BSNHS 1935-2015

When I offered myself for election to the post of Chairman back in the mid 2000’s I ‘inherited’ a number of large boxes containing the Society archive which had gradually accumulated over the years since our formation back in 1935. Now, in 2015, 80 years later we find ourselves, somewhat surprisingly, still in existence and the Committee has agreed that a good way to commemorate this anniversary would be to record the activities of the society over the past years.

What you will read and see is only a snapshot of the material available. The society has always been assiduous in keeping records and these give a fascinating insight into the changes in natural history in the area and the changes in society over the same period.

This has been arranged in several sections, the first essentially deals with the period between 1935 and 1950, after this time there was a certain shift in attitudes and leadership and this essentially remained in place until the early 2000’s.

The second part deals with the activities of the present day Society, now known in Hatfield Forest as Forest Nature.

It is quite obvious that over the years, for many people, the Society has been a very important factor in their lives, it is for this reason and to honour the vision of our founder P.M.B Allan that we have put together this record which we hope you will enjoy.

Thanks must go to David Sampson who has helped with the scanning of a lot of material from the archive and to Bev Evans, our Webmaster, who has helped me assemble the material into the finished product.

Bob Reed, Springhall Road, Sawbridgeworth. June 2015.