We learned this week of the death of Terry Carney who was a former curator of the Thurrock Local History Museum – the museum curator had not yet metamorphosed in to a Heritage Officer. He spoke to the society on many occasions including a talk marking the publication of Thurrock in the Thirties, an accompanying volume to his earlier Thurrock in the Twenties.
In those days, the museum organised local history walks during the summer. I signed up for the Belhus walk. When I arrived, Terry told me I was the only person to do so. We waited a short while to see whether anyone else turned up, but when they didn’t, Terry and I set off on our own. We had a fascinating couple of hours as he talked about the mansion and visited the ice house. Then he took me in to the woods to see the site of a former pottery.
When he retired, I was privileged to be invited to his farewell dinner – at Mumford’s, the fish and chip shop. I bumped in to him from time to time thereafter. Once at the train station, but more often (though not frequently) at funerals for departed Thurrock local historians. The diminishing band of current local historians will say their last respects to him in March.
Category Archives: People
Wallace vs Darwin
Alfred Russel Wallace and Charles Darwin, the co-discoverers of evolution by natural selection, had a high mutual respect. But in 1876 they found themselves on opposite sides of an argument about spiritualism. One of Thomas Henry Huxley’s zoology students had brought a legal case for fraud against a renowned spirit-medium, Henry Slade. Wallace’s belief in spiritualism put him on the opposite side to Darwin. Richard Milner will be talking to society members about this forgotten episode in the history of science, and offers entertaining insights into the personalities and beliefs of the co-founders of evolutionary biology. This will be on 29th July at 2.30 in the Thameside Theatre.
The event is free and all are welcome.
Richard Milner is an Associate in Anthropology at the American Museum of Natural History, and currently co-editor of Special Alfred Russel Wallace Issues of Natural History and Skeptic magazines.