All About Southampton Mineral & Fossil Society
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- History of SMFS
- About SMFS
- Message from our Chairman
Local newspaper clipping reporting the first meeting of the Society in 1971.
The History of SMFS
The Society was originally formed in April
1971 as Southampton Lapidary Society
reflecting the great interest in the
cutting and polishing of stones around that
time. In 1972 the name was changed to
Southampton Mineral & Lapidary Society
as a consequence of more people being
interested purely in minerals. With a
number of members being interested in
fossils and a growth of popularity in
studying and collecting fossils the name
was changed again in 1985 to Southampton
Mineral, Fossil & Lapidary Society
(SMFLS). Finally in 1992, with a general
decline in the lapidary side of the hobby,
lapidary was dropped from the name and we
became Southampton Mineral & Fossil
Society with the aims to foster interest
and expertise in the collecting,
conservation and identification of minerals
and fossils and, where possible, preserve
and document the sites where they are
found.
The Society is one of the oldest of its
kind in the UK and has acheived a
considerable amount over the last twenty
years. SMFS is a very well known and
respected Society for the contribution its
members have made to the knowledge of
minerals and fossils. John Thomas, a
founder mentioned in the newspaper clipping
left, is still a member of the Society.
Collecting minerals in a quarry in the Mendips.
About SMFS
We are a friendly group of people sharing a
common interest in collecting and studying
minerals and fossils. Throughout the year
we hold both indoor meetings and field
trips. New members are always welcome and
we encourage families with young children
to join and hold special sessions for
beginners. We meet monthly, on the third
Tuesday of the month, in Southampton where
we have illustrated talks and activities
relating to our hobby. Field trips are
organised throughout the year, to various
locations throughout the country, for the
collection of minerals and fossils,
visiting museums and special exhibitions
and shows. Unfortunately there are
restrictions on taking children into
working quarries but there are many other
sites where children can collect safely.
All trips are properly organised with
permissions granted where collecting is
undertaken on private property. We also
have long weekend visits to other parts of
the country to collect at classic sites
such as in Cornwall and Devon, Derbyshire
and Weardale.
Each year the Society organises the
Hampshire Mineral & Fossil Show in
September and also participates in other
shows and events around the country with
displays and stands promoting the Society
and our interest - mineral and fossil
collecting.
Vanadinite, Acif mine, Mibladen,
Morocco.
Height = 30 mm. G. Morse specimen.
Ammonite Leioceras
opalinum, Burton Bradstock, Dorset.
Ammonite = 90 mm. P. James specimen.
Why not join our Society?
A Message From SMFS Chairman Jim Goulding.
The Southampton Mineral and Fossil
Society! What on earth do they do?
Well, we do not sit down and drink
fizzy fruit drinks all the time! We
study, collect and promote an interest
in mineral species, and there are over
4,000 of them. Minerals are composed of
naturally-formed chemicals resulting in
beautiful crystal forms and colours.
Our everyday lives are touched by their
use. Many things we use in the home or
workplace have mineral associations,
although we rarely realise it. A
spanner used on the car may be labelled
"vanadium steel". Vanadium is
found in a beautiful mineral called
vanadinite which forms red crystals of
hexagonal shape. Steel is made from
iron and iron is found in many
interesting minerals. This is an
example of where minerals are processed
by industry to produce a simple
everyday tool. Minerals, however, are
interesting objects in their natural
form and making a collection is part of
our hobby. Apart from learning about
minerals from books and talks we go out
to sites, like working quarries, to
collect samples from rocks.
The second part of our name relates to
the equally important study of and
collecting of fossils. Fossils are the
visual remains of animals and plants
that lived at an earlier period in the
Earth's history. They give a
wonderful insight into our world as it
was millions of years ago and help to
date rock strata. The presence of a
particular species of fossil in a rock
will determine its age.
If you would like to find out more
about minerals and fossils why not join
our Society? You may be thinking,
"I couldn't join such a
Society because I do not know anything
about minerals or fossils although it
would be nice to find out." That
would be one of the best reasons for
joining our Society. By coming to talks
and meeting people with similar
interests one can learn about these
subjects. Our Society is not composed
of experts, although we do have some
like one member who is an authority on
fish and mammal fossils. We are really
a Society of friends who have a deep
common interest in the natural world of
minerals and fossils.
If you are interested in joining SMFS
then go to our Membership
Page