Talk about about one of the longest Centenary Celebrations ever….
Back in November 2019, the Isle of Wight Natural History & Archaeological Society began what was to be a year long celebration of special events to mark reaching our Centenary – 100 years of promoting the study and conservation of natural history, and archaeology, especially in relation to the Isle of Wight, and to promote, in every possible way, the conservation of the flora and fauna of the Isle of Wight, and the proper preservation of all objects of special archaeological and geological interest.
A special dinner was one of the many planned celebratory events that ended up being postponed due to the Pandemic. However, on November 13th (almost 4 years to the day of our Centenary Birthday), we were delighted to finally get together for our Centenary Dinner!
50 Members of the IWNHAS attended a wonderful evening at the The Isle of Wight College Restaurant where we enjoyed a delicious three course menu prepared and served by the Catering Students.
Our MC for the event was Matthew Chatfield – IWNHAS President.
We also enjoyed three esteemed speakers and IWNHAS legends – Former President – Richard Smout speaking about the beginnings of The Society, how it came to be and the early influencers.
Dr Colin Pope – also former President, and current Secretary followed with a heartfelt speech on what The Society means personally, sharing some of his early encounters with The Society as 12 year old boy and how this shaped his journey.
Finally Dr Roger Herbert propelled us into the future, painting a picture of how things might look for The Society and all the great things we might look forward to working on over the next 100 years.
We would like to thank all IWNHAS Members and Volunteers involved in making the evening such a great success. Thanks also to the staff and students at The IW College for hosting such a memorable evening.
Here’s to the next 100 years!
