Ernest Westlake was one of the five ‘founding fathers’ of the Hampshire Field Club. His primary interests were geological, but an enquiring mind and the freedom to devote time to his pursuits enabled him to collect specimens on the grand scale and accumulate a wealth of data that spilled over into early human history.

Austin Whitaker was born in Hull, grew up in Cheshire and was educated at Manchester Grammar School and Liverpool College, crossing the Mersey to school every day from his home in Birkenhead.  In 1925 he went up to Magdalen College, Oxford, obtaining a degree good enough to land him a post as a lecturer in…