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All content © The Sedgwick Club 1880 – 2023.


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The Sedgwick Club in modern times

In more recent times, the Sedgwick Club has hosted the Inter-University Geological Congress, which has now become a more regular feature as the Annual Sedgwick Club Conference. During this conference a group of external speakers are invited to come to Cambridge and talk about their research.

In March 1980, the Club celebrated its Centenary. A lecture was given by Dr. Roy Porter, and a dinner was held.

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The 10th Inter-University Geological Congress in 1962, picture one of two. (Sedgwick Museum: NCLS_102)
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The 10th Inter-University Geological Congress in 1962, picture two of two. Speakers include W. A. Deer, co-author of DHZ, and Sir Edward Bullard, after whom the Bullard Laboratories are named. (Sedgwick Museum: NCLS_102)
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The Inter-University Geological Congress in 1976. Speakers include Professors Dan McKenzie and Alan Smith, pioneers of plate tectonic theory. (Sedgwick Museum: SGWC_02_03)
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Invitation/pour memoire for the Sedgwick Club Centenary in 1980. (Sedgwick Museum: NCLS_DDF_71)
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Menu for the 1980 Sedgwick Club Centenary Dinner, picture one of two. (Sedgwick Museum: NCLS_DDF_71)
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Menu for the 1980 Sedgwick Club Centenary Dinner, picture one of two. Again, the geological puns are present similar to those from 1906... (Sedgwick Museum: NCLS_DDF_71)
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T-shirt design for Sedgwick Club stash in the 1990s (Sedgwick Museum: SGWC_02_03)
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More recent bits of history include this anecdote supplied by Dr Clive Oppenheimer:

As for recollections, I think my election was one of the more controversial ones. In the ballot, I received more votes than Club members! Most of them in the form of a crudely photocopied ballot paper, with the (same) signature photocopied, too! It had nothing to do with me, I hasten to add, and suspicion pointed at a certain Part II student. This was all highly irregular of course, and a new vote was held - the first time this had happened in the Club's history apparently...

In 1996 the Club performed an exchange with a student group of Geologists in Suriname called GEM. Unfortunately GEM were unable to return the visit and the scheme collapsed. However, the plaque to commemorate this visit is displayed in the department Coffee Room to this day.

The Sedgwick Club website

This website was first created in 1998 by Liam McGee, and later redesigned by Bob Myhill. The current design by Simon Matthews (2013) was updated in 2017 by Kev Wong.

This history of the Sedgwick Club was written by Kev Wong in 2018 with help from Sandra J. Freshney and the Staff of the Sedgwick Museum and the Department of Earth Sciences.