visits to some classic Dorset locations including Worbarrow Bay and the Portland Harbour section studied by Arkell.  Several inland exposures were examined including Frogden Quarry (Inferior Oolite) and Landers Quarry (Purbeck). We were shown around the latter by the late Trev Haysom, in what was probably his last group visit. 

Other trips included a guided walk around the Poxwell Pericline and an excursion looking at Building Stones of the Piddle Valley. Our one excursion ‘out of county’ was a visit to the Blue and White Lias quarries near Somerton in Somerset. Some DGAG members also acted as leaders for a three-day visit to Dorset by London South Bank University students. 

We also ran a successful evening lecture programme at the Dorford Centre in Dorchester. The talks included topics such as What is a Species, Carbon Capture and Storage, Brachiopod physiology, Puddingstones of Hertfordshire and the Geology of the Hampshire Basin. Our annual ‘Holiday Rocks’ event featured the fascinating talks on the Geology of Turkey and the Azores. In December they featured some excellent displays of members’ collections. These included microfossils, Eocene fossils, Ammonites from the Inferior Oolite, Stylolites. Igneous rocks, fluorescent minerals and Corallian fossils. We also had stalls representing DGAG at the Lyme Regis Fossil Festival and the Hampshire Fossil and Mineral Show. 

The Committee met by Zoom, mainly for its convenience of not having to travel, although the January A.G.M. was conducted in person. Members have been kept informed by ‘DGAG Members’ Updates,’ usually weekly or sometimes fortnightly. 

Three editions of the DGAG Newsletter, in full colour, were sent out to members in 2023. Currently, we send 108 copies out in total. 64 go out as hard copies by post and 44 go out by email as pdfs. Compared to the last two years, the gap between printed copies and digital versions is narrowing, possibly since new members tend to opt for the .pdf version. The articles received include book reviews and field reports, alongside regular features. 

Our special interest group, Dorset Building Stone, has continued to grow, expanding its coverage of Dorset’s churches and historic buildings. We have published two more booklets on the building stones of Athelhampton House and a town trail of Sherborne and its Abbey. 

Our former Chairman has become our new President and we now have an enthusiastic Sales Officer. Our committee is already planned an exciting programme of field trips and events for 2024. 

Kelvin Huff DGAG Secretary 

18 



## **ESSEX ROCK & MINERAL SOCIETY** 

## **www.erms.org** 

## Membership 

Our membership of 142 is higher than it has been for many years. Our Affiliation to the Geologists’ Association is sustained by the fact that 12 ERMS members are also GA members. Thanks go to Mark Matthews for continued promotion and improvement of the Membership and payments system, working with ERMS member Jan Dunford to make online membership and renewals so much more straightforward. Society accounts record a surplus on operations for this year of similar magnitude to the previous year. Funds cover various projects such as signboards and publications. 

## Venues and meetings 

Meetings continued with increased attendances at both the Shenfield and Stanway venues. Online Zoom talks have also continued, often with a differing selection of members. Hall meetings have attracted much interest in showing specimens. We aim to maintain the two monthly venues, as well as a regular Zoom offering. 

## ERMS publications 

The Ashdon Meteorite centenary commemoration event on 9th March was, despite adverse weather, a most memorable event organised by ERMS member Gerald Lucy and Mike Howgate; their ERMS publication, _The Ashdon Meteorite_ has reached a wide audience and is available online. Sales of the book, _Essex Rock_ have continued to be brisk; it is in stock at Chelmsford City Museum and at Essex Wildlife Trust visitor centres, as well as online. The three ERMS wallcharts continue to be sold and distributed widely. 

## Field Visits 

There were eight ERMS visits; the Colemans Farm visit had to be called off at the last moment due to stormy weather, postponed to early next year. Visits were attended by a varying number of members plus paying guests. We revived visits by coach, initially organised by Linda Powell. Our comfortable journey on the Dons of Dunmow coach to Oxford Museum of Natural History was a great success; members spared the strain of driving in rainy mid-September weather on crowded motorways. The Society took a moderate loss on this visit but it will hopefully lead to a fuller coachload for a possible further trip. Thanks to Jonathan Spencer for taking over the task of organising field visits during the year from Linda who has moved house and was unable to continue this job. An easy online booking system has been set up and Jonathan has worked with Jan Dunford and Mark to streamline the visits programme and bookings. Thanks go to all leaders of visits for their guidance. Ros and I also ran a Pebble Walk tour at Thorndon Park for International Geodiversity Day on 6[th] October. 

## The ERMS Show 

The 41st ERMS Essex Gem and Mineral Show in February was again very successful, with over 330 visitors and a continued waiting list of vendors. The 42nd show at North Romford will be on 17th February 2024. Thanks go to Jeff Saward for his continued effort; an understudy is needed, eventually to take on running of the show. 

## Publicity 

Our publicity and Show leaflets continued to bring success. ERMS Facebook was maintained by Helen Vickers. The website www.erms.org was changed and thoroughly updated following a forced swap to another platform. New features, site structure, online forms, etc. continue to be installed and tested by Mark and our IT expert member Jan Dunford. The ERMS Members’ Facebook page is gently used and could be more prominent. 

## Chairman Succession Planning 

To help a new chairman take over from myself from the November AGM, current jobs have been dissected with a view to splitting and devolving many tasks undertaken not only by myself but by other committee members. Members are already helping e.g. with libraries and field visits. After more than 10 years it is time to hand on to others. My sincere thanks to all our members and committee for keeping ERMS buoyant and popular. 


Ian Mercer Chairman 

19 



**www.geolancashire.org.uk** 

## **GEOLANCASHIRE** 

The GeoLancashire group has had a very full year and a summary of our activities follow: 

At the AGM, John McNeal requested to step down from Chairman’s role. Thanks were given for all his work/support over the years. Brian Jeffrey was elected Chairman unopposed.  Barbara Gordon and Peter del Strother are to remain secretary and treasurer respectively. 

A memorial bench for Jennifer Rhodes has been installed at the community garden in Belmont and photograph circulated to members. 

The Group’s activities during 2023:- 

_Indoor meetings - Winter season_ Fri 6th Jan  Zoom: Chris Duffin on _Lapis Lazuli_ Fri 9th Feb AGM; talk by Brian Jeffrey on _The Undara Lava Tubes in Australia_ Fri 3rd March Nigel Price talk about _Thomas Sopwith  - Geologist and much more…._ 

Fri 14th April      Peter del Strother, _The Canaries_ 

_Field Trips_ Sun 23rd April Lesley Collins Askrigg and Wetgrooves ( Leeds GA trip) Wed 3rd May Crummack Dale, Peter del Strother - joint trip with MGA. Sun 16th July      Force Crag Mine, Lake District. Weds 9th Aug Ingleton Waterfalls, Lesley Collins (Westmorland GA trip) 

The treasurer requested that members fill in Gift Aid forms for submission to HMRC. This will allow us to claim an extra 25% on subscriptions. 

Geoconservation: No major issues during 2023. Lancashire CC have now released MARIO maps, which show location of all SSSIs/ RIGS sites. 

20 



## **HARROW AND HILLINGDON GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY** 

## **www.hhgs.org.uk** 

2023 saw a number of innovations develop from unexpected opportunities. 

At his 2022 talk to our Society on Thames gravels, Peter Allen had challenged us to investigate the Stanmore Gravel at our local SSSI in Harrow Weald. Starting in January 2023 we set up a research project to do just that. Anyone can join the project, we hold monthly meetings on Zoom and regular progress reports are posted on our website. In its first year, the project has collected samples from two locations on Harrow Weald Common but has not yet secured permission to dig inside the SSSI despite all efforts to contact the owners. 

We were invited by the Experimental Techniques Centre at Brunel University to hold some meetings on their premises and join their Open Day in March. Following discussions it was agreed to start regular Earth Discovery Sessions, open to the public and free of charge, at rooms on the Brunel campus. These have proved very successful, bringing in new members and enabling us to promote different themed sessions to specific local groups. 

Our monthly lectures continue to be held on Zoom, allowing us to invite speakers from overseas and from the far reaches of the UK. This prompted us to hold a series of lectures on the UK’s UNESCO Global Geoparks. Five geoparks agreed to take part, and the stunning geodiversity of our country was eyeopening for many of our members. We recently visited Fforest Fawr and are planning a field trip to the Black Country Geopark in 2024. 

Our very popular Uxbridge Rock Show returned after a 2-year break due to Covid. We negotiated a slightly different arrangement with Uxbridge Library as they had booked other events in the space we use, and in fact the space-sharing worked out well. The Show lasted almost 3 weeks with half-term in the middle and school visits before and after that. We attracted a visitor from Colne Valley Regional Park who invited us to take part in their Festival in July. This was the start of, hopefully, many collaborative events including a field trip within the CVRP to which their volunteers were invited. 

This was our Golden Anniversary year and a chance to reflect on 50 years. One highlight was the field trip re-enactment to the Mendips which was very successful and greatly enjoyed by all. We have made a Golden Anniversary poster which will be on display at exhibitions throughout 2024. A good year for HHGS as membership has increased! 


21 



## **HERTFORDSHIRE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY** 

## **www.hertsgeolsoc.org.uk** 

We’ve seen some semblance of normality, with a return to a regular series of lectures, both via Zoom during January and February and a return to face-to-face meetings through the core of the year. These have not been without their issues, as we’ve struggled to record lectures given the continuing changing technology at our venue. Finally reverting to the old IT kit, as Zoom was incompatible with the new kit! 

An excellent series of lectures kicked off in January with Bridget Wade giving us her interpretation of Paleogene environmental change as reflected in the oceanic microfaunas. Use of Zoom does give us access to speakers from more distant locations and we heard Prof. Peter Scott from Cambourne School of Mines in February talk about the much-forgotten subject of _Clays_ ! 

February brought our annual visit to Little Heath during which a regular group of vegetation destroyers hacked (carefully!) through the brambles, couch grass and seedings that had dared to poke their way through the sediments. This trip was, as usual, organised by Clive Maton who completed his tenure as HGS Honorary President at the AGM in March. He marked his retirement with an excellent presentation on _The Norber Erratics_ . 

March saw us in the field again, this time visiting the chalk pit at Potters Crouch. This RIGS site has previously been noted for the presence of “paramoudra flints”. Despite considerable searching no such flints were recorded; instead, we found numerous carious flints from which good quantities of flint meal were extracted. This was duly washed, dried and picked over yielding the first ever record in the UK of the global zonal index foram species _Marginotruncana schneegansi_ . 

In the same month we also had a morning building stone walk of Aylesbury led by Graham Hickman, followed by a visit to the Discover Bucks Museum in the afternoon, organised by Nick Pierpoint. Then in May Mike Howgate organised and led us on a Puddingstone Peregrination M10-M11. Our final day field trip in June was to Charnwood Forest led by John Carney. Thanks to Nick for organising this one as well. 

Other interesting talks during the year looked at our science through slightly different eyes. Paul Smith led us through _Visions of Nature_ , using the combination of art and science within museums. Later in the year, author Helen Gordon talked us through her book, _Notes from Deep Time – A journey through past and future worlds_ . Both presentations stimulated a great deal of thought and interesting questions. 

_Geoconservation_ was back in July with an overdue visit to Hill End chalk pit, organised by Haydon Bailey. Noble efforts were made to clear the debris falls caused by the chalk collapse during previous winters. We didn’t quite clear it all, but plan to return in 2024 to finish the job. 

The final quarter of the year saw us on a fascinating two-day trip to Warwickshire also organised by Haydon.  A table at the Festival of Geology, then back on Zoom over the Winter for Cat Hirst’s talk on Geothermal resources and Mike Benton’s classic presentation _Dinosaurs, new visions of a lost world_ . Despite the lack of personal contact enforced by Zoom, we do welcome back numerous visitors from other societies during our Zoom meetings and it’s always good to see them. 


22 



## **KENT GEOLOGISTS GROUP www.kgg.org.uk** 

2023 saw the Kent Geologists Group return to near normality, post COVID, with the resumption of _face-toface_ meetings.  Zoom has been a useful tool for extenuating circumstances, but there is nothing to beat the sociability of members gathering, for their mutual benefit. 

To that end the Chairperson and Committee, went all out to find a new venue, to suit members, as the old one was no longer fit for our purposes.  The first venue we found was wonderful and we were able to have two meetings there, but unfortunately a mistake with bookings, found our 3[rd] Tuesday night slot, double booked and all other nights full.  Luckily, though, we found another equally good hall, close by, with parking, which meets all our needs. 

Consequently, for the first time since lockdown, to celebrate, we had a proper _old fashioned_ party night meeting for Christmas, which seemed to go down a treat. The Chairperson gave a humorous talk entitled, 

_The Geology of Christmas_ .  Other memorable talks were by delivered by zoom and in-person are listed below.  Many thanks to Ann Barrett for organising these. 

Despite our inability to recruit a Field Trip Coordinator, some members of the Committee stepped up to the mark, to lead field visits, which have been most enjoyable and informative, with the weather having been exceptionally kind.  Additionally, KGG members were invited to join OUGS field visits and vice versa. These memorable experiences are listed below.  Thank you to all those who led trips or participated. Our website has been updated and improved by Duncan Stewart, to whom we also owe a vote of thanks, and our Newsletter is currently being collated by Duncan and Ann Barrett, for distribution in due course. In the absence of a General Secretary, or specific Newsletter volunteer, Ann and Duncan have done a considerable amount of work for KGG in this regard.  Many thanks to both and to those people who have contributed to the publication by submitting their articles. 

Our Treasurer David Talbot has also updated and improved several documents, such as our Application for Membership form and Data Protection form.  Many thanks to him for his commitment. 

KGG has a full programme of talks for 2024 and field visits are mostly at the planning stage, although a trip to see the ephemeral Nailbourne Stream **, is** planned for 3[rd] March 2024.  Many thanks to everyone involved. 

Talks: 

17th Jan, Zoom: Dr Anne Padfield, _Rock Mass Strength and Classification_ 21st Feb, Zoom: Dr Doreen Van Seenus, _A Mystery Volcano_ 

21st Mar, Zoom: Annual General Meeting, Tony Mitchell, _The Devonian 18th Apr Hall : Brian Lines Granite_ 16th May, Hall: Dr David Alderton, _Gold from Source to Shop_ 20th Jun, Hall: Geoff Downer, _The Geology of the Monuments of Canterbury Cathedral_ 18th Jul, Hall: Dr Geoff Turner, _Forensic Geology - Murder, Mayhem, Microscopes and Minerals_ 15th Aug, Hall: Ken Brooks, _The Reconstruction of Abu Simbel_ 

19th Sep, Hall: Dr David Shilston, _Engineering Geology for Offshore Wind Farms_ 17th Oct, Hall: Dr Chris Duffin, _Mineralogy and Art_ 21st Nov, Hall: James Downer, _North East Scotland_ 19th Dec, Hall: Dr Anne Padfield, _The Geology of Christmas_ Field Visits: 4th July, Dode Church 

5th April, Snowdown Colliery Museum 5[th] April, Goodnestone watercress beds and ice cave 13th May, Geology walk around Burham, near Rochester 

2[nd] Sep, OUGS /KGG Kentish Ragstone Walk, Boughton Monchelsea 

Dr Anne Padfield 

23 



## **MOLE VALLEY GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY** 

## **www.mvgs.org.uk** 

The MVGS continued throughout 2023 with an active series of talks and fieldtrips. Our programme of talks was again expertly organised by Professor Richard Selley and we continue to benefit from his expertise and list of contacts. The talks were well attended and took place usually on the second Thursday of the month, in Dorking. 

In January Professor Paul Barrett gave a talk entitled, _Where on Earth Did the Dinosaurs Come From ?_ He explained what makes a dinosaur, it’s all about the hips apparently, plus we looked deep into the origins of the dinosaurs as opposed to what caused their extinction. 

In February we heard Dr Chris Duffin speak about _Lapis Lazuli: The Heavenly Stone_ , where we explored the chemistry, structure and history of this beautiful stone. This was followed in March by a talk by Dr Claire Lucas, _Bone Artifacts & Migration Routes in the European Late Palaeolithic_ . This fascinating talk looked at Claire’s fieldwork and research covering the period 10,000-20,000 years ago during the last maximum glacial incursion. 

In April we were treated to a fascinating and thought-provoking talk by Dr Colin Summerhayes who shared some of his deep knowledge on climate change: _Sea Level Change through the Phanerozoic & into the Anthropocene_ . 

Our annual Astronomy talk was from Professor Mark Sephton on _Astrobiology_ , which we were told is the study of life, evolution, distribution and future life in the Universe. Mars was used as an example. In July Dr Rebecca Bell talked about, _How our understanding of Subduction Zone hazards has changed since the 2003 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami_ . Our final talk of the year was given by Jeremy Hodgkinson FSA on _The Wealden Iron Industry_ . 

During the year we held 3, one-day field trips as follows: Richmond Park led by Diana Clements; Chichester Harbour led by David Bone; The Albert Memorial led by Prof John Cosgrove.. 

Our annual 3 day, field trip was to the Isle of Portland and was led by Andy Los and supported by Trevor Burchette. Blessed with superb weather we were able to visit the outcrops and quarries of both the Portland and Purbeck Groups and actually see the provenance of the stones that built London. 


24 



## **NORTH STAFFORDSHIRE GROUP OF THE GEOLOGISTS’ ASSOCIATION** 

## **www.nsgga.org** 

On 7[th] December the NSGGA marked its 75[th] anniversary with a Christmas social event in the William Smith Building, Keele University, attended by members and guests from the GA, local organisations and neighbouring GA affiliated groups. During the buffet, members and guests examined a display on the group’s history, curated by John Reynolds. Short speeches by the Chair, Gordon McKeown and GA President Graham Hickman were followed by an excellent talk by Jill Darrell and Di Clements (both Natural History Museum, London) titled: _William Smith’s Fossils Reunited_ . 

A highlight for the group was our long-standing member and officer David Osborn receiving the GA Foulerton Award, presented by Graham Hickman (GA President) and Dr Vanessa Banks (GA VicePresident) at the GA’s AGM in May. 

Committee meetings were held using Zoom. At the 74[th] AGM at Keele on 9th March 2023 the following officers were elected: Chair, Gordon McKeown; Deputy Chair Dr Stuart Egan; General Secretary, Stephen Addison; Treasurer, Tony Marks; Membership Secretary, David Osborn (deputy Janet Osborne); Speaker’s Secretary, Peter Jones; Field Secretary, Stephen Alcock; Bulletin Editor and GeoConservation Staffordshire Liaison Officer, Dr Ian Stimpson. Members elected to the executive committee: Janet Osborn; John Reynolds, Adrienne Noble. 

Membership was slightly down at the time of the AGM, with a total of 63 members. However, later in the year the first new members for several years joined; an encouraging sign. 

The year started with the first Peter Floyd lecture, _Geochemistry, field work and students: 30 years collaborating with Peter Floyd_ , by Emeritus Professor John Winchester, commemorating the eminent geochemist and Keele academic. Peter Floyd lectures will form an occasional geochemistry themed series.   The Chair’s (Stephen Addison) AGM Address was, _How the study of Rock Mechanics has enabled Rock Engineering_ . Lectures resumed in the Autumn with _55 years of scientific ocean drilling and the IODP expedition 398 to the Hellenic arc volcanic field_ , by Dr Ralf Gertisser (Keele University). The 2023 Wolverson Cope Lecture, _From cradle to grave: delivering responsible extraction of construction raw materials and sustainable long-term legacy through quarry design_ , was given by Ruth Allington (Allington Collaborative Problem Solving Ltd). 

The group enjoyed a well-attended series of field trips. These included June visits to Park Hall Quarry, Stoke-on-Trent (leader John Reynolds) and the Yorkshire coast (leader Paul Hildreth) followed by Ecton Mine, Staffordshire in July (leader Tim Colman) and the Bonsall area, Derbyshire in August (leader Mike Allen). In addition, the group participated in Staffordshire Wildlife Day at the Potteries Museum, Hanley in March and assisted the National Trust with a Meet the Fossils weekend at Biddulph Grange in November. We also provided the content for the November edition of Geology from your Sofa on the GA website. 


The winner of the John Myers awards 2023 was Skye Tisdell with Briony Bowler the runner-up. 

25 



## **READING GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY** 

## **www.readinggeology.org.uk** 

This year was back to normal, the pandemic now seems a long time ago. The society is flourishing again, but still finding it difficult to increase membership amongst younger people, along with most other societies. Nevertheless, we have maintained our membership at around 70. Some members are sadly no longer with us, but we have recruited a few new members. It is important to use all the channels available to spread the word whether it be the old style of a poster, email contact, maintaining an up-to-date and evolving website or embracing social media. 

Our lecture programme contained nine lectures, two rambles and the AGM and Members evening. The February lecture was on The Winchcombe Meteorite from Dr Ashley King, The Natural History Museum, London, followed in March by our first Presidential Address from Dr Alison Macleod of the University of Reading, our new President, on the topic of Cryptic volcanism: unravelling hidden climate-environment interactions. There was a rare event for RGS in April when our speaker had to cancel at short notice with Covid but Peter Worsley kindly stood in with a lecture on Fred Shotten. In May Dr Lyndsay Fox from NHM gave a lecture on Challenger and again in June Peter Worsley gave a lecture on Ice Age Lincolnshire in preparation for the June field meeting. In July and August, we had rambles to the Wellington Estate and Rooks Nest LGS and in September we were pleased to welcome Prof Rob Hosfield from the University of Reading with a fascinating lecture on Lower Paleolithic artifacts with a peculiar sheen. Prof Kenneth Pye gave a topical lecture on Coastal Geology, Erosion and Flood Risk in an Era of Man-made Climate Change in October. In November we learned all about Digging up a “Dragon” from Dr Emma Nicholls of OUMNH and in December, Dr Nic Minter lectured on the Taphonomy of the Burgess Shale. The lecture programme has been managed this year by a subcommittee of Helen Craggs, Hilary Jensen and Ailsa Davies; we do not have an official lectures secretary at the moment so take it in turns to organise the logistics for the meeting and host the speaker to a meal before the lecture. We have offered hybrid lectures all year and now have a technical team to manage the onerous task of combining a live presentation with a zoom presentation, and this has not always been easy. 

We held two four-day field meetings to Lincolnshire led by Peter Worsley assisted by Mick Oates and to the Lake District and North Yorkshire led by Bernard Skillerne de Bristowe. Reports of these are written by the participants and published on our website.  We held six day field meetings - to Selbourne with Ross Garden, Portishead with David Ward, Sheppey with Roger York, the Malverns with David Green, Salisbury and Emma Green Chalk Mine both led by Ross. In January and February, we held two workshops and in December we always have a museum visit, this year behind the scenes to NHM in London. We are delighted to have a new field meetings secretary, Ross Garden, replacing David Ward who has filled this role for many years with great enthusiasm. Carole Gregory and Ross form a field meetings subcommittee. 

It was good to return to the Festival of Geology in person and see a lot of familiar faces after four years and set up our stall with posters of the society’s activities. We are glad to see this event is thriving and always try to encourage as many members as possible to attend. 

David Ward and Alison Barraclough continue to do sterling work with SchoolRocks! and RGS Outreach and we are proud of their involvement with the GA Council. 


**----- Start of picture text -----**<br>
Montagne Noire Field Meeting<br>**----- End of picture text -----**<br>


We publish an excellent Newsletter three or four times a year with reports of field meetings and other society news. The RGS website proves invaluable for advertising, bringing in new members and reporting on our activities, thanks to Malcolm Butler, our webmaster. Ailsa Davies as chairman, with the support of Hilary Jensen as secretary, Carole Gregory as treasurer, Roger York as membership secretary, Elaine Butler as newsletter editor, Ross Garden as field meeting secretary and David Ward and Peter Sergeant as committee members proved again to be a strong and enthusiastic committee. 

_Photo by Hilary Jensen. En route to Skiddaw, September 2023_ 

26 



## **SOUTH WALES GEOLOGISTS’ ASSOCIATION CYMDEITHAS Y DAEAREGWYR – GRWP DE CYMRU www.swga.org.uk** 

This is the report for 2023, my first as secretary as I took over in May. 

We have had another busy year and have been fortunate to recruit 2 new members to the committee to replace those standing down. Membership has remained steady with 142 ordinary members at the start of the year and 148 at the close. 

Meetings were a mixture of Zoom and hybrid with an emphasis on encouraging face to face attendance if possible as the social aspect is valued by many of our members. It has taken some time to get the right hardware and learn to use the software, but it has been a great effort by a few individuals, namely John Nudds and Cindy Howells, to make these lectures accessible to more of our members and to a wider audience on line. We have managed to put on a full programme despite not having a Programme Secretary, despite repeated requests to the  membership. 

Our first event, Holiday Geology took place on 7[th] January. It was as usual highly enjoyable and well attended.  Our winter programme finished with three lectures and the AGM: 

Jan 21 -  Prof. Peter Kokelaar (University of Liverpool), _Landscape evolution of southwest Wales: revelations of a dynamic Earth_ [Swansea] 

Feb 18 - Colin Palmer ( Research Associate University of Bristol) – _The challenges of vertebrate flightand how did the largest pterosaurs take to the skies?_ [Zoom] 

March 18 - Peter Sheldon (Open University), _Exceptional fossils – the surprising, the significant and the strange_ at our  AGM in Cardiff. 

The first field trip of the season was to  Cefn Onn, Craig Lysfaen and the coalfield rim on 22nd April  led by Stephen Howe. 

May 14 - Clydach Gorge Alan Bowring, Geopark Geologist, took us on a walk down the  Clydach Gorge. 

June 17 - Gower Prof Pete Kokelaar took us on a walk to Oxwich, analysing the topography of the Gower 

July 16 - Ogmore-by-Sea John Nudds & Cindy Howells.  Bristol Naturalists and Cheltenham Mineral & Geological Society members also attended. This was an introductory day for beginners but was well attended by SWGA members. 

August19 - Penarth Fossil Day Cindy Howells & John Nudds. Very popular family fun day on Penarth beach. We estimated an attendance of 100. 

Our last 3 lectures of the year were: 

October 14 (Cardiff) - Ricardo Ramalho, _Global Tonga tsunami explained by a fastmoving atmospheric source_ 

November 11 (Swansea) – Katie Preece, _From pumice to pirates: 1 million years of volcanic eruptions on Ascension Island_ 

December 9 (Cardiff) – James Creswell, _The Geology of Antarctica_ 

In addition to this, we produce a newsletter, have a website with walks and leaflets, and a Facebook page. 

Three members took a display on the Silurian Usk Inlier and the dinosaur footprints of South Wales to the Festival of Geology.  Cindy Howells and John Nudds took material to St Fagan’s Festival of Nature. 

The Committee met on 4 occasions, 3 face to face and one by zoom. We had our amendments to the constitution accepted by the Charity Commission.  The  new venue for Swansea meetings is working well with increased attendance. We have changed bank accounts and looked for better interest on our deposits. We have reviewed and modified our Safety Policy and Data Protection Policy. 

We look to plan more joint meetings with similar organisations as finding leaders for trips is not easy. We continue to seek out new audiences to engage with this great subject, and new educational projects to support. 

The Committee believes it has achieved the objects of the Group. 

Elen Statham, Secretary 

27 



## **WEST SUSSEX GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY** 

## **www.wsgs.org.uk** 

The role of Chair passed to me this year, with John Lonergan stepping into the role of Deputy Chair. I am pleased to say that membership has remained reasonably stable at 76 whilst we have maintained a full programme of lectures and field trips. Attendance has been very varied with in-person lecture meetings being better supported than Zoom talks, even though the latter have been extended by invitation to other local societies. 

We started the year with a regular speaker, Chris Duffin, on T. Rex followed by our AGM in February, when John Lonergan talked about our 2022 trip to the Isle of Wight. Yet more dinosaur material followed in March with Susie Maidment of the Natural History Museum on Stegosaurian dinosaurs (deferred from 2022). In April, a change of topic took us on to Geochemical hazards in SE England with Roger Smith of the Haywards Heath U3A group. Sarsens (not forgetting Stonehenge) was the subject of the talk by David Nash of the University of Brighton, and we had a bonus Zoom talk by James Cresswell of GeoWorld Travel on the Brecon Beacons just before he led us on our long weekend excursion shortly afterwards. In June, we had Bob Chandler on ammonites. Following the summer break, I spoke on the Enigmatic Ice Age boulders of West Sussex, a talk that is now doing the rounds with other groups. October had to be cancelled due the speaker’s illness, but we returned in November with Haydon Bailey on Zoom with his wellknown talk on Forensic Palaeontology. We also had an additional Zoom talk by Andy Gale of the University of Portsmouth on the timing of the formation of the Weald. Our December Christmas special included a hands-on lapidary demonstration by James Langdon of Brighton Gemstones. 

Our field trip programme started in March with a behind the scenes tour of the geology section of Haslemere Museum. In May, I led a trip to Bracklesham Bay, a favourite for fossil hunters looking for sharks’ teeth, which was followed by a long weekend trip to the Brecon Beacons with James Cresswell. In June, I led an evening visit on the building stones of Broadwater Church, where the ammonites and belemnites in the marble floor drew more interest than the historic stones. The numbers attending was swelled by publicity with the Worthing Heritage Festival. In July, what has become an annual social evening at the local World’s End PH, was well supported. A miserable wet and windy day in August found us on Worthing beach (mostly under shelter) for our regular Pebbles on the Beach, which I lead. The weather put many people off. However, we did have a very successful Geology Day at the Novium Museum in Chichester. We were rushed off our feet at times and particular thanks to Alan Winter who is fantastic when talking to the children. Our September walk on the South Downs with Alex Vincent was also blighted by poor weather, the forecast of which put many people off attending our self-led Halloween walk around Broadwater Cemetery. The deer did, however, keep company with those who made it. November was also a busy time with stalls at the GA Festival of Geology and the Haywards Heath Mineral fair. 


This year was also exceptional with donations of books and specimens, which are sold on to raise funds to support the Society. With specimens also going into children’s lucky dips and books also sold online by myself, we raised an astonishing £1,979 during 2023. Some of this is being ring-fenced for our 50th anniversary in a few years’ time. Our twice-yearly journal ’Outcrop’ has been reformatted to an A5 size to save postage costs but continues in hard copy form by popular demand. It is also available electronically. 

We have an active programme planned for 2024, both new events and the old favourites which we hope to encourage more members to attend. I would like to conclude by thanking the hardworking committee – their efforts do not go unappreciated. 

David Bone 

WSGS Chair 

28 



**Charity registration number 233199** 

## **THE GEOLOGISTS ASSOCIATION** 

**ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023** 



## **THE GEOLOGISTS ASSOCIATION** 

## **CONTENTS** 

||Page|
|---|---|
|Contents page|2|
|Legal and administrative information|3|
|Statement of trustees responsibilities|4|
|Independent examiner's report|5|
|Statement of financial activities|6 - 7|
|Balance sheet|8|
|Notes to the financial statements|9 - 25|



2 



## **THE GEOLOGISTS ASSOCIATION** 

## **LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION** 

## **Trustees** 

**Charity number Principlal address** 

**Independent Examiner** 

Dr Haydon William Bailey Ross Baker Alison Barraclough Lyudmyla Bartkova Professor David Bridgland Clare France Byrne Professor John Cosgrove Professor Tony Dore Dr Liam Gallagher Peter Jones Graham Hickman Dr Thomas A Hose Dr Jonathan Larwood Mr John Richard Lonergan, Dr Michael John Oates Mrs Janet Osborn Nicholas Pierpoint Dr Colin Duncan Prosser Cathryn Symonds Paul Varotsis Dr David Roger Wall David Ward 233199 Burlington House Piccadilly London W1J 0DU Michael Kyriakides 7 Forest Road Sutton Surrey SM3 9NT 

**Bankers** 

CCLA Investment Management Ltd CIOF Charity Funds 80 Cheapside London EC2V 6DZ The Curry Fund Barclays Bank Plc Leicester LE87 2BB 

Lloyds Bank Plc Blackheath London Branch PO Box 1000 BX1 1LT 

3 



## **THE GEOLOGISTS ASSOCIATION** 

## **STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES' RESPONSIBILITIES** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023**_ 

The trustees are responsible for preparing the Trustees' Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice). 

The law applicable to charities in England and Wales requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the income and expenditure of resources of the charity for that year. 

Net realisable value is the estimated selling price less all estimated costs of completion and costs to be incurred in marketing, selling and distribution. 

In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to: 

- select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently; 

- observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP; 

- make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent; 

- state whether applicable accounting standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and - prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in operation. 

The trustees are responsible for keeping sufficient accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011, the Charity (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 and the provisions of the trust deed. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities. 

4 



## **REPORT OF THE INDEPENDENT EXAMINER TO THE TRUSTEES OF THE GEOLOGISTS ASSOCIATION** 

I report on the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 December 2023 which are set out on pages 

6-25. 

## **Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner** 

The trustees are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements. The trustees consider than an audit is not required for the year under section 144(2) of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act) and that an independent examination is needed. The charity is required to prepare accrued accounts and I am qualified to undertake the examination by being a qualified member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. 

Having satisfied myself that the charity is not subject to audit under charity law and is eligible for independent examination, it is my responsibility to: 

- Examine the accounts under section 145 of the 2011 Act. 

- To follow procedures laid down in the general Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act, and 

- To state whether particular matters have come to my attention. 

## **Basis of independent examiner’s report** 

My examination was carried out in accordance with the general directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosure in the financial statements and seeking explanations from you as trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a ‘true and fair’ view’ and the report is limited to those matters set out in the next statement. 

## **Independent examiner’s statement** 

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect: 

- 1)    accounting records were not kept in respect of the Trust as required by section 130 of the Act; or 

- 2)    the accounts do not accord with those records; or 

- 3)    the accounts do not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in Charities (Accounts and Report) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination; or 

- 4)    the accounts have not been prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with th Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and the Republic of Ireland (FRS 102). 

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the financial statements to be reached. 

## **Michael Kyriakides FCA** 


5th July 2024 

7 Forest Road Sutton Surrey 

SM3 9NT 

5 



## **THE GEOLOGISTS ASSOCIATION** 

## **STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023**_ 

|**Current financial year**<br>**Unrestricted**<br>**funds**<br>**2023**<br>**Notes**<br>**£**<br>**Income from:**<br>Subscriptions, donations and legacies<br>**3**<br>85,398<br>Charitable activities<br>**4**<br>137,090<br>Other trading activities<br>**5**<br>9,150<br>Investments<br>**6**<br>13,377<br>**Total income and endowments**<br>245,015<br>**Expenditure on:**<br>Charitable activities<br>**7**<br>204,369<br>**Total Expenditure**<br>204,369<br>Net gains/(losses) on investments<br>**10**<br>17,552<br>**Net income/(expenditure)**<br>**before transfers**<br>58,198<br>Gross transfers between funds<br>-<br>**Net movement in funds**<br>58,198<br>**Fund balances at 1 January 2023**<br>517,320<br>**Fund balances at 31 December 2023**<br>575,518|**Restricted**<br>**funds**<br>**2023**<br>**£**<br>38,058<br>6,737<br>-<br>8,831<br>53,626<br>56,373<br>56,373<br>498<br>(2,249)<br>-<br>(2,249)<br>236,826<br>234,577|**Endowment**<br>**funds**<br>**2023**<br>**£**<br>73,711<br>1,064<br>-<br>63,504<br>138,279<br>44,962<br>44,962<br>66,970<br>160,287<br>-<br>160,287<br>1,485,136<br>1,645,423|**Total**<br>**Total**<br>**2023**<br>**2022**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>197,167<br>95,238<br>144,891<br>89,916<br>9,150<br>10,504<br>85,712<br>70,813<br>436,920<br>266,471<br>305,704<br>230,906<br>305,704<br>230,906<br>85,020<br>(222,351)<br>216,236<br>(186,786)<br>-<br>-<br>216,236<br>(186,786)<br>2,239,282<br>2,426,068<br>2,455,518<br>2,239,282|
|---|---|---|---|



The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. 

All income and expenditure derive continuing activities. 

6 



## **THE GEOLOGISTS ASSOCIATION** 

## **STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES (CONTINUED)** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023**_ 

|**Prior financial year (2022)**<br>**Unrestricted**<br>**funds**<br>**2022**<br>**Notes**<br>**£**<br>**Income from:**<br>Subscriptions, donations and legacies<br>**3**<br>48,862<br>Charitable activities<br>**4**<br>87,989<br>Other trading activities<br>**5**<br>10,504<br>Investments<br>**6**<br>12,807<br>**Total income and endowments**<br>160,162<br>**Expenditure on:**<br>Charitable activities<br>**7**<br>146,737<br>**Total Expenditure**<br>146,737<br>Net gains/(losses) on investments<br>**10**<br>(43,960)<br>**Net income/(expenditure)**<br>**before transfers**<br>(30,535)<br>Gross transfers between funds<br>(1,000)<br>**Net movement in funds**<br>(31,535)<br>**Fund balances at 1 January 2022**<br>548,855<br>**Fund balances at 31 December 2022**<br>517,320|**Restricted**<br>**funds**<br>**2022**<br>**£**<br>32,068<br>1,927<br>-<br>6,658<br>40,653<br>54,850<br>54,850<br>(24,748)<br>(38,945)<br>1,000<br>(37,945)<br>274,771<br>236,826|**Endowment**<br>**funds**<br>**2022**<br>**£**<br>14,308<br>-<br>-<br>51,348<br>65,656<br>29,319<br>29,319<br>(153,643)<br>(117,306)<br>-<br>(117,306)<br>1,602,442<br>1,485,136|**Total**<br>**Total**<br>**2022**<br>**2021**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>95,238<br>115,125<br>89,916<br>98,757<br>10,504<br>11,500<br>70,813<br>62,452<br>266,471<br>287,834<br>230,906<br>230,019<br>230,906<br>230,019<br>(222,351)<br>134,603<br>(186,786)<br>192,418<br>-<br>-<br>(186,786)<br>192,418<br>2,426,068<br>2,233,650<br>2,239,282<br>2,426,068|
|---|---|---|---|



The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. 

All income and expenditure derive continuing activities. 

7 



## **THE GEOLOGISTS ASSOCIATION** 

## **BALANCE SHEET** _**AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2023**_ 

|**Notes**<br>**Fixed assets**<br>Tangible assets<br>**11**<br>Investments<br>**12**<br>**Current assets**<br>Stocks<br>**13**<br>Debtors<br>**14**<br>Cash at bank and in hand<br>**Creditors: amounts falling due**<br>**within one year**<br>**15**<br>Net current assets<br>**Total assets less current liabilities**<br>**Capital funds**<br>Endowment funds-general<br>Permanent endowment<br>Expendable endowment<br>**16**<br>**Income funds**<br>Restricted funds<br>**17**<br>Unrestricted funds<br>Mr G Hickman<br>**Trustee**<br>The financial statements were approved by the Trustees on|**£**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>474<br>592<br>2,054,651<br>1,875,442<br>2,055,125<br>1,876,034<br>41,613<br>41,230<br>115,106<br>57,371<br>332,129<br>343,870<br>488,848<br>442,471<br>(88,455)<br>(79,223)<br>400,393<br>363,248<br>2,455,518<br>2,239,282<br>813,673<br>792,792<br>831,750<br>692,344<br>1,645,423<br>1,485,136<br>234,577<br>236,826<br>575,518<br>517,320<br>2,455,518<br>2,239,282<br>Paul Varotsis<br>**Treasurer**<br>5 July 2024.<br>**2022**<br>**2023**|**£**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>474<br>592<br>2,054,651<br>1,875,442<br>2,055,125<br>1,876,034<br>41,613<br>41,230<br>115,106<br>57,371<br>332,129<br>343,870<br>488,848<br>442,471<br>(88,455)<br>(79,223)<br>400,393<br>363,248<br>2,455,518<br>2,239,282<br>813,673<br>792,792<br>831,750<br>692,344<br>1,645,423<br>1,485,136<br>234,577<br>236,826<br>575,518<br>517,320<br>2,455,518<br>2,239,282<br>Paul Varotsis<br>**Treasurer**<br>5 July 2024.<br>**2022**<br>**2023**|
|---|---|---|
|||1,876,034<br>363,248|
|||2,239,282|
|||1,485,136<br>236,826<br>517,320|
|||2,239,282|
||||



8 



## **THE GEOLOGISTS ASSOCIATION** 

## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023**_ 

## **1 Accounting policies** 

## **Charity information** 

The Geologists Association is a public benefit entity and a registered charity in England and Wales and is unincorprated. The address of the principal office is Burlington House, Piccadilly, London, WIJ 0DU. 

## **1.1 Accounting convention** 

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the charity's governing document, the  Charities Act 2011 and “Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)” (as amended for accounting periods commencing from 1 January 2019). The charity is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102. 

The charity has taken advantage of the provisions in the SORP for charities applying FRS 102 Update Bulletin 1 not to prepare a Statement of Cash Flows. 

The financial statements have departed from the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 only to the extent required to provide a true and fair view. This departure has involved following the Statement of recommended Practice for charities applying FRS 102 rather than the version of the Statement of Recommended Practice which is referred to in the Regulations but which has since been withdrawn. 

The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the charity. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £. 

The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention, modified to include certain financial instruments at fair value. The principal accounting policies adopted are set out below 

## **1.2 Going concern** 

At the time of approving the financial statements, the trustees have a reasonable expectation that the charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Thus the trustees continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements. 

## **1.3 Charitable funds** 

Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of their charitable objectives. 

Restricted funds are funds that can only be used for restricted purposes within the objects of the charity. Restrictions arise when specified by the donor or when funds are raised for a particular purpose. The purposes and uses of the restricted funds are set out in the notes to the financial statements. 

Endowment funds are those funds from which only the income may be used in furtherance of the Association’s charitable purposes. 

## **1.4 Income** 

Income is recognised when the charity is legally entitled to it after any performance conditions have been met, the amounts can be measured reliably, and it is probable that income will be received 

9 



## **THE GEOLOGISTS ASSOCIATION** 

## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023**_ 

## **1 Accounting policies (Continued)** 

Subscriptions and associated tax claims are included in the year to which the subscription relates. Donations are accounted for on receipt. Legacies are recognised by reference to the date probate is granted, or if later, as soon as they are capable of being reliably measured. 

Income from trading activities consists of the profit share on ‘Geology Today’, together with royalties on the sale of ‘the Proceedings of the Geologists Association’. 

Income from dividends is accounted for on receipt. Interest is accounted for on an accruals basis. 

Sales of publications, income from field meetings, insurance and from miscellaneous income are included in the financial statements when due. 

## **1.5 Expenditure** 

All expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all costs related to the category. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated to activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources. 

Charitable activities include the costs involved of providing the activities that the Geologists' Association provides. 

Governance costs include those incurred in the governance of the charity and its assets, and are primarily associated with constitutional and statutory requirements. 

Grants payable are recognised in the financial statements when a commitment has been made, and there are no conditions to be met relating to the grant which remain in the control of the charity. Grants with performance conditions are only recognised in the statement of financial activities once the recipient of the grant has provided the specified i t t 

## **1.6 Tangible fixed assets** 

Tangible fixed assets are initially measured at cost and subsequently measured at cost or valuation, net of depreciation and any impairment losses. 

Depreciation is recognised so as to write off the cost or valuation of assets less their residual values over their useful lives on the following bases: 

Fixtures and fittings - 20% per annum on a reducing balance basis 

The gain or loss arising on the disposal of an asset is determined as the difference between the sale proceeds and the carrying value of the asset, and is recognised in the statement of financial activities. 

## **1.7 Fixed asset investments** 

Fixed asset investments are initially measured at transaction price excluding transaction costs, and are subsequently measured at fair value at each reporting date. Changes in fair value are recognised in net income/(expenditure) for the year. Transaction costs are expensed as incurred. 

10 



## **THE GEOLOGISTS ASSOCIATION** 

## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023**_ 

## **1 Accounting policies (Continued)** 

## **1.8 Impairement of fixed assets** 

At each reporting end date, the charity reviews the carrying amounts of its tangible assets to determine whether there is any indication that those assets have suffered an impairment loss. If any such indication exists, the recoverable amount of the asset is estimated in order to determine the extent of the impairment loss (if any). 

## **1.9 Stocks** 

Stocks are stated at the lower of cost and estimated selling price less costs to complete and sell. Cost comprises direct materials and, where applicable, direct labour costs and those overheads that have been incurred in bringing the stocks to their present location and condition. Items held for distribution at no or nominal consideration are measured the lower of replacement cost and cost. 

Net realisable value is the estimated selling price less all estimated costs of completion and costs to be incurred in marketing, selling and distribution. 

## **1.10 Financial Instruments** 

The charity has elected to apply the provisions of Section 11 ‘Basic Financial Instruments’ and Section 12 ‘Other Financial Instruments Issues’ of FRS 102 to all of its financial instruments 

Financial instruments are recognised in the charity's balance sheet when the charity becomes party to the contractual provisions of the instrument. 

Financial assets and liabilities are offset, with the net amounts presented in the financial statements, when there is a legally enforceable right to set off the recognised amounts and there is an intention to settle on a net basis or to realise the asset and settle the liability simultaneously. 

## _**Basic financial assets**_ 

Basic financial assets, which include debtors and cash and bank balances, are initially measured at transaction price including transaction costs and are subsequently carried at amortised cost using the effective interest method unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the transaction is measured at the present value of the future receipts discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial assets classified as receivable within one year are not amortised. 

## _**Basic financial liabilities**_ 

Basic financial liabilities, including creditors and bank loans are initially recognised at transaction price unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the debt instrument is measured at the present value of the future payments discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial liabilities classified as payable within one year are not amortised. 

Debt instruments are subsequently carried at amortised cost, using the effective interest rate method. 

## **Derecognition of financial liabilities** 

Financial liabilities are derecognised when the charity’s contractual obligations expire or are discharged or cancelled. 

11 



## **THE GEOLOGISTS ASSOCIATION** 

## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023**_ 

## **2 Critical accounting estimates and judgements** 

In the application of the charity’s accounting policies, the trustees are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying amount of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates. 

The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised where the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods where the revision affects both current and future periods. 

- **3 Subscriptions, donations and legacies** 

|Donations, bequests and sponsorship<br>Annual subscriptions<br>Gift Aid<br>For the year ended 31 December 2023<br>For the year ended 31 December 2022|**Unrestricted**<br>**funds**<br>**2023**<br>**£**<br>36,606<br>42,792<br>6,000<br>85,398<br>48,862|**Restricted**<br>**funds**<br>**2023**<br>**£**<br>28,666<br>7,392<br>2,000<br>38,058<br>32,068|**Endowment**<br>**funds**<br>**2023**<br>**£**<br>73,711<br>-<br>-<br>73,711<br>14,308|**Total**<br>**2023**<br>**£**<br>138,983<br>50,184<br>8,000<br>197,167|**Total**<br>**2022**<br>**£**<br>38,305<br>49,960<br>6,973|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||||||95,238|
||||||95,238|



## **4 Charitable activities** 

|Sales of publications<br>Group payments for insurance<br>Field meetings<br>Miscellaneous income<br>Analysis by fund:<br>Unrestricted funds<br>Restricted funds<br>Endowment funds|**2023**<br>**£**<br>96,190<br>10,568<br>24,007<br>14,126<br>144,891<br>137,090<br>6,737<br>1,064<br>144,891|**2022**<br>**£**<br>68,228<br>8,066<br>8,862<br>4,760|
|---|---|---|
|||89,916|
|||87,989<br>1,927<br>-|
|||89,916|



12 



## **THE GEOLOGISTS ASSOCIATION** 

## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023**_ 

## **5 Other trading activities** 

|**5**<br>**Other trading activities**||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|Geology Today' profit share<br>**6**<br>Investment Income<br>For the year ended 31 December 2023<br>Investment Income<br>For the year ended 31 December 2022<br>**Investments**|**Unrestricted**<br>**funds**<br>**2023**<br>**£**<br>13,377<br>13,377<br>**Unrestricted**<br>**funds**<br>**2022**<br>**£**<br>12,807<br>12,807|**Restricted**<br>**funds**<br>**2023**<br>**£**<br>8,831<br>8,831<br>**Restricted**<br>**funds**<br>**2022**<br>**£**<br>6,658<br>6,658|**Endowment**<br>**funds**<br>**2023**<br>**£**<br>63,504<br>63,504<br>**Endowment**<br>**funds**<br>**2022**<br>**£**<br>51,348<br>51,348|**Unrestricted**<br>**funds**<br>**2023**<br>**£**<br>9,150|**Unrestricted**<br>**funds**<br>**2022**<br>**£**<br>10,504|
||||||**Total**<br>**2023**<br>**£**<br>85,712|
||||||85,712|
||||||**Total**<br>**2022**<br>**£**<br>70,813|
||||||70,813|



13 



**THE GEOLOGISTS ASSOCIATION** 

## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023**_ 

## **7 Charitable activities** 

|Grants, awards and subvention<br>Salaries<br>Officer's expenses<br>Office expenses<br>Charged to publications<br>Curry Fund contribution<br>Rockwatch contribution<br>Administraive expenses of Rockwatch<br>Meetings and functions<br>GA Annual Conference<br>GA Festival of Geology<br>Stationery and printing<br>Accountancy<br>Accountancy - Independent Examiner's fees<br>Audit fees - current year<br>Audit fees - previous year<br>Insurance<br>Bank charges<br>Miscellaneous<br>Field meetings<br>Website<br>Recruitment<br>Analysis by fund:<br>Unrestricted funds<br>Restricted funds<br>Endowment funds - general<br>Publication office costs<br>Publication, printing and production costs<br>Depreciation and impairement|**2023**<br>**£**<br>118<br>76,492<br>15,829<br>44,169<br>54,225<br>3,852<br>27,372<br>(15,829)<br>(3,188)<br>(3,068)<br>17,175<br>4,685<br>7,307<br>8,318<br>2,642<br>5,205<br>2,000<br>-<br>4,750<br>13,038<br>1,232<br>6,525<br>23,240<br>9,615<br>-<br>305,704<br>204,369<br>56,373<br>44,962<br>305,704|**2022**<br>**£**<br>148<br>58,550<br>16,161<br>21,529<br>55,283<br>2,963<br>25,995<br>(16,161)<br>(3,188)<br>(8,602)<br>25,585<br>2,586<br>2,048<br>-<br>1,226<br>3,570<br>-<br>3,855<br>-<br>12,583<br>665<br>3,012<br>7,758<br>12,340<br>3,000|
|---|---|---|
|||230,906|
|||146,737<br>54,850<br>29,319|
|||230,906|



## **8 Trustees** 

None of the trustees (or any persons connected with them) received any remuneration or benefits from the charity during the year. 

## **9 Employees** 

The Geologists’ Association employs 2 members of staff in administration (2022: 1 staff). No member of staff earns more than £60,000 per annum. The cost of any unused holiday entitlement is recognised in the period in which the employee’s services are received. 

No remuneration was paid or payable, directly or indirectly out of the funds of the charity to any Council member or to any person or persons connected with any of them. However, Council members are reimbursed out of the funds of the charity for expenses incurred in carrying out their duties. In 2023, officers’ expenses reimbursed totalled £3,852 (2022: £2,963). 

14 



## **THE GEOLOGISTS ASSOCIATION** 

## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023**_ 

## **10 Net gains/(losses) on investments** 

|Gains/(losses) on investments<br>For the year ended 31 December 2023<br>Gains/(losses) on investments<br>For the year ended 31 December 2022|**Unrestricted**<br>**funds**<br>**2023**<br>**£**<br>17,552<br>17,552<br>**Unrestricted**<br>**funds**<br>**2022**<br>**£**<br>(43,960)<br>(43,960)|**Restricted**<br>**funds**<br>**2023**<br>**£**<br>498<br>498<br>**Restricted**<br>**funds**<br>**2022**<br>**£**<br>(24,748)<br>(24,748)|**Endowment**<br>**funds**<br>**2023**<br>**£**<br>66,970<br>66,970<br>**Endowment**<br>**funds**<br>**2022**<br>**£**<br>(153,643)<br>(153,643)|**Total**<br>**2023**<br>**£**<br>85,020|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|||||85,020|
|||||**Total**<br>**2022**<br>**£**<br>(222,351)|
|||||(222,351)|



## **11 Tangible fixed assets** 

|**Cost**<br>At 1 January 2023<br>At 31 December 2023<br>**Depreciation and impairement**<br>At 1 January 2023<br>Charge for the year<br>At 31 December 2023<br>**Net Book Value**<br>At 31 December 2022<br>At 31 December 2023|**Fixtures &**<br>**Fittings**<br>**£**<br>33,809|
|---|---|
||33,809|
||33,217<br>118|
||33,335|
||474|
||592|



15 



## **THE GEOLOGISTS ASSOCIATION** 

## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023**_ 

## **12 Fixed asset investments** 

|**Cost or valuation**<br>At 1 January 2023<br>Additions<br>Realised gains/(losses) on investments<br>Unrealised gains/(losses) on investments<br>Disposals<br>At 31 December 2023<br>**13**<br>Stock of Guide Books<br>**14**<br>Trade debtors<br>**15**<br>Payments received on account<br>Trade creditors<br>Other Debtors<br>**Stock**<br>**Debtors**<br>**Creditors: amounts falling due within one year**<br>Other creditos|**Listed**<br>**Investments**<br>**2023**<br>**£**<br>1,875,442<br>349,828<br>(3,161)<br>88,181<br>(255,639)<br>2,054,651<br>**2023**<br>**£**<br>41,613<br>**2023**<br>**£**<br>99,473<br>15,633<br>115,106<br>**2023**<br>**£**<br>25,409<br>37,872<br>25,171<br>88,452|**Listed**<br>**Investments**<br>**2022**<br>**£**<br>2,077,805<br>29,988<br>(1,644)<br>(220,707)<br>(10,000)|
|---|---|---|
|||1,875,442|
|||**2022**<br>**£**<br>41,230|
|||**2022**<br>**£**<br>49,403<br>7,968|
|||57,371|
|||**2022**<br>**£**<br>26,217<br>39,082<br>13,924|
|||79,223|



16 



## **THE GEOLOGISTS ASSOCIATION** 

## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023**_ 

## **16 Endowment funds** 

Endowment funds represent assets which must be held permanently by the charity. Income arising on the endowment funds can be used in accordance with the objects of the charity and is included as unrestricted income. Any capital gains or losses arising on the assets form part of the fund. 

|**Permanent endowments**<br>Curry Fund: Capital Fund<br>**Expenditure endowments**<br>Curry Fund: Income Fund<br>Endowment Trust Funds<br>General Endowment Funds<br>**Permanent endowments**<br>Curry Fund: Capital Fund<br>**Expenditure endowments**<br>Curry Fund: Income Fund<br>Endowment Trust Funds<br>General Endowment Funds|**Balance at**<br>**01-Jan-23**<br>**2023**<br>**£**<br>765,515<br>67,239<br>393,058<br>259,324<br>1,485,136<br>**Balance at**<br>**01-Jan-22**<br>**2022**<br>**£**<br>855,544<br>52,611<br>405,542<br>288,745<br>1,602,442|**Income**<br>**2023**<br>**£**<br>-<br>37,027<br>90,268<br>10,984<br>138,279<br>**Income**<br>**2022**<br>**£**<br>-<br>28,305<br>27,130<br>10,221<br>65,656|**Expenditure Revaluations**<br>**Balance at**<br>**Gains/(losses**<br>**31-Dec-23**<br>**2023**<br>**2023**<br>**2023**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>-<br>48,158<br>813,673<br>(36,509)<br>-<br>67,757<br>(6,724)<br>12,717<br>489,319<br>(1,729)<br>6,095<br>274,674<br>(44,962)<br>66,970<br>1,645,423<br>**Expenditure Revaluations**<br>**Balance at**<br>**Gains/(losses**<br>**31-Dec-22**<br>**2022**<br>**2022**<br>**2022**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>-<br>(90,029)<br>765,515<br>(13,677)<br>-<br>67,239<br>(5,630)<br>(33,984)<br>393,058<br>(10,012)<br>(29,630)<br>259,324<br>(29,319)<br>(153,643)<br>1,485,136|
|---|---|---|---|



17 



## **THE GEOLOGISTS ASSOCIATION** 

## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023**_ 

## **16 Endowment funds (continued)** 

The Curry Fund exists to support a variety of causes such as geological conservation and other initiatives approved by the Council. 

The statement of financial activities for the Curry Fund is split into a capital fund and an income fund, both of which are endowment funds for charity accounting purposes. The reason for showing a separate capital fund is to show how the initial capital used to set up the Curry Fund has altered over the years when realised and unrealised profits and losses on investments are taken into account. The income fund shows how investment income specifically designated for the payment of grants has been applied towards this objective and meeting the incidental administrative expenses of running the fund. 

A separate balance sheet and a statement of financial activities for the Curry Fund are included as separate schedules to the financial statements. 

The Endowment Trust Fund bequests were given with the intention that the capital be invested and only the income spent. The above funds exist to make grants to individuals and groups within the field of geology. 

The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the charity. Monetary amounts in 

these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £. 

The General Endowment Fund bequests were given with the intention that only income arising from the capital of the bequest be used to fund the general purpose of the Association. 

The Endowment Trust Funds are bequests that were given with the intention that the capital be invested and only the income spent. The funds exist to make grants to individuals and groups within the field of geology. 

The General Endowment Funds are bequests that were given with the intention that only income arising from the capital of the bequest be used to fund the general purpose of the Association. 

18 



## **THE GEOLOGISTS ASSOCIATION** 

## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023**_ 

## **17 Restricted funds** 

The income funds of the charity include restricted funds comprising the following unexpended balances of donations and grants held on trust for specific purposes: 

|Rockwatch<br>Earth Heritage Fund<br>Champion Fund<br>Rockwatch<br>Earth Heritage Fund<br>Champion Fund|**Balance at**<br>**01-Jan-23**<br>**2023**<br>**£**<br>195,926<br>35,383<br>5,517<br>236,826<br>**Balance at**<br>**01-Jan-22**<br>**2022**<br>**£**<br>230,609<br>38,645<br>5,517<br>274,771|**Income**<br>**2023**<br>**£**<br>50,481<br>3,145<br>-<br>53,626<br>**Income**<br>**2022**<br>**£**<br>36,760<br>3,893<br>-<br>40,653|**Expenditure**<br>**2023**<br>**£**<br>(49,981)<br>(2,710)<br>(3,682)<br>(56,373)<br>**Expenditure**<br>**2022**<br>**£**<br>(51,641)<br>(3,209)<br>-<br>(54,850)|**Transfers**<br>**2023**<br>**£**<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>**Transfers**<br>**2022**<br>**£**<br>-<br>1,000<br>-<br>1,000|**Revaluations**<br>**Gains/(losses)**<br>**2023**<br>**£**<br>2,546<br>(2,048)<br>-<br>498<br>**Revaluations**<br>**Gains/(losses)**<br>**2022**<br>**£**<br>(19,802)<br>(4,946)<br>-<br>(24,748)|**Balance at**<br>**31-Dec-23**<br>**2023**<br>**£**<br>198,972<br>33,770<br>1,835|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||||||234,577|
|||||||**Balance at**<br>**31-Dec-22**<br>**2022**<br>**£**<br>195,926<br>35,383<br>5,517|
|||||||236,826|



Rockwatch is the junior section of the Geologists' Association and exists to develop an interest in Geology amongst young people. 

The Earth Heritage fund enables and supports the production of Earth Heritage Magazine. 

The Champion Fund will support the School Rocks! Project. 

19 



## **THE GEOLOGISTS ASSOCIATION** 

## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023**_ 

## **18 Analysis of net assets between funds** 

|Fund balances at 31 December 2023<br>are represented by:<br>Tangible fixed assets<br>Investments<br>Current assets/(liabilities)<br>Fund balances at 31 December 2022<br>are represented by:<br>Tangible fixed assets<br>Investments<br>Current assets/(liabilities)|**Unrestricted**<br>**funds**<br>**2023**<br>**£**<br>474<br>383,676<br>191,368<br>575,518<br>**Unrestricted**<br>**funds**<br>**2022**<br>**£**<br>592<br>356,127<br>160,601<br>517,320|**Restricted**<br>**funds**<br>**2023**<br>**£**<br>-<br>168,384<br>66,193<br>234,577<br>**Restricted**<br>**funds**<br>**2022**<br>**£**<br>-<br>167,889<br>68,937<br>236,826|**Endowment**<br>**funds**<br>**2023**<br>**£**<br>-<br>1,502,591<br>142,832<br>1,645,423<br>**Endowment**<br>**funds**<br>**2022**<br>**£**<br>-<br>1,351,426<br>133,710<br>1,485,136|**Total**<br>**2023**<br>**£**<br>474<br>2,054,651<br>400,393|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|||||2,455,518|
|||||**Total**<br>**2022**<br>**£**<br>592<br>1,875,442<br>363,248|
|||||2,239,282|



## **19 Related party transactions** 

There were no disclosable related party transactions during the year (2022 - none). 

20 



## **THE GEOLOGISTS ASSOCIATION THE CURRY FUND STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023**_ 

|**Income from:**<br>Investment income:<br>Income received from investments<br>Charities deposit<br>Barclays Bank<br>Miscellaneous Income<br>**Total income and endowments**<br>**Expenditure on:**<br>Charitable expenditure:<br>Grants - paid and committed<br>MSc Prize<br>Towards the printing of the Geologists'<br>Association's Guides<br>Office administration<br>Officer expenses<br>Accountancy<br>Investment costs<br>Sundry<br>**Total Expenditure**<br>Net gains/(losses) on investments<br>**Net income/(expenditure)**<br>**before transfers**<br>Gross transfers between funds<br>**Net movement in funds**<br>**Fund balances at 1 January 2023**<br>**Fund balances at 31 December 2023**|**Endowment**<br>**income**<br>**fund**<br>**2023**<br>**£**<br>33,497<br>2,093<br>373<br>1,064<br>37,027<br>25,082<br>-<br>6,952<br>3,188<br>47<br>450<br>598<br>192<br>36,509<br>-<br>518<br>-<br>518<br>67,239<br>67,757|**Endowment**<br>**capital**<br>**fund**<br>**2023**<br>**£**<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>48,158<br>48,158<br>-<br>48,158<br>765,515<br>813,673|**Total**<br>**Total**<br>**2023**<br>**2022**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>33,497<br>27,810<br>2,093<br>462<br>373<br>33<br>1,064<br>-<br>37,027<br>28,305<br>25,082<br>3,572<br>-<br>1,000<br>6,952<br>5,008<br>3,188<br>3,188<br>47<br>246<br>450<br>420<br>598<br>-<br>192<br>243<br>36,509<br>13,677<br>48,158<br>(90,029)<br>48,676<br>(75,401)<br>-<br>-<br>48,676<br>(75,401)<br>832,754<br>908,155<br>881,430<br>832,754|
|---|---|---|---|



21 



## **THE GEOLOGISTS ASSOCIATION THE CURRY FUND** 

## **BALANCE SHEET** _**AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2023**_ 

|**Investments**<br>Murray International Trust plc 5p Ord. Shares<br>Royal London Corporate Bond Trust Class Y Income<br>Royal London Sterling Extra Yield Bond Income Units<br>Invesco Corporate Bond Class Y - Income<br>Treasury 4.25% 7/12/2040<br>Treasury 4.5% 7/12/2042<br>Treasury 3.5% 22/1/2045<br>Treasury 4.25% 7/12/2046<br>Treasury 4.25% 7/12/2049<br>Royal London Sterling Extra Yield Bond Class Y Inc<br>Artemis High Income Class 1 - Income<br>Invesco Monthly Income Plus Class Y - Income<br>**Current assets**<br>Tax repayable<br>COIF Charities Deposit Fund<br>Barclays Community Account<br>Barclays Premier Account<br>HLAM Ltd Income Account<br>Loans Outstanding<br>Sundry Debtor<br>**Current liabilities**<br>Creditors and accruals<br>Grants commited<br>Due to the Geologists' Association<br>**Net current assets**<br>**Total assets less current liabilities**<br>**Restricted funds**<br>Capital fund<br>Income fund<br>Temple Bar Investment Trust 5p Ord. Shares<br>The Charity Equity Fund A Income Units<br>The Income Trust for Charities A Income Units<br>Black Rock Charinco Income Units<br>Artemis High Income Class 1 - Income<br>City of London Investment Trust 25p Ord. Shares<br>Murray Income Trust plc 25p Ord. Shares|**£**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>440,932<br>401,622<br>-<br>204,399<br>942<br>926<br>33,186<br>31,467<br>47,211<br>47,384<br>25,953<br>25,351<br>4,214<br>4,365<br>9,615<br>9,106<br>12,287<br>12,079<br>13,056<br>12,097<br>17,888<br>16,691<br>21,175<br>-<br>21,107<br>-<br>20,952<br>-<br>21,243<br>-<br>21,266<br>-<br>33,805<br>-<br>33,977<br>-<br>34,761<br>-<br>813,570<br>765,487<br>1,114<br>864<br>35,768<br>47,769<br>5,000<br>4,754<br>49,863<br>25,553<br>560<br>1,083<br>3,223<br>3,423<br>-<br>250<br>95,528<br>83,696<br>450<br>420<br>25,171<br>13,924<br>2,047<br>2,085<br>27,668<br>16,429<br>67,860<br>67,267<br>881,430<br>832,754<br>813,673<br>765,515<br>67,757<br>67,239<br>881,430<br>832,754<br>**2023**<br>**2022**|**£**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>440,932<br>401,622<br>-<br>204,399<br>942<br>926<br>33,186<br>31,467<br>47,211<br>47,384<br>25,953<br>25,351<br>4,214<br>4,365<br>9,615<br>9,106<br>12,287<br>12,079<br>13,056<br>12,097<br>17,888<br>16,691<br>21,175<br>-<br>21,107<br>-<br>20,952<br>-<br>21,243<br>-<br>21,266<br>-<br>33,805<br>-<br>33,977<br>-<br>34,761<br>-<br>813,570<br>765,487<br>1,114<br>864<br>35,768<br>47,769<br>5,000<br>4,754<br>49,863<br>25,553<br>560<br>1,083<br>3,223<br>3,423<br>-<br>250<br>95,528<br>83,696<br>450<br>420<br>25,171<br>13,924<br>2,047<br>2,085<br>27,668<br>16,429<br>67,860<br>67,267<br>881,430<br>832,754<br>813,673<br>765,515<br>67,757<br>67,239<br>881,430<br>832,754<br>**2023**<br>**2022**|
|---|---|---|
|||765,487<br>67,267|
|||832,754|
|||765,515<br>67,239|
|||832,754|



22 



## **THE GEOLOGISTS ASSOCIATION** 

## **PUBLICATIONS ACCOUNT** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023**_ 

|**Proceedings:**<br>**Income from:**<br>Elsevier payment<br>Sponsorship<br>**Total income**<br>**Expenditure on:**<br>Printing and production costs<br>Proportion of office costs (16%)<br>**Total Expenditure**<br>**Net surplus/(cost) on proceedings**<br>**Guides:**<br>**Income from:**<br>Sales<br>Curry Fund Subvention<br>**Total income**<br>**Expenditure on:**<br>Opening stock<br>Printing and production costs<br>Proportion of office costs (60%)<br>Less: Closing stock<br>**Total Expenditure**<br>**Net surplus/(cost) on guides**<br>**Circulars and Magazines**<br>**Income from:**<br>Advertising<br>**Expenditure on:**<br>Printing and production costs<br>Proportion of office costs (60%)<br>**Total Expenditure**<br>**Net surplus/(cost) on guides**|**2023**<br>**2022**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>75,990<br>55,500<br>-<br>2,500<br>75,990<br>58,000<br>24,333<br>22,770<br>2,374<br>2,424<br>26,707<br>25,194<br>49,283<br>32,806<br>13,248<br>8,070<br>6,952<br>2,008<br>20,200<br>10,078<br>41,230<br>41,009<br>16,015<br>4,996<br>9,497<br>9,697<br>(41,613)<br>(41,230)<br>25,129<br>14,472<br>(4,929)<br>(4,394)<br>-<br>150<br>17,608<br>10,387<br>3,957<br>4,040<br>21,565<br>14,427<br>(21,565)<br>(14,277)|
|---|---|



**Net surplus/(cost) on circulars** 

22,788 

14,135 

23 



## **THE GEOLOGISTS ASSOCIATION** 

## **NOTES FORMING PART OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023**_ 

|**Unrestricted Fund**<br>General Fund<br>**Restricted Fund**<br>Rockwatch<br>Earth Heritage Fund<br>**Endowment Funds**<br>Curry Fund<br>**Other Endowment Funds**<br>Foulerton Award<br>Henry Stopes Memorial Award<br>G W Young Fund<br>Baker-Arber Fund<br>Halstead Fund<br>Richardson Fund<br>Middlemiss Fund<br>Japec Fund<br>Wyley Fund<br>Tupper Fund<br>Callomon Porter Fund<br>UKOGL<br>Palaeontological Fund<br>Tomlinson Brown Fund<br>**Total Investments**|**Cost**<br>**2023**<br>**£**<br>275,247<br>142,614<br>29,231<br>171845<br>not known<br>13,400<br>3,554<br>23,304<br>7,000<br>10,000<br>14,991<br>16,430<br>69,863<br>181,402<br>64,697<br>37,394<br>25,231<br>53,751<br>69,975<br>590,992<br>1,038,084|**Market**<br>**Value**<br>**2023**<br>**£**<br>383,676<br>142,659<br>25,725<br>168384<br>813,570<br>16,295<br>3,012<br>24,594<br>19,223<br>8,790<br>14,437<br>15,281<br>95,373<br>217,281<br>90,276<br>37,985<br>23,872<br>51,945<br>70,657<br>689,021<br>2,054,651|**Market**<br>**Value**<br>**2022**<br>**£**<br>356,127|
|---|---|---|---|
||||140,116<br>27,773|
||||167,889|
||||765,487|
||||15,721<br>2,922<br>24,341<br>17,595<br>8,405<br>14,356<br>14,628<br>90,144<br>212,348<br>86,547<br>36,818<br>22,925<br>39,189<br>-|
||||585,939|
||||1,875,442|



24 



## **THE GEOLOGISTS ASSOCIATION** 

## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023**_ 

|**Unrestricted funds**<br>General Fund<br>**Restricted funds**<br>Rockwatch<br>Earth Heritage Fund<br>Champion Fund<br>**Endowment funds**<br>Curry Fund<br>- Capital Fund<br>- Income Fund<br>**Endowment Trust funds**<br>Foulerton Award<br>Henry Stopes Memorial Award<br>G W Young Fund<br>Baker-Arber Fund<br>Halstead Fund<br>Richardson Fund<br>Middlemiss Fund<br>Japec Fund<br>Tupper Fund<br>UKOGL<br>Palaeontological Fund<br>Tomlinson Brown Fund<br>**General Endowment Funds**<br>Wyley Fund<br>Callomon Porter Fund<br>**Total Endowment Funds**<br>**Total funds**|**Balance at**<br>**01-Jan-23**<br>**£**<br>517,320<br>195,926<br>35,383<br>5,517<br>236,826<br>765,515<br>67,239<br>832,754<br>17,998<br>4,448<br>24,407<br>18,566<br>9,376<br>15,736<br>16,469<br>105,094<br>97,844<br>26,474<br>56,646<br>-<br>393,058<br>220,846<br>38,478<br>259,324<br>1,485,136<br>2,239,282|**Income**<br>**£**<br>245,015<br>50,481<br>3,145<br>-<br>53,626<br>-<br>37,027<br>37,027<br>814<br>198<br>1,048<br>528<br>424<br>553<br>608<br>3,670<br>3,510<br>1,138<br>2,299<br>75,478<br>90,268<br>9,138<br>1,846<br>10,984<br>138,279<br>436,920<br>~~25~~|**Expenditure**<br>**£**<br>(204,369)<br>(49,981)<br>(2,710)<br>(3,682)<br>(56,373)<br>-<br>(36,509)<br>(36,509)<br>(883)<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>(460)<br>(500)<br>-<br>(1,625)<br>-<br>(920)<br>(476)<br>(1,860)<br>(6,724)<br>(979)<br>(750)<br>(1,729)<br>(44,962)<br>(305,704)|**Transfers**<br>**£**<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-|**Revaluations**<br>**Gains/(losses)**<br>**£**<br>17,552<br>2,546<br>(2,048)<br>-<br>498<br>48,158<br>-<br>48,158<br>574<br>90<br>253<br>1,628<br>385<br>81<br>653<br>5,231<br>3,729<br>947<br>(1,536)<br>682<br>12,717<br>4,928<br>1,167<br>6,095<br>66,970<br>85,020|**Balance at**<br>**31-Dec-23**<br>**£**<br>575,518|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||||||198,972<br>33,770<br>1,835|
|||||||234,577|
|||||||813,673<br>67,757|
|||||||881,430|
|||||||18,503<br>4,736<br>25,708<br>20,722<br>9,725<br>15,870<br>17,730<br>112,370<br>105,083<br>27,639<br>56,933<br>74,300|
|||||||489,319|
|||||||233,933<br>40,741|
|||||||274,674|
|||||||1,645,423|
|||||||2,455,518|





## **THE GEOLOGISTS' ASSOCIATION DETAILED SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS HELD BY THE ASSOCIATION YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023** 

|**Holding**<br>**GENERAL FUND**<br>5,056.87<br>COIF Charities Investment Fund Income Units<br>14,540.27<br>56,550.08<br>2,546.11<br>8,272.78<br>Invesco Distribution Fund Class Y - Income<br>14,028.64<br>Invesco Monthly Income Plus Class Y - Income<br>18,835.39<br>Invesco Corporate Bond Class Y - Income<br>3,766.00<br>Murray Income Trust plc 25p Ord. Shares<br>6,885.00<br>Murray International Trust plc 5p Ord Shares<br>5,982.89<br>Royal London Corporate Bond Trust Class Y Inc.Units<br>15,117.08<br>HL Multi-Manager Income and Growth Trust Inc Units<br>10,968.52<br>-<br>**Units sold**for £10,000 on 09/01/2023<br>4,148.56<br>-<br>**Units sold**for £3,864.80 on 27/01/2023<br>5,746.52<br>Artemis High Income Class 1 - Income<br>304.00<br>RIT Capital Partners plc £1 Ord. shares<br>19,729.96<br>Legal & General Active Global High Yield Class 1 - Inc<br>10,124.00<br>Treasury 4.25% 07/12/2046<br>4,421.00<br>Treasury 4.25% 07/12/2049<br>4,408.00<br>Treasury 4.5% 07/12/2042<br>**Purchased in 2023**<br>4,731.00<br>Treasury 4.25% 07/12/2049<br>4,763.00<br>Treasury 4.25% 07/12/2040<br>3,452.00<br>Treasury 4.5% 07/12/2042<br>5,112.00<br>Treasury 4.25% 07/12/2046<br>5,121.00<br>Treasury 4.25% 07/12/2049<br>**FOULERTON AWARD**<br>634.96<br>211.92<br>COIF Charities Investment Fund Income Units<br>1,233.00<br>City of London Investment Trust 25p Ord. Shares<br>8,619.79<br>Artemis High Income Class 1 - Income<br>**HENRY STOPES MEMORIAL FUND**<br>658.10<br>3,183.09<br>Artemis High Income Class 1 - Income<br>**G W YOUNG FUND**<br>863.25<br>1,006.00<br>Edinburgh Investment Trust 25p Ord. Shares<br>1,556.00<br>HICL Infrastructure Company Ltd 0.01p Ord. Shares<br>3,205.00<br>Murray International Investment Trust plc 5p Ord.<br>2,525.00<br>Temple Bar Investment Trust plc 5p Ord. Shares<br>**BAKER-ARBER FUND**<br>438.95<br>COIF Charities Investment Fund Income Units<br>529.79<br>COIF Charities Investment Fund Income Units<br>**HALSTEAD FUND**<br>3,856.83<br>COIF Charities Investment Fund Income Units<br>6,366.18<br>Artemis High Income Class 1 - Income<br>Black Rock Fund Managers Charinco Inc. Units<br>Black Rock Fund Managers Charinco Inc. Units<br>Black Rock Fund Managers Charinco Inc. Units<br>Black Rock Fund Managers Charinco Inc. Units<br>COIF Charities Fixed Interest Fund Inc. Units<br>COIF Charities Fixed Interest Fund Inc. Units|**Cost**<br>**2023**<br>**2022**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>10,083<br>100,353<br>91,908<br>18,850<br>17,785<br>16,894<br>75,000<br>69,172<br>65,705<br>2,952<br>3,776<br>3,715<br>16,000<br>16,049<br>15,102<br>29,381<br>25,512<br>24,406<br>35,011<br>34,781<br>32,300<br>26,995<br>32,482<br>31,729<br>14,990<br>17,746<br>18,383<br>6,000<br>5,455<br>5,166<br>15,338<br>11,129<br>-<br>-<br>9,779<br>4,209<br>-<br>-<br>3,699<br>5,000<br>4,073<br>3,924<br>6,988<br>5,724<br>6,498<br>8,000<br>7,513<br>7,240<br>9,999<br>10,308<br>10,419<br>4,999<br>4,505<br>4,583<br>4,999<br>4,654<br>4,677<br>4,999<br>4,820<br>-<br>4,999<br>4,900<br>-<br>3,864<br>3,645<br>-<br>5,000<br>5,205<br>-<br>4,999<br>5,218<br>-<br>**Market Value**|
|---|---|
||275,247<br>383,676<br>356,127|
||900<br>941<br>926<br>2,000<br>4,205<br>3,851<br>3,000<br>5,040<br>5,058<br>7,500<br>6,109<br>5,886|
||13,400<br>16,295<br>15,721|
||1,054<br>976<br>960<br>2,500<br>2,036<br>1,962|
||3,554<br>3,012<br>2,922|
||1,492<br>1,280<br>1,259<br>6,754<br>6,881<br>6,393<br>2,373<br>2,156<br>2,558<br>6,599<br>8,261<br>8,557<br>6,086<br>6,016<br>5,574|
||23,304<br>24,594<br>24,341|
||2,000<br>8,710<br>7,977<br>5,000<br>10,513<br>9,618|
||7,000<br>19,223<br>17,595|
||5,000<br>4,717<br>4,481<br>5,000<br>4,073<br>3,924|
||10,000<br>8,790<br>8,405|





## **THE GEOLOGISTS' ASSOCIATION DETAILED SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS HELD BY THE ASSOCIATION (CONTINUED) YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023** 

|**Holding**<br>**RICHARDSON FUND**<br>3,856.83<br>COIF Charities Fixed Interest Fund Income Units<br>748.00<br>City of London Investment Trust 25p Ord. Shares<br>5,415.66<br>Legal & General Active Global High Yield Class I - Inc<br>130.00<br>RIT Capital Partners plc £1 Ord. shares<br>2,360.92<br>Royal London Corporate Bond Trust Incl Class A Inc<br>**MIDDLEMISS FUND**<br>20,696.58<br>6,485.72<br>Artemis High Income Class 1 - Income<br>10,226.69<br>**JAPEC FUND**<br>1,220.23<br>COIF Charities Investment Fund Income Units<br>14,860.00<br>15,353.00<br>Treasury 4.25% Stock 2032<br>8,015.15<br>HL Multi-Manager Income and Growth Trust Inc Units<br>4,293.69<br>-<br>Units sold for £4,000 on 27/01/2023<br>3,721.46<br>-<br>Units sold for £3,489.24 on 10/02/2023<br>9,437.76<br>Royal London Corporate Bond Trust Income Units<br>2,948.01<br>Marlborough Multi Cap Income Class P -Income<br>Purchased in 2023<br>3,665.00<br>Treasury 4.25% 07/12/2046<br>3,155.00<br>Treasury 4.5% 07/12/2042<br>**WYLEY FUND**<br>19,314.00<br>Artemis High Income Class 1 - Income<br>926.00<br>BP Plc US$0.25 Ordinary Shares<br>467.00<br>GlaxoSmithKline plc 31.25p Ordinary Shares<br>585.00<br>Haleon plc 0.01p - new<br>3,704.00<br>11,078.15<br>HL Multi-Manager Income and Growth Trust Inc Units<br>4,293.69<br>-<br>**Units sold**for £4,000 on 27/01/2023<br>6,784.46<br>-<br>**Units sold**for £6,361.11 on 10/02/2023<br>6,459.77<br>Invesco Distribution Class Y - Income<br>16,899.46<br>Legal & General Global High Yield Class I - Income<br>6,950.00<br>2,805.00<br>Murray Income Trust plc 25p Ordinary Shares<br>9,725.00<br>52.00<br>NatWest Group (RBS) 25p Ordinary Shares<br>585.00<br>Royal Dutch Shell Plc ''B'' Ordinary Shares<br>16,244.99<br>Royal London Corporate Bond Trust Class Y - Income<br>3,703.00<br>Schroder Asia Pacific Inv Trust Units<br>463.00<br>Standard Chartered US$0.50 Ordinary Shares<br>4,630.00<br>8,594.39<br>Treasury 4 1/4% Stock 2032<br>25,061.54<br>Treasury 4 1/4% Stock 2036<br>Purchased in 2023<br>3,700.00<br>Treasury 4.25% 07/12/2040<br>2,780.00<br>Treasury 4.25% 07/12/2049<br>3,039.00<br>Treasury 4.5% 07/12/2042<br>Standard Chartered 8 1/4% Non-Cum Invest Pref Shares of £1<br>M&G Investments Corporate Bond Fund A Shares<br>Legal & General High Income Incl Class R Income<br>Temple Bar Investment Trust plc 5p Ord. Shares<br>HICL Infrastructure Company Ltd 0.0001p Ord<br>The Mercantile Inv Trust 25p Ordinary Shares<br>Murray International Trust plc 5p Ord. Shares|**Cost**<br>**2023**<br>**2022**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>5,000<br>4,717<br>4,481<br>2,499<br>3,057<br>3,069<br>2,500<br>2,062<br>1,988<br>2,492<br>2,448<br>2,779<br>2,500<br>2,153<br>2,039<br>**Market Value**|
|---|---|
||14,991<br>14,437<br>14,356|
||6,800<br>7,238<br>6,877<br>4,815<br>4,149<br>3,998<br>4,815<br>3,894<br>3,753|
||16,430<br>15,281<br>14,628|
||11,670<br>24,215<br>22,177<br>21,659<br>35,404<br>32,803<br>15,001<br>16,262<br>16,051<br>7,864<br>-<br>4,213<br>-<br>-<br>3,828<br>3,651<br>-<br>-<br>3,318<br>8,795<br>8,605<br>8,137<br>5,250<br>3,824<br>3,830<br>4,000<br>3,732<br>-<br>3,488<br>3,331<br>-|
||69,863<br>95,373<br>90,144|
||16,137<br>13,688<br>13,189<br>5,810<br>4,316<br>4,389<br>6,183<br>6,779<br>6,714<br>1,764<br>1,882<br>1,915<br>4,259<br>5,137<br>6,089<br>11,215<br>-<br>4,347<br>-<br>-<br>3,828<br>6,868<br>-<br>-<br>6,049<br>13,602<br>12,532<br>11,973<br>8,068<br>6,435<br>6,202<br>6,988<br>15,394<br>13,344<br>12,516<br>24,193<br>23,632<br>12,739<br>25,066<br>25,966<br>2,349<br>114<br>138<br>12,431<br>15,046<br>13,607<br>14,678<br>14,812<br>13,936<br>6,646<br>18,145<br>18,552<br>8,343<br>3,086<br>2,880<br>5,660<br>5,387<br>5,056<br>8,328<br>9,103<br>8,985<br>24,535<br>26,317<br>25,904<br>3,999<br>3,807<br>-<br>2,999<br>2,833<br>-<br>3,368<br>3,209<br>-|
||181,402<br>217,281<br>212,348|





## **THE GEOLOGISTS' ASSOCIATION DETAILED SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS HELD BY THE ASSOCIATION (CONTINUED) YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023** 

|**Holding**<br>**TUPPER FUND**<br>3,893.88<br>5,963.00<br>7,935.56<br>9,648.15<br>28,428.44<br>4,080.00<br>**CALLOMON PORTER FUND**<br>1,768.49<br>2,354.00<br>3,103.01<br>7,014.68<br>Invesco Monthly Income plus Class Y Income<br>3,852.73<br>Marlborough Multi Cap Income - Inclusive Class A<br>94,722.25<br>401,806.34<br>401,806.34<br>-<br>Units sold in 2023 for £198,773.60<br>634.86<br>12,787.95<br>11,550.00<br>3,009.00<br>1,635.00<br>Murray International Trust plc 5p Ord. Shares<br>10,545.55<br>Royal London Corporate Bond Trust Class Y Income<br>11,774.90<br>Royal London Sterling Extra Yield Bond Income Units<br>5,480.00<br>9,687.03<br>Invesco Corporate Bond Class Y - Income<br>Purchased in 2023<br>20,582.00<br>Treasury 4.25% 7/12/2040<br>19,990.00<br>Treasury 4.5% 7/12/2042<br>22,961.00<br>Treasury 3.5% 22/1/2045<br>20,863.00<br>Treasury 4.25% 7/12/2046<br>20,872.00<br>Treasury 4.25% 7/12/2049<br>36,299.02<br>Royal London Sterling Extra Yield Bond Class Y Inc<br>47,942.41<br>Artemis High Income Class 1 - Income<br>19,114.38<br>Invesco Monthly Income Plus Class Y - Income<br>26,805.49<br>HL Multi-Manager Income & Growth Trust Inc Units<br>9,660.80<br>-<br>**Units sold**on 27/01/2023 for £9,000<br>9,598.98<br>-<br>**Units sold**on 10/02/2023 for £9,000<br>7,545.71<br>-<br>**Units sold**on 17/02/2023 for £7,150<br>8,120.14<br>3,842.61<br>Invesco Corporate Bond Class Y Income<br>11,707.85<br>Invesco Distribution Class Y - Income<br>11,183.15<br>Artemis Income Class 1 - Income<br>9,012.56<br>Marlborough Multi Cap Income Class P Income<br>2,035.00<br>Murray International Trust plc 5p Ord. shares<br>779.00<br>RIT Capital Partners plc £1 Ord. shares<br>12,774.19<br>Royal London Sterling Extra Yield Inclusive Class B<br>Temple Bar Investment Trust 5p Ord. Shares<br>**ROCKWATCH**<br>Invesco Corporate Bond Class Y Income<br>Invesco Distribution Fund Class Y Income<br>**CURRY FUND**<br>Shroder Charities<br>Shroder Charities - The Charity Equity Fund A Income Units<br>The Income Trust for Charities A Income Units<br>Black Rock Charinco Income Units<br>Artemis High Income Class 1 - Income<br>City of London Investment Trust 25p Ord. Shares<br>Murray Income Trust plc 25p Ord. Shares<br>City of London Investment Trust 25p Ord. Shares<br>Temple Bar Investment Trust plc 5p Ord. Shares<br>Artemis High Income Class 1 - Income<br>Artemis Income Class I - Income<br>City of London Investment Trust 25p Ord. Shares<br>Invesco Corporate Bond Class Y - Income<br>Invesco UK Equity Income Class Y - Income<br>Jupiter Corporate Bond Class 1 - Income|**Cost**<br>**2023**<br>**2022**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>7,350<br>10,105<br>9,627<br>12,498<br>24,374<br>24,463<br>12,500<br>14,654<br>13,666<br>12,500<br>16,301<br>15,481<br>12,500<br>15,121<br>14,303<br>7,349<br>9,721<br>9,007<br>**Market Value**|
|---|---|
||64,697<br>90,276<br>86,547|
||3,333<br>4,589<br>4,372<br>8,328<br>9,622<br>9,657<br>5,833<br>6,020<br>5,665<br>13,400<br>12,757<br>12,119<br>6,500<br>4,997<br>5,005|
||37,394<br>37,985<br>36,818|
||-<br>440,932<br>401,622<br>-<br>-<br>204,399<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>942<br>926<br>24,250<br>33,186<br>31,467<br>36,741<br>47,211<br>47,384<br>19,743<br>25,953<br>25,351<br>3,749<br>4,214<br>4,365<br>10,000<br>9,615<br>9,106<br>13,750<br>12,287<br>12,079<br>13,740<br>13,056<br>12,097<br>19,318<br>17,888<br>16,691<br>20,000<br>21,175<br>-<br>19,999<br>21,107<br>-<br>20,000<br>20,952<br>-<br>20,000<br>21,243<br>-<br>20,000<br>21,266<br>-<br>32,900<br>33,805<br>-<br>32,900<br>33,977<br>-<br>32,900<br>34,761<br>-|
||339,990<br>813,570<br>765,487|
||22,500<br>8,109<br>-<br>8,614<br>8,057<br>-<br>8,558<br>6,334<br>-<br>6,728<br>15,000<br>14,994<br>13,984<br>7,500<br>7,096<br>6,621<br>22,500<br>22,713<br>21,298<br>22,500<br>29,021<br>27,416<br>15,000<br>11,689<br>11,709<br>4,989<br>5,245<br>5,433<br>14,978<br>14,669<br>16,651<br>15,000<br>13,330<br>13,104|





## **THE GEOLOGISTS' ASSOCIATION DETAILED SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS HELD BY THE ASSOCIATION (CONTINUED) YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023** 

|**Holding**<br>**ROCKWATCH (CONTINUED)**<br>**Purchased in 2023**<br>2,772.00<br>Treasury 4.25% 07/12/2040<br>2,681.00<br>Treasury 4.5% 07/12/2042<br>2,750.00<br>Treasury 4.25% 07/12/2046<br>2,803.00<br>Treasury 4.25% 07/12/2040<br>2,802.00<br>Treasury 4.25% 07/12/2046<br>2,780.00<br>Treasury 4.25% 07/12/2049<br>3,359.00<br>Treasury 4.25% 07/12/2046<br>3,248.00<br>Treasury 4.5% 07/12/2042<br>7,192.17<br>Artemis High Income Class 1 - Income<br>1,607.00<br>City of London Investment Trust 25p Ord. shares<br>6,905.61<br>Royal London Corporate Bond Trust Income Units<br>2,480.00<br>Temple Bar Investment Trust plc 5p Ord. shares<br>**EARTH HERITAGE FUND**<br>4,137.22<br>Marlborough Multi Cap Income - Inclusive Class A<br>2,785.00<br>Murray International Trust plc 25p Ord. shares<br>700.00<br>RIT Capital Partners plc £1 Ord. shares<br>**PALAEONTOLOGICAL FUND**<br>14,443.77<br>Artemis High Income Class 1 - Income<br>3,155.00<br>City of London Investment Trust 25p Ord. shares<br>20,375.83<br>Legal & General High Income Incl Class R Income<br>1,750.00<br>Murray International Trust plc 25p Ord. shares<br>154.00<br>RIT Capital Partners plc £1 Ord. shares<br>**Purchased in 2023**<br>3,815.00<br>Treasury 4.25% 07/12/2040<br>779.00<br>City of London Investment Trust 25p Ord. shares<br>3,568.00<br>Treasury 4.25% 07/12/2049<br>1,125.00<br>Murray International Trust plc 5p Ord. shares<br>**TOMLINSON BROWN FUND**<br>**Purchased in 2023**<br>2,798.00<br>Treasury 4.5% 07/12/2042<br>2,918.00<br>Treasury 4.25% 07/12/2046<br>2,910.00<br>Treasury 4.25% 07/12/2049<br>713.00<br>City of London Investment Trust 25p Ord. shares<br>1,117.00<br>Murray International Trust plc 5p Ord. shares<br>342.00<br>1,925.00<br>HICL Infrastructure Company Ltd 0.0001p Ord<br>3,011.00<br>Treasury 4.5% 07/12/2042<br>3,147.00<br>Treasury 4.25% 07/12/2046<br>3,152.00<br>Treasury 4.25% 07/12/2049<br>6,932.00<br>Treasury 3.5% 22/01/2045<br>733.00<br>City of London Investment Trust 25p Ord. shares<br>1,131.00<br>Murray International Trust plc 5p Ord. shares<br>352.00<br>2,075.00<br>HICL Infrastructure Company Ltd 0.0001p Ord<br>3,418.00<br>Treasury 3.5% 22/01/2045<br>2,985.00<br>Treasury 4.5% 07/12/2042<br>Murray Income Trust plc 25p Ord. Shares<br>**UKOGL**<br>Murray Income Trust plc 25p Ord. Shares|**Cost**<br>**2023**<br>**2022**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>2,999<br>2,852<br>-<br>3,000<br>2,831<br>-<br>3,000<br>2,800<br>-<br>2,999<br>2,884<br>-<br>3,000<br>2,853<br>-<br>3,000<br>2,833<br>-<br>3,575<br>3,420<br>-<br>3,574<br>3,429<br>-<br>**Market Value**|
|---|---|
||142,614<br>142,659<br>140,116|
||6,250<br>5,097<br>4,894<br>6,250<br>6,569<br>6,593<br>6,490<br>6,297<br>5,963<br>6,241<br>5,909<br>5,475|
||25,231<br>23,872<br>22,925|
||7,000<br>5,366<br>5,375<br>6,999<br>7,178<br>7,436<br>15,232<br>13,181<br>14,962|
||29,231<br>25,725<br>27,773|
||11,000<br>10,236<br>9,555<br>10,991<br>12,896<br>12,984<br>9,500<br>7,759<br>8,686<br>3,987<br>4,510<br>4,672<br>3,981<br>2,900<br>3,292<br>3,999<br>3,925<br>-<br>3,296<br>3,184<br>-<br>3,999<br>3,635<br>-<br>2,998<br>2,900<br>-|
||53,751<br>51,945<br>39,189|
||2,999<br>2,955<br>-<br>3,000<br>2,971<br>-<br>3,000<br>2,965<br>-<br>2,999<br>2,915<br>-<br>2,999<br>2,879<br>-<br>2,992<br>2,950<br>-<br>3,000<br>2,670<br>-<br>3,000<br>3,179<br>-<br>3,000<br>3,204<br>-<br>2,999<br>3,212<br>-<br>5,999<br>6,325<br>-<br>2,998<br>2,996<br>-<br>2,999<br>2,915<br>-<br>2,999<br>3,036<br>-<br>3,000<br>2,878<br>-<br>3,000<br>3,119<br>-<br>3,000<br>3,152<br>-|





## **THE GEOLOGISTS' ASSOCIATION** 

## **DETAILED SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS HELD BY THE ASSOCIATION (CONTINUED) YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023** 

|**Holding**<br>**TOMLINSON BROWN FUND**<br>**Purchased in 2023**<br>3,104.00<br>Treasury 4.25% 07/12/2046<br>3,098.00<br>Treasury 4.25% 07/12/2049<br>743.00<br>City of London Investment Trust 25p Ord. shares<br>1,138.00<br>Murray International Trust plc 25p Ord. shares<br>215.00<br>RIT Capital Partners plc £1 Ord. shares<br>**Grand Totals**|**Cost**<br>**2023**<br>**2022**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>2,999<br>3,161<br>-<br>3,000<br>3,157<br>-<br>2,998<br>3,037<br>-<br>2,999<br>2,933<br>-<br>3,996<br>4,048<br>-<br>**Market Value**|
|---|---|
||69,975<br>70,657<br>-|
||1,378,074<br>2,054,651<br>1,875,442|