I discovered thousands of fossils after retiring. Now I’m nearly 80 and still going strong

I've built up a collection from a beach in Weymouth that could help to establish what biodiversity in the UK was like over the course of millions of years

• All photos by Alexander Turner

My interest in fossils began at the age of 10 in my back garden in Glastonbury, Somerset, where I discovered ammonites. With hindsight, it wasn't beauty that drew me to them, but the magic of discovery. I was drawn in by their sheer age, and the unfathomable nature of the distant past.

After my degree in natural sciences in 1965 I wanted to go as far away as I could, so I applied to teach biology in Ghana. It was a fantastic period of my life where I discovered a lot more than rocks in the back garden. After eight years I came back to the UK, and spent much of the next decades raising four children. At times it was a hard life and I put all my dreams of research on hold.