It was a quiet spring morning in 1980 when an ordinary day at a Sand Quarry near Farnham turned into history.

On Friday, May 18, The Herald reported what would become a remarkable archaeological discovery: Colin Jones’ “mammoth” find.

Mr Jones was operating his bulldozer at the Hall Aggregates site, digging through layers of gravel and topsoil, when his blade hit a strange layer of black clay.

He had no idea what lay beneath. That is, until he saw his manager, Raymond White from Talbot Road, Farnham, practically bouncing with excitement, waving frantically for him to stop.

With a mix of awe and care, the two men took spades and began uncovering the tusk. It was enormous.

Once fully revealed, it took four men to carry it. They wrapped it in wet cloths and tarpaulins, shielding it from decay while awaiting the experts.

“We were uncovering sand, and this was about 15-feet down in black clay. It is pitch black, and it just seems to preserve everything in it,” said Mr. White, reflecting on the moment decades later.

Experts confirmed what locals could scarcely imagine: woolly mammoths had roamed the fields of the Farnham and Alton area around 20,000 years ago.

“The bulldozer cleared the earth off the top, and a part was sticking up. We must have taken a bit off it, so it could have been even longer,” Mr. White recalled.

“We’re always finding fossils here, and we’ve found about three of these, but they were broken up when the machines went over them and we had no chance of saving them.

“We’ve found lots of fossils, cockles, and shell here, so there’s ample evidence of the sea covering the land.”

The tusk, damp and earthy, was carefully transported to Thorpe Park Leisure Centre, Egham, owned by Hall Aggregates, where it was preserved and displayed.