Committee Members
Office | Office | ||
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President:
president@uwfs.org.uk |
Tony Serjeant | Walks Secretary: | Philip Sugden |
Membership:
membership@uwfs.org.uk |
Keith Berrington | Speaker Coordinator:
talks@uwfs.org.uk |
Caroline Ward |
General Secretary:
secretary@uwfs.org.uk |
Neil Todd | Librarian: | Vivien Grieve |
Treasurer:
treasurer@uwfs.org.uk |
Laurie Prowse | Committee Members: | Sue Spriggs, Caroline Ward |
Hon. Auditor: | Jody Kendall | ||
Health & Safety Officer | Tony Serjeant | Website Coordinator: | Dr Chris Alder |
Honorary Life Members
Honorary Life Member | . | Honorary Life Member | . |
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Mrs Christine Bell | Botany Update 2020 2019 Anniversary Mtg |
Mrs Freda Helm | Reflections on 70 Years |
Dr D Turner | The Grassington Trail | Ms Phyllida Oates | |
Ms Hanneke Dye |
Leading Members
In Memory of | Contributions to the Society | Remembered by |
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Les Bloom C.Eng Honorary Life Member |
Lead mining at Yarnbury Reflections on 70 Years |
Bronte-Bedford Payne paid tribute to Les in her book “People and Places in Upper Wharfedale”. Phyllida has updated the tribute for us:
Leslie was a valued member of the Upper Wharfedale Field Society since the late 1950s, soon after the Society’s inauguration. He lived in Pudsey but spent much time in the Dales and led many walks over a long period of time, and contributed considerable historical knowledge from his endless researches. He attended the classes of Arthur Raistrick, one of the Field Society’s founder members, in Skipton for many years, became a close companion of Arthur and joined many of his excursions, particularly in archaeology. Les became Honorary Treasurer and Trustee of the Arthur Raistrick Memorial Lecture Fund. During these years he also attended courses in geology, history and archaeology at the University of Leeds and the University of Bradford, living as he did between the two cities. As a Chartered Engineer Les spent all his working life in the fuel and power industry – later as a Consultant, along with fourteen years as a part-time lecturer in mathematics at Bradford Technical College (which became part of the University) where he had originally qualified in Mechanical Engineering. In 2007 Les was awarded Honorary Life Membership of the Society. He was a much respected and valued member, broadly received and reciprocated deep and genuine affection, and we will all seriously miss our friend Les. |
Phillip Sugden writes:
It is with very deep regret that we record the passing of Les Bloom, a long serving and much loved member of our Society. Les supported the Society over very many years, attending all its lectures and walks despite having to travel from Pudsey to these events, He was several times invited to be President of the Society but always refused due to his home location; however his long term support of the Society was recognised by the grant of Life Membership in 2007. Les was the last of our members to have carried out field work with Arthur Raistrick whom he held in the highest regard, He together with John Busfield were known as the “Pudsey Boys” and accompanied Raistrick on many of his projects. As a young apprentice engineer he was denied the opportunity to take up active military service because the team in which he worked were selected to build the watertight metal boxes which formed the Mulberry harbours for the invasion of Normandy, Later he lectured in mathematics to other young engineers at Bradford College. Les’ first love was of the ancestry of the landed families of Northern England. Rarely could we pass a large house without being told precisely which member of the Percy, Neville or Clifford families has lived there and how and when the house had been won and lost, His second great knowledge and interest came directly from his work where, as a mechanical engineer, he seems to have installed, modified, or removed, most of the textile mill boilers in Yorkshire and Lancashire. I recall his becoming very excited on seeing an abandoned mill in Lothersdale which had a very special form of boiler which recirculated waste gas to heat the factory, Les was able to tell us who had designed and built it and which great house in York was built from the profits. Les , you will be remembered with great affection for a long time to come. |
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Keith Parker writes:
When I joined the Society around 2014 Les was one of the first to welcome me and always came over to have a chuckle at our meetings or on our walks. I got to spend a day with Les, Marion and Frances whilst we planned a trip to St Mary’s at Studley Royal and its sister church Christ the Consoler at Skelton on Ure, both examples of High Gothic revival Architecture. Les had done all the investigation and put together the day but unfortunately events overtook us and we never got to take our Vernacular Building friends to see them. Les also shared an interest in Grassington Lead Mines and had worked on building the 1960’s fluorspar extraction works. These have now largely gone, but Les said he might have some information in his archives, with his usual tantalising twinkle in his eye. His extensive knowledge will be sorely missed. |
Formative Members
Formative Member | . | Formative Member | . |
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Dr Arthur Raistrick | Arthur Raistrick was born in Yorkshire and educated at Bradford Grammar school and Leeds University, where he gained an MSc degree in Civil Engineering and MSc and PhD degrees in Geology. From 1945 to 1970 he was Extra-Mural Tutor at the Universities of Leed, Durham and Newcastle, and a lecturer for the WEA from 1922.
Arthur was actively involved in Industrial Archaeology for more than forty years and was President of the Industrial Archaeology Unit of Bradford University as well as being Hon. Curator of Coalbrookedale Museum, Vice President of the Iron bridge Gorge Museum Trust and an Hon. Life Member of the Newcomen Society. He was a prolific researcher and writer on many Dales subjects, including our own Lead Mines with his 1955 “Mechanisation of Grassington Moor Mines”. Arthur was the driving force behind the set-up of the Upper Wharfedale Field Society and its emphasis on research. |
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Ian Goldthorpe | Ian was born in Hull and was educated at Hymers College and then as an architect at the Hull School of Architecture. In 1960 he went to Manchester to study Country planning at the University before working for the Cities of Manchester and Salford and Lancasire County Council. In 1973 he was appointed the Chief Planning Office of the Borough of Rossendale a post he held unti taking early retirement in 1982.
Ian was a member of the Victorian Society, two civic societies in the North West and lectured widely to amenity groups in Northern England. He was a keen fell walker, drawer and photographer as well as writing “Grassington towards the Millenium” supported by other Field Society members. |
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Jean Reinsch 1922-2107 |
Jean is pictured above with Arthur Raistrick | Jean Reinsch was a Life Member of the Field Society. Born in Skirethorns, she later married Kurt, a Threshfield Quarry Geologist, and they and their children settled in Grassington. Having lived in the area all her life , she had an intimate connection with and vision of the Dales landscape as a whole. This was expressed by Bill Mitchell, a friend of Jean’s, when he wrote in his foreward to her book of walks The Dales are Mine ‘Whenever she sets out on a walk, she passes through a landscape with which she is utterly familiar. She is knowledgable about those bumps and hollows which, to the trained eye, speak of human endeavour thousnads of years ago‘.
Jean was one of a small group who worked closely with Arthur Raistrick on local Archaeological sites and was a founder of Craven Museum and life member of Grassington Museum. As a member of the Field Society, she served lengthy periods of office as Treasurer and as Walks Coordinator, and studied archaeology, geology, history and natural sciences. Members who knew her remember her superb memory for detailed information on the area and local knowledge she was always willing to share. She wrote copious notes and eloquent reports on outings and walks and her contributions were greatly valued. Jean loved to walk for miles up until the time she was no longer able to do so and her feeling for the Dales were expressed in poetry, including these lines from her poem Hereafter: Will there be becks in Heaven, Contributions from Les Bloom, Freda Helm, Dave Knight, Michael Lovitt, Phyllida Oates Will thee |