This fantastic day celebrating the field of aerial reconnaissance and the legacy of two inspiring pioneers in the air was spent with about 90 people in a very comfortable and accessible room, listening to some excellent talks which are summarised below.               

EXPLORING ARCHAEOLOGICAL LANDSCAPES: CELEBRATING THE LEGACY OF 

DERRICK RILEY AND WILLIAM ARNOLD BAKER 

A day conference focussing on two significant aerial photographers, and the evolving aerial 

archaeology techniques and research inspired by them 

held on Saturday 29 MARCH 2025 in the Creative Lounge, The Workstation, Paternoster Row, Sheffield S1 2BX

PROGRAMME

MORNING SESSION

10am Welcome - Chair: Ken Smith, President of the Hunter Archaeological Society

10.05-10.30am Colin Merrony and Tom Millington - Aerial Archaeology at the University of Sheffield: Bringing the Past into the Present

10.30 -11.10am Roger White – Arnold Baker: building on his work and legacy

11.10-11.40am REFRESHMENTS, stalls and posters 

11.40am -12.20pm Bob Bewley - Aerial Archaeology in the Middle East – the contribution of an unsung hero: Derrick Riley

12.20-12.50pm Chris Cox – Made in Sheffield, 40 years on: Flying, photography and mapping with Derrick Riley

12.50-1pm Discussion and Q & A

AFTERNOON SESSION 

2pm   Welcome - Chair: Yvonne Boutwood, Chair Prehistory Research Section, Yorkshire Archaeological & Historical Society

2.05-2.35pm Robyn Andrews – Flying the flag for Apprenticeships at Historic England: Entering the realm of aerial archaeology from a new route

2.35 –3.05pm Alison Deegan – Around Scunthorpe in Five Derrick Riley Air Photos

3.05-3.35pm Steve Malone – Ancient Woodland, Ancient Landscapes: LIDAR survey in the forests of North Nottinghamshire

3.35 – 4pm REFRESHMENTS, stalls and posters 

4-4.30pm Kimberley Teal - The Western Westmorland Dales Aerial Investigation and Mapping Project - recent discoveries

4.30 – 4.45pm Discussion and summing up with Bob Bewley and Colin Merrony       

This fantastic day celebrating the field of aerial reconnaissance and the legacy of two inspiring pioneers in the air - Derrick Newton Riley and William Arnold Baker - was spent with about 90 people in a very comfortable and accessible room, listening to some excellent talks.  The programme kicked off by Hunter president Ken Smith welcoming the guests, Cathy Riley-Smith, daughter of Derrick, and her family, and Emeritus Professor Keith Branigan, first head of the Department of Prehistory and Archaeology at the University of Sheffield, who appointed Derrick to teach an MA in Aerial Photography in 1979.

The morning talks included a presentation by Colin Merrony and Tom Millington, who set the scene - their current project to catalogue and digitise a large collection of about 12,000 Riley and Baker aerial photos prompted the development of the conference as a means of gathering all the experts together.  Roger White followed on with an outline of Arnold Baker's life story - how he was taken on as an electronics student by the telecommunications branch of the RAF during the war and was part of the team that invented the cavity magnetron, enabling radio-direction finding or radar to transform flying.  Having learnt to fly in 1948, he became very involved with searching the valleys of the Malverns for Roman sites and with the site of Wroxeter, about which he achieved a PhD in 1992.  He died aged 98 in 2014, still fighting over copyright of his images which are now in the Historic England records at Swindon.

The next speaker was Bob Bewley, who has a lifetime of experience in aerial archaeology especially in the Middle East.  His talk first gave some details of Derrick Riley's flying activities during the war, pathfinding in Whitleys and Mosquitoes, and he then moved on to describe Derrick's work in Israel, and finally his own researches in Jordan and Saudi Arabia with some stunning aerial shots.  He credited all this to Derrick's influence.   The last talk before lunch was by one of Derrick's Masters students, Chris Cox, who now runs her own commercial company offering interpretation, mapping and expert witness services. She described in delightful detail how Derrick taught her to fly (as she mastered her air sickness) out of Netherthorpe airfield near Worksop, how he encouraged her learning in a whole range of fields such as geology and agriculture, and taught her to map on permatrace.

After lunch, the afternoon session was chaired by Yvonne Boutwood, Chair of the Prehistory Research Section of the Yorkshire Archaeological and Historical Society, joint sponsors of the conference.  She introduced Robyn Andrews, since May 2023 a level 7 Aerial Survey Investigator Apprentice specialising in Reconnaissance with Historic England, who is also studying for a Masters.  She outlined her experiences flying out of Sherburn in Elmet in a Cessna, learning the use of cameras and how to read the conditions for taking photographs, and showed the audience some dramatic shots of sites and landscapes she is monitoring.  Robyn's talk was follwed by 

Alison Deegan also began as a placement student in the 1990s with RCHME and now has her own practice specialising in mapping archaeological landscapes from air photos. She selected five of Derrick Riley's photos from the Scunthorpe area, where he was based with British Steel as a management trainee and carried out a lot of fieldwork in his spare time; the photos were of Risby Warren, Dragonby and the steelworks itself, the development of which which Alison described.   

The third talk before the tea break was by Steve Malone, from York Archaeological Trust, who illustrated the value of LIDAR in locating and researching archaeological features such as field boundaries and Roman roads under ancient tree cover in North Nottinghamshire.

Finally, in a change to the original programme but a very appropriate bringing together of the themes of the day, Colin Merrony returned to share his involvement in fieldwork which was all due to Derrick Riley's work flying over the Magnesian limestone and his meticulous mapping.  This led to the 2005-7 National Mapping Programme.  He referred to sites like the Bilham enclosure, the issues trying to save Sutton Common and the interpretation of garden features at Brodsworth Hall.

As Bob Bewley had needed to leave early, the planned discussion with Colin Merrony changed to a question time.  Derrick's daughter Cathy Riley-Smith gave a very sincere vote of thanks from the family for organising the conference and recognising her father's work in this way - she felt he would have been very honoured.

A Generous Donation of Hunter's 'South Yorkshire'

Recently we were generously offered a newly bound copy of Joseph Hunter's second large work 'South Yorkshire: History of the Deanery of Doncaster', found by the donor in his late mother's house.  But even more interesting were the hand-written annotations and notes bound into the volume.  As we don't have anywhere to safeguard such a volume, we suggested he offer it to Sheffield Archives, where it is now safely catalogued as 2023/67 and it has been confirmed that the handwriting is almost certainly that of Joseph Hunter.  It remains to be further studied.

Sheffield Heritage Fair 2024

Sheffield Heritage Fair took place again in 2024 and we had a table; on Saturday 20 January over 1,000 people came to find out more about the projects and discoveries going on in South Yorkshire, but on Sunday 21 January the fire alarm system in the Millennium Galleries failed soon after the Fair opened and everyone had to leave.  It was very disappointing but these things happen.  A huge debt of thanks is due to David Templeman and Ron Clayton for all their organisation, and Sheffield Museums Trust for the lovely space in the Gallery. 

Joseph Hunter's life story published

One volume of the Transactions dating back to our Centenary year 2012 has just been published as Volume 26(2); members should have received their copy and it will be available in Sheffield Archives and Local Studies.  The volume contains life stories of a number of people who have been formative in the Society, including Joseph Hunter and the extended Hunter family, as well as Charles Green, Walter Hall and Joseph Himsworth among others.  In Hunter's story, Ruth Morgan and Martin Waller have attempted to capture the background to the changes in his life, the context in which he lived and how his life and work  were influenced by contemporary events.

New President and new Venue for 2022

For our 2022 programme of talks we moved to a meeting room in the Showroom Cinema on Paternoster Row in Sheffield, close to the station and bus routes, and with easy access to refreshments and support.  In the spring we also elected a new President, Ken Smith, who retired a few years ago as Cultural Heritage Manager of the Peak District National Park Authority.  He is currently chair of Trustees of the CBA, among other roles, and we are very pleased that he agreed to join us.

Society talks move to Zoom

From January 2021 during lockdown, we decided to hold our talks on Zoom - University buildings were closed and members unable to meet.  The talks were recorded and made available to members on Youtube.

New Hunter President 2017 - Colin Merrony

At the Society's AGM in March 2017, we elected Colin Merrony as our new President, after Phil Sidebottom (who was elected our President in 2013) agreed to stay on a further year - we are very appreciative of all he has done for the Society over his four years in office. 

 Colin is a Teaching Fellow in the Department of Archaeology at Sheffield University and Programme Leader of the MA in Landscape Archaeology. He has a wide range of experience in commercial and community archaeological practice and field research, and the Hunter Archaeological Society has had a long association with him through our regular visits to his excavations at Brodsworth, Castleton, Bolsterstone and elsewhere, and talks he has given us about these sites. 

Freeman College students create a new Badge of Office

On December 11 2013, the Hunter president and several society members were formally presented with a new Badge of Office created for the Centenary by the students of Freeman College. The College, which occupies the historic Sterling Works on Arundel Street in Sheffield, is run by Ruskin Mill Trust and provides innovative and experiential education and training for young people marginalized by disadvantage, exclusion or special learning needs.   Its ethos and heritage aspects fit well with Hunter's remit to work with the community to promote archaeology.

The project had started a year or so before, with discussions about what the Society stands for and how to represent that symbolically.  After lots of ideas from the students, the final design shows a laptop computer on top of a pile of books to represent the move into the 21st century.  The Badge was cast in pewter and then silver-plated; each link of the chain was made by a different student.  It is proudly worn by the President on all formal Society occasions and replaces the stainless steel model made in 1985.

Glass Slides Project

Following a customer enquiry in the Local Studies Library, it came to light that a collection of several hundred glass slides in the basement of Sheffield Central Library had been deposited, probably in the 1930s, and never looked at since. They had belonged among others to Society Secretary James Ragg Wigfull, a Sheffield architect who was also a very keen photographer; the quality of many of the pictures is outstanding. A group of Hunter members worked on cataloguing the slides and identifying those that were not labelled; any not on Picture Sheffield were then scanned and added to the records.  Sheffield Photographic Society members were very interested to see some of them.

Plaque of Joseph Hunter has been installed in Local Studies Library

Some visitors to the old Local Studies Library in Sheffield may recall a bronze plaque on the wall to the right of the entrance.  This was  of Joseph Hunter, and was placed there to commemorate the centenary of his death in 1861.  In May 1961 it was unveiled by Lord Mayor Alderman H. Slack with seven Hunter members looking on.  The plaque was designed by Hunter President and craftsman Joseph Beeston Himsworth (1874-1968) and made by his daughter Joyce (also an internationally renowned silversmith). 

When the Local Studies Library relocated across the building, the Society campaigned to have the plaque moved as well, and during the Centenary year 2012 it was moved into the new Local Studies Library, just to the right of the entrance doors, with an interpretation panel to explain its significance.  Do go and have a look at it.

Hunter Centenary 2012

In the evening of 11 May 2012, the Lord Mayor Sylvia Dunkley hosted a Reception in the Town Hall in recognition of the importance of the Society over the last century. This was attended by many members, councillors, museum staff, colleagues from Sheffield University and Sheffield Archives among others.

A conference marked the centenary of the Hunter Archaeological Society on the very same date as the inaugural meeting - 12 May.  The conference was titled Shared Pasts: democratic traditions in British archaeology, and was held in the Cantor Building at Sheffield Hallam University.  The contributors and delegates at the conference celebrated the tradition of ‘community heritage’ to which the Society continues to contribute.

Archaeology has long been a way for people of varied backgrounds and experience to discover their past. The establishment of provincial antiquarian societies during the nineteenth century arguably marks the beginnings of our democratic tradition. Volunteers and enthusiasts from many different backgrounds were the mainstay of archaeological research throughout the 20th century, and were core to the success of the rescue projects that responded to post-war development.  The late 20th century brought a new challenge: at the same time as archaeological work became increasingly professionalised, the mass media dramatically widened awareness of and participation in archaeology.  Community heritage projects now proliferate, thanks in large part to the support of the Heritage Lottery Fund, and participation is more diverse than it has ever been.

The speakers reviewed the history of public participation in British archaeology and mapped out the future for our ‘common heritage’ as the discipline faces economic constraints, challenges to social cohesion, and a questioning of established identities.

Some of the papers were published in a special Centenary issue of the Transactions of the Hunter Archaeological Society, volume 26.

In the evening a Centenary Dinner was held in the Cutlers’ Hall attended by the Master Cutler Pam Liversidge, guest speaker David Hey and special guest Professor Sir Paul Mellars.  On display was the newly restored portrait of Joseph Hunter, painted by HW Pickersgill in 1852 for the Cutlers’ Feast at the inauguration of his brother Michael Hunter.

The following day saw a range of excursions and walks on offer.

At the start of the year, Weston Park Museum installed an exhibition about the Society with a display case of items from Sheffield Castle, in the recording of which Hunter members were so important, and a slideshow.

From September to December 2012, an exhibition entitled ‘Heritage Makers’ about the Society’s history was mounted in the gallery of Sheffield University Library at Western Bank.  Speakers at a launch reception included Professor Vanessa Toulmin, Professor John Moreland and Dinah Saich.

The Society worked with seven primary schools across the region in June and July 2012 to communicate the excitement of archaeological discovery to 7  - 11 year olds.  We held a programme of events for each school.  It began with an introduction session to archaeology as historical enquiry, and continued with the digging of ten test pits at each school.  Hunter members and University of Sheffield students supervised pupils who dug the test pits in their school grounds. Pupils handled archaeological objects courtesy of Arteamus in the intro session, then found and handled objects excavated from under their playing fields.

A follow-up session was held, featuring a cartoonist who drew pupils' suggestions about the objects they found. Ideas went into a comic, launched in November at a special event at South Yorkshire Archaeology Day and distributed to participating schools, public libraries and museums.  A full report on the finds from the excavations is available.

Hunter Archaeological Society wins Heritage Lottery Fund support for its Centenary

The Hunter Archaeological Society has received £36,500 in 2012 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for an exciting project in South Yorkshire and North Derbyshire: 'Lives in the Past, Discoverers for the Future'. Led by volunteers from the local community, the project celebrated 100 years of community involvement in historic and archaeological research and conservation.

The project inspired and trained a new generation of ‘heritage explorers’ to continue this long tradition of amateur involvement in archaeology. The project formed part of the centenary celebrations of the Hunter Archaeological Society, a charitable society set up in 1912 to study and report on the archaeology, history and architecture of South Yorkshire and north-east Derbyshire. The Society is named after Joseph Hunter, one of the first people to research and record the region’s history. Joseph was born to a cutler in Sheffield in 1783.

The Society organised a series of events during the centenary year with the assistance of the University of Sheffield, Sheffield Local Studies Library and Museums Sheffield. These included a Centenary Weekend, 11th - 13th May, with a conference on community archaeology titled 'Shared Pasts', a reception at Sheffield Town Hall and dinner at the Cutlers’ Hall. The weekend launched a series of guided walks and excursions throughout the summer -these are available  as self-guided trails, and there will be a special edition of the Society’s Transactions.

Weston Park Museum hosted an exhibition on the work of the Society from February. Members are researching the life stories of past members and these featured in an exhibition in Sheffield University Library in the autumn of 2012 and a specially produced booklet History Makers.

Primary schools in Barnsley, Sheffield and Dronfield took part in a project which includes digging test pits to get hands-on experience of archaeology.