PHILIP POWELL first discovered the excitement of geology and fossils as a teenager growing up in east Cheshire, where the local hills and nearby Derbyshire Peak District provided ample opportunity to pursue his hobby. Geology has remained his principal interest ever since.
After taking a degree in geology at Oriel College, Oxford, he worked for a year in a museum in Lincolnshire before returning to the University Museum of Natural History at Oxford in 1961. There he spent the next forty years as Assistant Curator of the Geological Collections and developed a special interest in Jurassic reptiles.
Although his work over the years took him on geological excursions to places as varied as Brazil, Canada, the United States and Zambia it was the construction of the M40 road extension through Oxfordshire in 1990 that provided some of his most enjoyable work in the field.
He has recently retired from the Museum, and now hopes to have more time to explore Oxfordshire’s geology.