Meetings
A Meeting about Meetings
To our Members,
There has been a clamour for online meetings to continue from members outside Buckinghamshire and those who cannot travel to one of our meeting venues.
Therefore you are invited to a meeting to discuss the subject and the practicalities involved. Some of these are given below.
Bucks FHS Executive Committee Meeting Dates 2024
Executive Committee Dates
All the Executive Committee meetings are being held via Zoom.
The set dates and time for these meetings have been updated.
Probably the longest emigration voyage in history I have seen this story and it is fascinating not least because it shows how it is possible to use a variety of sources to tell a story about a family member. Not to be missed!” I am sure we are in for another interesting evening. (There may well be Mince Pies!)
All are welcome to attend the meeting at The Methodist Church Hall, Queensway, Bletchley at 7.30. Wednesday 4th December 2024
Read more: Bletchley - John Flewin - An Emigration Story : 4th December 2024
Most of us will have agricultural labourers in our ancestry. This talk discusses their lives and the wealth of records which enable us to piece those lives together. The fact that they existed means that documentary evidence exists. A welcome return of Ian Waller to Bletchley for this talk.
All are welcome to attend the meeting at The Methodist Church Hall, Queensway, Bletchley at 7.30. Wednesday 2nd October 2024
Read more: Bletchley - Ian Waller - Agricultural Labourers : 2nd October 2024
A year ago,(was it that long?) a young lady gave us an interesting talk on the Women’s Land Army. Those present may remember the costume dummy and the large display of photographs and documents. Helen returns next Wednesday. She says: ‘My illustrated talk brings to life the fascinating story of the ‘Tank Banks’ that travelled the country during the Great War. Tanks, banks and souvenirs, marvel at Ole Bill, Nelson Drake, Egbert and Iron Ration!’ All are welcome to attend the meeting at The Methodist Church Hall, Queensway, Bletchley at 7.30. Wednesday 5th June 2024
Read more: Bletchley - Helen Frost - When The Land Ships Came to Town: 4th Sep 2024
Focusing on chair making from the 18thC onwards, this talk will take you from beech woods to ‘bodgers’, from chair turners to chair manufacturers. Chair making became a industry in the Chiltern Hills due to nearby beech woods and transport to both London and Oxford. Initially a woodland craft, chair making became popular in High Wycombe in the early 19thC. All are welcome to attend the meeting at The Methodist Church Hall, Queensway, Bletchley at 7.30. Wednesday 5th June 2024
Read more: Bletchley - From beech woods to bodgers, by Richard Holt: 7th Aug 2024
Pre 1600, research is an entirely different ‘ball game’ with many records existing that can be useful although the familiar ones had not even commenced. Many of the early records are underused and many family historians consider their research can go no further when parish registers stop. This talk helps family historians see what is available. All are welcome to attend the meeting at The Methodist Church Hall, Queensway, Bletchley at 7.30. Wednesday 5th June 2024
Read more: Bletchley - Research before Parish Registers talk by Ian Waller: 3rd Jul 2024
Members are encouraged to participate in giving a short talk about their family research. Rex Watson will discuss the research to discover his foster son's family. A story involving Germany, art and 20th Century newspaper research. All are welcome to attend the meeting at The Methodist Church Hall, Queensway, Bletchley at 7.30. Wednesday 5th June 2024
Read more: Bletchley - Member's Evening with special talk by Rex Watson: 5th Jun 2024
The Victorians had a preoccupation with death which is hard for us to understand. Many churchyards being full, the opening of new cemeteries changed Victorian attitudes to death and mourning and gave rise to an incredible growth in the funeral industry. Kevin Varty sets out to explain this in his talk. All are welcome to attend the meeting at The Methodist Church Hall, Queensway, Bletchley at 7.30. Wednesday 3th April 2024
Read more: Bletchley - The Victorian Way of Death - Kevin Varty: 1st May 2024
Steve Bacon has been researching the life of a WW2 Merchant Navy officer: Eve Bacon’s father. He was a merchant seaman during the 2nd World War and he had one or two close calls. Hear how he survived and how the German U-Boats tried to stop supplies reaching the Allies. All are welcome to attend the meeting at The Methodist Church Hall, Queensway, Bletchley at 7.30. Wednesday 3th April 2024
Read more: Bletchley - A Very Lucky Sailor - Steve Bacon 3 Apr 2024
Back in October, we had an interesting talk by Mike Chapman on the history and scope of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Mike returns in March to tell us more about the Commission's archives and how we might use them in our researches. All are welcome to attend the meeting at The Methodist Church Hall, Queensway, Bletchley at 7.30. Wednesday 6th March 2024
Read more: Bletchley - The Commonwealth War Graves Commission Archives- 6th March 2024
Proximity to London conferred upon Buckinghamshire a demand for travel to places beyond. Inns sprang up to meet the needs of travellers and the teams and coaches carrying them. Along Watling Street, especially around Stony Stratford, and at Buckingham, inns served the routes to Birmingham and the north. All are welcome to attend the meeting at The Methodist Church Hall, Queensway, Bletchley at 7.30. Wednesday 7th February 2024
Read more: Bletchley - Bucks Coaching Inns - Julian Hunt - 7th February 2024