The Cambridge mycology and plant pathology club

Volume 15, Part 2, May 2001

The Cambridge Mycology and Plant Pathology Club

Henry Tribe, President 1999/2000

The Club was founded in 1950 on theinitiatives of Noel Robertson of the BotanySchool and W. A. R. Dillon Weston of theMinistry of Agriculture with the purpose ofpromoting friendly interchange of ideas amongthe staffs of Departments concerned withMycology and Plant Pathology. Dillon Weston wasfirst based at the University School of Agriculturein the centre of Cambridge and had been movedout to Anstey Hall in Trumpington, two milesaway. The National Institute for AgriculturalBotany, the Ministry Laboratories, the PlantBreeding Institute and Fison's Pest Control weremajor peripheral sources of mycological science;the Botany School, the School of Agriculture andthe Low Temperature Research Station majorcentral sources. Visitors began coming fromRothamsted Experimental Station, the PlantPathology Laboratory (Harpenden), HatfieldPolytechnic, Brooms Barn and other places ofcomparable distance from Cambridge.

Almost from the beginning three meetings perterm were held in the small lecture room in theBotany School, at 4.30 on Fridays, thus roundingoff the week. A summer visit to a research stationgenerally took place. The Club flourished for overforty years but then went into decline and ceasedto exist for a short period. It was resuscitatedwhen Dr Peter Gladders, returning in 1994 from amove to Shardlow, found there was no Club, andgalvanized former colleagues into reforming it. Hetook on to himself both the secretaryship and therecordership - for traditionally members signedthe minute book at every meeting and everylecture was recorded there in longhand. TheMinute Books are therefore historical treasures,records ranging from lectures of the very famousto the nervous student's first talk.

Since 1994 the Club has continued itsfounders' intentions. Meetings are now usuallyheld twice per term, still at the same time in thesame lecture room. Attendances hold up: overthe last four years they have averaged seventeenper meeting. Forty-five came to the Half-Century,although fewer stayed for the Photograph.

The Club looks forward to a bright future inthe 21st Century.

Henry Tribe, Cambridge. Introduction andOrigins of the Club

Prof Chris Gilligan, University Dept of PlantSciences. Epidemiology at Cambridge

Valerie Silvey, National Institute of AgriculturalBotany. NIAB promotion of healthy crops: anoverview 1950-2000

Avice Hall, University of Hertfordshire. Out of thefireblight and into the frost pocket

TEA

Prof John Mansfield, President, BSPP. Address ofwelcome

David Yarham, ADAS. Advisory experiencessince the 1960's

Anna Snowdon, Cambridge. Of shoes, and ships,and sealing wax

John Gibbs, Forest Research Institute, Alice HoltLodge, Farnham, Surrey. The Botany Schooland the biology of tree pathogens

TOASTS

The Cambridge Mycology and Plant PathologyClub celebrated its Half-Century on 30 June/1 July 2000. There was a Friday afternoonprogramme of short talks in the Large LectureTheatre of the Cambridge UniversityDepartment of Plant Sciences, better known tothe older members as the Botany School. A goodTea was enjoyed, the Health of the Club, of theBritish Society of Plant Pathology and of theBritish Mycological Society was toasted inchampagne, and a Club Photograph (see backcover) was taken on the steps of Plant Sciences.A Dinner followed in the West Room at DowningCollege. On the Saturday morning there was avisit to Monsanto Ltd. to learn of the presentposition in wheat breeding against fungusdiseases.

The event was sponsored by the BritishSociety of Plant Pathology (BSPP), whosePresident came to wish us well. The BritishMycological Society sponsored the champagnefor the toasts. The Programme was arranged togive as wide a series of presentations aspracticable in one afternoon from personsassociated with the Club; and consisted of:

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