On October 6th, Roger Oldfield gave us a well-crafted and fascinating presentation entitled “Small Acorns – Mighty Oaks”, in which he identified four people originating from small North Yorkshire hamlets who had bigger impacts on the wider world than their origins suggested..

Richard and Cherry Keaton were brothers, born in Thwaite in the 1860s. From parents of humble means, Richard became a much-published naturalist, and author of reference books about birds, often working with his brother who illustrated them. Cherry innovated in photography, using early telephoto lenses and aerial photography.

Adam Sedgwick, born in Dentdale in 1785, went to Trinity College, Cambridge, becoming a prestigious professor who broadened our understanding of the geological structures in Great Britain.

Reginald Farrer, resided in Clapham, and in 1880 became a distinguished botanist, specialising in Japanese rock gardens, who travelled extensively in Asia on collecting expeditions. He died in Burma in 1926.