trilobite issue 26 winter 2013

FORTHCOMING FRIENDS’ EVENTS

Talk on “ Student field teaching on the reefs and limestones of Texas” Tuesday 26th February, 6.15 for 7.00 pm start Dr Tony Dickson (University of Cambridge). Spectacular reef landscapes in a classic area for understanding how limestones form. Demonstration-talk “Apping the Ante in geological education” Tuesday 8th March, 6.15 for 7.00pm start Dr. Douglas Palmer will demonstrate the way that a new computer Application has brought to life many aspects of his Mitchell Beazley book “Evolution” on geological aspects of the evidence for evolution.

* Adam Sedgwick Anniversary Celebration Dinner Wednesday 13th March, 7.00 for 7.30 pm, Queens’ College. We are delighted to confirm that Professor Iain Stewart (Professor of Geoscience Communication,University of Plymouth), the very successful TV presenter on geological topics, is to be our after-Dinner speaker. Please book by 4th March with Marjorie Veale, sending by post the standard booking form for this event that comes with this Newsletter, and including your cheque (Marjorie Veale, 176 Green Drift, Royston, Herts, SG8 5BL. (E-mail <[email protected]>). You will be sent a ticket to confirm your booking. On the form, please give your first and family name, and those of any guests, so that we can enter you on the seating plan. Also indicate any special dietary requirements. The menu selected for non-specialists is to be i) Goat’s cheese and onion filo tart with salad, ii) Roast Pork with apple sauce and lemon thyme stuffing etc., iii) Opera gateau, etc. The College bar will be available until 11 pm after the Dinner. Dress will be informal (suits and ties for men). The cost will be £45 with wines, or £38 with soft drinks]

The Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EQ

Opening hours: Monday – Friday 10 am – 1 pm and 2 pm – 5 pm Saturday 10 am – 4 pm Telephone: (01223) 333456 Fax: (01223) 333450 Email: [email protected]

Website: www.sedgwickmuseum.org Friends of the Sedgwick Museum Web: www.friendsofsedgwickmuseum.com

Editor: Peter Friend Sub Editor: Alison O'Reilly

Please note that events with a star (*) need to be pre-booked, using the standard booking form which is separate to this Newsletter and is on our website.

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Trilobite – Issue 26

FORTHCOMING FRIENDS’ EVENTS

Talk on “Taming the River Nile to establish a Harem Palace Tuesday, 19th March, 6.15 for 7.00 pm Dr Judith Bunbury (University of Cambridge). Judith’s work on the history of the River Nile has revolutionised understanding of aspects of the evolution of Ancient Egyptian cultures.

* Visit to Charnwood Forest Saturday 20 April 2013 Led by Dr. Alex Liu (University of Cambridge), our speaker on 5th February 2012, and Charlotte Kerchington (University of Cambridge). Selected localities will be visited in the only area of exposures of pre-Cambrian rocks in Eastern England. There will be particular emphasis on the late Pre-Cambrian fossils that were the subject of the talk on 5th February. We plan to hire a small bus from Cambridge, and will be picking people up from the far end of the Madingley Park-and-Ride site, ready to leave at 9 am. Before visiting Charnwood, our bus will call at the British Geological Survey’s HQ at Keyworth, near Nottingham, to see fossil-bearing moulds and the recently opened Rock Walkway there. Please bring packed lunch materials. On the way home, we are planning to stop at the Loch Fyne Restaurant (mainly but not entirely fish menu), near Peterborough for supper/tea, when members will be able to choose their own food etc. Please book, by sending us by post the standard form that comes with this Newsletter, and enclosing a deposit cheque for £10 for a place on the bus. Please send your form and cheque before 10th April, to our registrar for this event who is Peter Cox, 4 Mangers Lane, Duxford, CB22 4RN, ([email protected]) Committee Meeting, Tuesday 23 April, 6 pm, Department of Earth Sciences

* Landscape Tour of Cambridge’s Western Highlands Plateau & the Upper Cam (Rhee) valley. Saturday 25th May 2013. Led by Peter Friend. The same small-bus touring approach that was used for the Marston Vale (Bedford) tour in 2012 will be used as a way of sampling and understanding the distinctive landscape story. Please meet at the far end of the Madingley Park and Ride site, ready to leave by 9.30 am. Further cost of the bus hire will be collected on the bus. We plan to stop for supper/tea at the Queen Adelaide. Orwell, when people will be able to choose their own menu. Please book, using the standard booking form that comes with this Newsletter and enclosing a deposit cheque for £10 for a place on the bus. Please post your form before 14th May to Peter Franklin, 273 Welbrook Way, Girton, Cambridge CB3 0GL Contact after booking best by E-mail ([email protected]) Visit to the Island of Santorini (Greece) One week, Tuesday 4 June – Tuesday 11th June. Flying from Gatwick direct to Santorini. All arrangements have been made through Dr. Mike Tuke. Flights and accommodation etc. arranged through “Volcanic Experiences Ltd”. Local specialised geological leadership by Dr. Gareth Fabbro. All twenty five places are now taken. Friends Annual General Meeting and Review Evening Tuesday 25th June 2013, 6 pm-7.30 pm Local Friends, please try to attend this important occasion when Friends and Museum staff review Friends’ activities over the past year, and look ahead.

Committee Meeting, Tuesday 17th September

Judith Bunbury

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FRIENDS’ FORTHCOMING EVENTS

* Two-day Visit to the Welsh Borders Tuesday-Thursday, 1-3 October. Jean Currie has been planning the arrangements for our visit to this varied area between Hereford and Worcester that has been classic Border terrain in the history of British geology. We shall base ourselves in and around the market town of Ledbury, where an introductory talk will be given by Dr. Paul Olver on the Tuesday evening, and the group Dinner will be held on the Wednesday evening. Paul and local colleagues will lead us throughout, starting on the Wednesday with a visit to see Hereford Cathedral, its building stones, and a chance to visit the Mappa Mundi. In the afternoon we will visit the Woolhope Dome after a pub lunch. On Thursday, we will visit geological localities in the Malvern Hills, where new work has been leading to much greater understanding. Many of the Welsh Borders localities are being managed under a very successful local community-led “Champions scheme”, from which we hope to learn lessons to help conservation efforts in East Anglia. The party will disperse on the Thursday afternoon. The registrar for this visit is Margaret Sanderson, 157 High St., Chesterton, Cambridge, CB4 1NL for further contact after initial booking, <[email protected]>. Please book with Margaret, using the standard booking form that comes with this Newsletter, and enclosing a booking deposit of £10. On booking, people will receive details of possible accommodation, but will be responsible for their booking of it. Other details will be circulated to all who have booked, and further payment will be required to cover the leader’s expenses, hand-out information etc. In the Hereford-Worcester area, we plan to hire one or two small buses to ease parking and navigation problems. Transport to and from the area can be by train from Cambridge (via Birmingham) or by private car. Please indicate on the form if you would be interested in our hiring a bus for people who would prefer not to make the journey from Cambridge by car (c. 3 hours) or rail (4-5 hours with a change)

New ideas about the structure and movement processes of the Deeper Earth. Tuesday 22nd October 2013, 6.15 for 7.00pm Dr Arwen Deuss (University of Cambridge Forensic Geology in the fight against crime Tuesday 29th October 2013, 6.15 for 7.00pm Dr Andrew Moncrieff (Hawkins Ltd, Cambridge)

Evolution of the Flora of Western Australia Tuesday 19th November 3013, 6.15pm for 7.00pm Dr Ken McNamara (Sedgwick Museum Director) has spent much of his career in Australia and has wide interests in evolution Friends’ Christmas Party Tuesday 3rd December 2013

Arwen Deuss

Ken McNamara

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CAMBRIDGESHIRE GEOLOGY CLUB FORTHCOMING EVENTS

The Club meets at the Friends Meeting House, 91-93 Hartington grove, Cambridge CB1 7UB.

Talks start at 7.30 pm, and doors open at 7.00 pm. Non-members are welcome and asked to donate £3.00 per meeting.

Programme Secretary is Franziska Norman, [email protected], mobile 07963-039198 TETRAPODS RISING: FEEDING AT THE WATER-LAND INTERFACE Monday 11 March 2013 Dr Laura Porro (University of Bristol)

CHALLENGES AND RESULTS OF FOSSIL COLLECTING IN GREENLAND 2012 Monday 8 April 2013 Sarah Finney (Sedgwick Museum Conservator, University of Cambridge) This event will be held in the Brighton Building, Madingley Road, Cambridge, starting at 6.30 pm and lasting until 8 pm, when tea and biscuits will be served. 78 NORTH TO 77 SOUTH: ICE CAVES OF THE ARCTIC AND ANTARCTIC Monday 13 May 2013 Dr Nial Peters (Geography, University of Cambridge)

THE NATIONAL GEOLOGICAL MODEL – A New beginning for the geological map. Monday 10th June 2013 Dr Andrew Howard (Director of Geoscience Survey and Monitoring, British Geological Survey, Keyworth) GEOLOGY OF UPWARE Monday 9th September 2013 Dr Simon Kelly (CASP, University of Cambridge) EAST ANGLIA’ BURIED CHANNELS Monday 14 October 2013 Stephanie Bricker (Groundwater Hydrology, British Geological Survey, Keyworth) GEOLOGY AND LANDSLIDES ON THE ISLE OF WIGHT Monday 11th November 2013 Gareth Jenkins (Sedimentologist, British Geological Survey, Keyworth) THROUGH THE EYES OF THE GEOLOGISTS’ ASSOCIATION: THE PEOPLE AND PLACES DOCUMENTED BY THE GEOLOGISTS’ ASSOCIATIONS CARRECK ARCHIVE 1858-PRESENT Monday 9th December 2013 Dr Jonathan Larwood (Natural England, Geologists’ Association Archivist)

Sarah Finney

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Exploring and Sharing Alfred Harker’s Archive Lyall I. Anderson, Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences

Over the last three years, staff at the Sedgwick Museum of Earth

Sciences have been involved in various archive-related projects. This has resulted in the sorting, reboxing, ordering and storage of a valuable and unique paper archive related to the geological sciences. Improved access and organisation of the archive has resulted in original research and a better understanding of how the papers relate to the museum’s important rock, mineral and fossil collections. Within the body of the archive are stored the papers of the important geological scientist Alfred Harker (1859 – 1939). Harker had a lifelong affiliation with the University of Cambridge. An undergraduate at St. John’s, he rose to become a world famous name

in the science of petrology. This is a branch of geology concerned with the study and naming of rock-forming minerals. The Sedgwick Museum holds almost the entire suite of Harker's papers. This includes laboratory and field notebooks, sketchbooks, field mapping slips and photograph albums. The materials cover over 60 years of geological investigations, from his undergraduate days, to work with the Geological Survey of Scotland, to late into his retirement. Rob Theodore (Collections Assistant, Display and Documentation), Dr Sally Gibson (Senior Lecturer in Petrology) and myself have recently developed an exhibit about Harker based on his archival papers. This exhibit will be installed in display cases in the Department of Earth Sciences outside the Harker Seminar Rooms. These were originally Harker’s office and laboratory space when he was on the staff here. This location provided particular display challenges. It receives a lot of direct sunlight throughout the day and so is unsuitable for displaying original archival paper material. A workable solution has been to scan or photograph items for inclusion in the display. As well as display panels backing the desktop cases, images will be displayed on a flat screen digital unit mounted above the cases. This will allow us to show far more of Harker’s intricate field drawings than we would otherwise have been able to. In this location it will have an audience of passing staff and students, visiting researchers and other visitors to the Dept. of Earth Sciences (including Friends on their way to Talks). The exhibition will open in Spring 2013.

Alfred Harker

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Slope Map of part of Cambridgeshire, showing also the boundaries of the three areas selected for the project submitted to the Heritage Lottery Fund”.

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Developing public enjoyment and understanding of natural landscapes

Peter Friend We have just sent off a proposal to the Heritage Lottery Fund on behalf of the Friends of the Sedgwick Museum. Discussions with a development adviser for the Fund have suggested that we run a trial project to test what we are proposing, so we have limited our project to focus on three selected areas in Cambridgeshire. In these areas we propose to invite people to join voluntary community groups to test ways of developing the enjoyment and understanding of the Landscapes, initially by planning more visits and short Web-Site reports. Our thoughts are based on our experiences of running local summer visits over the ten years, or so, since the Friends were founded as an organisation. In that time we have arranged visits to many local places, for example: Harlton (and Barrington), the

Bourne Valley, the Royston Chalk Edge, St. Ives and the River Great Ouse, Ely, Marston Vale (and Bedford), Mildenhall and the eastern Fens, Denver and West Norfolk, the North Norfolk coast, etc. So, if our Lottery Fund proposal is successful, we hope to be able to form Community groups, one for each of our three selected areas, which are to be i) Cambridge City and surroundings, ii) Cambridge’s Western Plateau, and iii) Huntingdonshire and the River Great Ouse for each area, we plan to invite people to join with other local residents .We hope that our invitation will encourage people to contribute, in whatever way possible, and not necessarily involving great effort or time. We are keen to assemble special local knowledge or interests, and link with local education (families, school teachers and pupils, Museums and public bodies). This note is a first invitation to express a provisional interest in becoming involved in this project by E-

mailing me (<[email protected]>), or dropping a note to me at “Department of Earth Sciences, Downing St., Cambridge CB2 3EQ”

Sedgwick Museum News

Rosie Amos, Sedgwick Museum Education Assistant In the Sedgwick our main period of activity will be in March for the Cambridge University Science Festival. As always we have a range of activities for all ages. When you have visited the museum, you may have noticed that amongst the displays of specimens there are some interpretative displays which include some wonderful illustrations by world-renowned palaeoartist, Bob Nichols. Bob will be with us on 21st March for a drawing workshop, taking us through the creative process of reconstructing anatomically accurate dinosaurs. He will then be joining us in the evening to talk about his life as a professional dinosaur fanatic in our lecture theatre. Due to popular demand for our previous Sedgwick Story times, we are hosting not one, not two, but four story time sessions over the two weeks of the festival, where Cambridge storyteller, Marion Leeper will take you on a magical journey with the Broomsquire to discover his fossils and some of his tall tales about them. This year we are hosting a special treat, as visitors will get to go behind the scenes of a museum, at our science labs in West Cambridge. Visitors will get to meet some of the scientists, tour the stores and find out ‘hands-on’, what a paleontologist does. And last but not least, on Saturday 16th March, students from the Earth Science Department will be taking on their role as the Timetruck Team. Investigate rocks and minerals, discover dinosaurs and explore earth science with hands on activities and demonstrations in the museum throughout the day. Hopefully we will see you there at some these events, or at least come and say hello when you are ever in the museum! For more information please check our website www.sedgwickmuseum.org, or https://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/whatson/ for details from February onwards.

Peter Friend

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Sedgwick Museum front of house.

The Sedgwick Museum plans to re-develop the front of house and retail area over the course of spring 2013, aiming for the project to be completed in time for Easter holidays. The space is currently quite restrictive in terms of access for visitors and also lacks sufficient merchandising space. This project will provide new units, display cases, storage and desk area and release significantly more floor space. The results of this project should increase profits by ensuring greater sales through increased quantities and variety of stock on offer. In turn this will support the sustainability and staffing of this area of the Museum. Visitor Services Assistants currently provide the only front of house information and security presence for the Museum’s galleries and are a crucial role. As visitor numbers continue to increase at the Sedgwick these posts are becoming ever more critical to the successful functioning of the Museum. The outcomes of this project will financially support these roles for the benefit of the public and the collections. Further profits from this endeavour will go to support the improvement of museum exhibitions and facilities as well as staff development. Apple Display Ltd, who have worked with several of the University Museums already, have consulted and drawn up plans for the new area and aim to begin work at the beginning of March. Match funding is being sought from AIM for the remainder of the cost and it is hoped that this project can provide a case study for retailing effectively in a small area.

Digital geology – Sedgwick Museum Website Re-development

The Sedgwick Museum has been through some significant changes over the last few years and requires a new website to reflect this change and to respond to the opportunities an improved digital presence will offer. This project will employ an external web designer and consultant to develop the structure for a new website, set this up on a content management system and provide training. Content will then be developed and added in house. The new website will provide key information on facilities, displays, events, activities, news, resources and learning opportunities. It will offer information to those wishing to visit or utilise the Museum and what it has to offer. It will provide access to the collections for those who are unable to visit, and information about collections not on display. The Museum does not have the capacity to develop a new website internally and the funding Connecting Collections is providing will allow a crucial step to be taken in creating an effective, easy to use and engaging Museum website. Once this platform is in place there is the potential to use consultants to raise the standard of websites and develop a best practice provision of information online across all the museums. With a new web structure in place and content being developed between spring and summer 2013 the Sedgwick is ideally placed to act as a pilot for such a project that would benefit all University of Cambridge Museums.

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GB/3D type fossils online at the Sedgwick Museum

Staff at the Sedgwick Museum are busy scanning and photographing their large collection of UK fossil type specimens as part of the “GB/3D type fossils online” project. The project is funded by JISC (http://www.jisc.ac.uk/), and is in collaboration with several institutions around the country, including the British Geological Survey (http://www.bgs.ac.uk/), National Museum Cardiff, the Oxford University of Natural History and the Geological Curators' Group. Together we aim to produce a unified web database of UK type fossils, including links to high quality photographs (including stereo pair anaglyphs) and 3D digital models. With over 6000 UK type specimens, the Sedgwick Museum has one of the largest and most important collections in the UK (only the Natural History Museum and British Geological Survey have larger collections). 'Types' are the original specimens from which new species are described, and are therefore of fundamental importance to palaeontological research. Because of this they are some of the most heavily used specimens in the collections. Through making data available online we hope to increase access to researchers around the world while reducing risk to the specimens through handling. The images and models are also being used in the development of Open Educational Resources, which will hopefully inspire the next generation of palaeontologists. Photography Using a Canon EOS 5D Mark II we are capturing high quality photographs of each specimen, in standard orientations. Most images will supplement those in existing publications, but in some cases specimens will be photographed for the first time. As part of the photography process we are also taking stereo pair images.

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GB/3D type fossils online at the Sedgwick Museum Classically fossils photographed for publication may have included a stereo pair (two offset images) to create perception of 3D depth when optically fused by means of a stereoscope. This project is diverging from tradition and using stereo anaglyphs instead, a more accessible option. The anaglyph images are produced by photographing the specimen in two slightly different attitudes on a tilt board, at an angle of rotation of 8°. The photographs are then processed in Adobe Photoshop; the left eye image is filtered to remove blue and green, and the right eye image is filtered to remove red and green. The resultant photographs are then merged together creating a 3D image when viewed with red-blue glasses. 3D laser scanning About 10% of the type specimens will be scanned using a NextEngine 3D laser scanner. The scans capture the external surface topography and colour of the specimens and take around 2 hours to complete. At the Sedgwick Museum we've currently scanned nearly 200 fossils and should have finished another 300 or so more by the end of the project. The models will be made available in .ply format and 3D pdfs.

If you want to find out more, the project has its own blog: http://gb3dtypefossils.blogspot.co.uk/

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Sedgwick Museum Event Details

Hands-on Saturdays Saturday 23 February 2013 11:00 - 3.30pm Take a closer look at minerals, rocks and fossils! Join volunteers from Time Truck for a chance to handle and investigate amazing objects from the collections of the Sedgwick Museum. Free, No need to book, just drop in! Suitable for children aged 5 and over. Sedgwick Story time: Tale Tales from the Broomsquire 1.30pm – 2.30pm, Wednesday 13th and 20th March 10.30am -11.30pm, 12.30pm -1.30pm, Friday 22 March

Take a magical journey with the Broomsquire. Discover his fossils and the stories he tells about them. Can you spot which of them are true, and which are tall tales? With Cambridge Storyteller Marion Leeper. Children must be accompanied by a parent or carer. Families. Suitable for children aged 3-7. Free. Limited places, must be pre-booked. To book call the Festivals Office on 01223 766766 or visit www.cam.ac.uk/sciencefestival

Time Truck at the Sedgwick Museum 10.30am – 3.30pm Saturday 16th March

Travel in time with Time Truck! Investigate rocks and minerals, discover dinosaurs and explore earth science with hands on activities and demonstrations. Families. Suitable for all ages. Free No need to book, just drop in. Dinosaurs from the inside out 2pm – 4pm, Thursday 21 March World-renowned palaeoartist Bob Nicholls will take you through the creative process of reconstructing anatomically accurate dinosaurs. Starting with fragments of fossilised bone, you will bring the dinosaur back to life by adding organs, muscles, covering it with skin, scales and feathers and finally deciding what colour it was. No previous experience required. Adults. Suitable for Adults. £6. Limited places, must be Pre booked Tel: 01223 333456. Payment required on booking My life as a dinosaur fanatic 6.30pm – 7.30pm, Thursday 21 March World-renowned palaeoartist Bob Nicholls will talk about his life as a professional dinosaur fanatic. Like many children Bob developed an interest in drawing dinosaurs at a very young age. He never out-grew this, and now has over 13 years of experience as a professional palaeoartist. He will talk about some of his past projects and share advice on the techniques he uses to bring dinosaurs back to life. The Museum will be open from 5.30pm for a private view of interpretation panels that feature Bob’s work. Adults. Suitable for adults, 14+. Free. Limited places, must be pre-booked. To book call the Festivals Office on 01223 766766 or visit www.cam.ac.uk/sciencefestival Unearthing Ancient Life 12noon – 1pm, 2.30pm – 3.30pm Saturday 23rd March Venue: Geological Conservation Unit, A.G Brighton Building, Madingley Road, Madingley Rise, CB3 0EZ

Find out what a paleontological research team collected during an expedition to Greenland during August 2012. Meet some of the scientists and discover why their training for the expedition included survival skills and shooting. Find out more about how fossils are prepared and cared for with a behind the scenes tour. Families. Suitable for children aged 10 and over. Free. Limited places, must be pre-booked. To book call the Festivals Office on 01223 766766 or visit www.cam.ac.uk/sciencefestival

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Membership is open to

anyone!

CONTACT DETAILS

The Friends of the Sedgwick Museum

Downing Street Cambridge, CB2 3EQ

Department reception:

01223 – 333400 Chairman e-mail: [email protected] Event leaders may be contacted before and during events on the events mobile: 07754 592439

KEY WEBSITES:

FRIENDS OF THE SEDGWICK MUSEUM

www.friendsofsedgwickmuseum.com

SEDGWICK MUSEUM http://www.sedgwickmuseum.org/

SEDGWICK MUSEUM BLOG

http://sedgwickmuseum.org.uk/blog/

CAMBRIDGESHIRE GEOLOGY CLUB http://www.cambridgeshiregeologyclub.

org.uk/

Please use block capitals and return the form, with your cheque, to the membership secretary. Name (Dr, Mr, Mrs, Miss, Ms) (delete as applicable) ………………………………………………………... Address…………………………………………………………………………………………………….……………………………..Postcode………………....... Telephone…………………………………………….. Email………………………………………………….. Age (if under 18)……………………………………... Subscriptions (please tick) o Individual: £12 per annum (Over 18 years) o Family: £18 per annum (Two or more members

living at the same address) o Young £6 per annum (Members under the person: age of 18) o Concession: £8 per annum (Full time students,

unemployed or over 60s) Membership is for one year and expires on 31st March. Members joining after 31st December will have the last quarter’s membership included in the following year. o I attach a cheque for £…………… made payable to The Friends of the Sedgwick Museum. Signed…………………………Date…………………. Gift Aid Scheme. Because the Friends is a registered Charity (No. 101911393) we can claim an additional amount on any subscription or donation, provided that you are a UK tax payer. Your signature below will allow us to increase the value of each payment you make for the benefit of the Friends. Gift Aid Declaration. I am a UK tax payer. I would like the Friends of the Sedgwick Museum to treat all membership fees and donations as Gift aid donations from the date of this declaration until I notify otherwise. Signed…………………………Date………………….

trilobite issue 26 winter 2013

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