About HDGS

The Hastings and District Geology Society was founded in 1992 by Ken Brooks, a well-known local tutor who had been teaching courses and leading field trips on geology and palaeontology in the Hastings area for some time. The creation of the Society brought together a number of his students as well as other local people with interests ranging the whole spectrum of earth sciences. In addition to Ken Brooks, the original committee included currently active members John Boryer (Treasurer), Gordon Elder (Secretary) and Jim Priestley.

The Society is affiliated to the Geologists' Association and is fortunate to have as its President, Professor David Price of the Department of Earth Scieces, University College London. A feature of the Society's programme is David's annual lecture, alternately at Hastings and up at UCL, when members visit the UCL Geology department and meet David's research team. Over the years a number of other distinguished visiting speakers have addressed the Society.

Within the Society we have a number of members with valuable expertise and experience who share their know-how with us: Peter Austen and his wife Joyce share a formidable knowledge of palaeobotany; Trevor Devon is our intrepid mineral collector; Jim Priestley has given talks on the geology of Iceland and the Colorado Plateau; Gordon Elder is our resident astronomer and cosmogenist, and of course, Ken Brooks provides us with a wide range of palaeontological material, including his own local dinosaur fossil finds!