The Brighton Medal

Yesterday, a medal arrived in the post.

In early December 2013, a week or so before the AGM of the Geological Curators Group,  I'd received a  phone call from Mike Howe, who was just finishing his term as Chair of the GCG committee. I'd been nominated for the Brighton Medal, probably the only award for geological curators anywhere in the world. I was not having a good day, and feeling stressed and a bit isolated, so this was astoundingly nice news from the outside world. I was gobsmacked.

Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the meeting in Canterbury at which the award was to be made. I proposed a high-tech virtual presence via Skype - I would make an acceptance speech from a laptop screen. Having had the agenda for the meeting, I waited by my computer and phone. And waited. And waited.

Somewhere between Canterbury and Glasgow things had gone wrong.  The award was made, but I was unable to say "thank you" at the time. Now it's arrived - and I'm very grateful and honoured.

You can read Mike's citation for the award here. 

This is the first medal I've had since the Duke of Edinburgh's Bronze Award (some time ago!), and the first unsolicited one I've ever received. It's extremely encouraging to feel appreciated by others, and I'm very grateful (and suprised) that my work has been conisdered of significance. Looking at the other recipients, inlcuding my mentor at the University of Leicester, Roy Clements, two feelings arise: firstly, can I really deserve this? And secondly, I must be getting old, if my career is long enough to honour. Anyway, I'm very grateful

 

The Brighton Medal was inaugurated in 1992, and named after the pioneering curator Bertie Brighton, of the Sedgewick Museum at the University of Cambridge. It is awarded "for outstanding service to the service of geology in museums", and struck in silver. The award is made every two or three years, whenever the chairperson of GCG stands down from the committee. I was the 10th recipient, and got the last of the original batch of medals, struck by the Tower Mint, in London in 1992.