It was very sad to hear that Rosamund Skelton died on 20th January 2023 after battling against cancer for many years. She underwent many treatments and kept cheerful despite all the difficulties.
Rosamund was a member from the very beginning of Herefordshire and Worcestershire Earth Heritage Trust, formerly called H&W RIGS Group. She served on the Executive Committee and then, when the EHT became a charity, she was one of the Trustees until 2015.
Rosamund Skelton
She had worked for the council as a planner so was able to give advice when sitting on the panel of assessors who were designating sites as Regionally Important Geological/Geomorphological Sites which are now called L.G.S., Local Geological Sites.
Rosamund was a keen volunteer enjoying field work. She came on many of the trips to explore the countryside and produce trail guides and the Frome Valley Discovery Guide. She was one of the volunteers who searched for graptolite fossils to help date the rocks when a group of amateurs, led by Dr Arthur Tingley, produced a copy of the Knighton Sheet which had not yet been mapped by the British Geological Survey. A limited number of copies of this map were printed in 2022.
The photo (left) shows Rosamund on the top of Hergest Ridge, looking at the Whet Stone which is described in the Kington and Hergest geology and landscape trail guide. She helped with the field work for many of the trail guides in Herefordshire.
She made a major contribution to the audit of sites carried out to develop the Geodiversity Action Plan Audit for Herefordshire. Also, there was a Geology Trusts project to monitor the condition of LGS and Rosamund carried out these assessments at several sites, writing the reports for them.
Rosamund helped when EHT organised a series of Rock and Fossil Roadshows with games and activities for children and as part of the Community Earth Heritage Champions project, Rosamund was the volunteer coordinator for Herefordshire for many years, helping the local groups which organised events to increase public awareness of these special sites.
Rosamund had a great interest in archaeology and showed me ancient features, piles of erratics with a prominent rock with quartz at the centre, shown in the photo (right). She discovered these archaeological features which had not previously been recorded. She was a great source of information having a collection of books, papers and reports dealing with a variety of subjects and which she could lay her hands on at a moment’s notice.
Rosamund has worked hard to continue to pursue all her interests while undergoing medical treatments. A friend told me of the time in 2019 when they climbed Scafell Pike, fitting it in between Rosamund’s district nurse appointments twice a week. She remained cheerful and positive throughout and would always laugh and joke. She loved looking after her grandchildren, even when she was not feeling well herself. She has been such a good friend over the years and will be greatly missed. We extend our deepest sympathies to her family.
By Moira Jenkins.
