History of the BSG

The BSG can trace its beginnings back to a meeting in Sheffield in 1958 where British geomorphologists gathered together to organise a Landform Survey of Britain. By 1959 this group appears to have been referring to itself as the British Universities Geomorphological Research Group. This short-lived group agreed, at its second annual meeting, to disband itself and voted unanimously (all 19* of them) to constitute the British Geomorphological Research Group (BGRG). The first BGRG AGM was held on 1st October 1960.

In 1985 the BGRG celebrated its first twenty five years by hosting the first International Geomorphology Conference in Manchester which led to the formation of the International Association of Geomorphology.

In 2000, 40 years of the BGRG were celebrated by returning to Sheffield where it all seems to have started. Of those 19* geomorphologists who, by their action, can be regarded as the founders of the BGRG, which now has an international membership of around 700, nine attended this 40th Anniversary Meeting. One of them, Professor Tony Orme, presented the Frost Lecture.

Here are some photographs taken at the Sheffield Celebrations

In 2006 the BGRG changed its name to British Society for Geomorphology (BSG)

Recent chairs of the group include:

(*) The 19 at this meeting were: Linton, Miller, Peel, Wooldridge, Bridges, Davis, Groom, King, Mercer, Orme, Rice, Savigear, Searle, D.I. Smith, R.A. Smith, Straw, Warwick, Brown, Balchin.