At the Nursteed Centre, Devizes
Please scroll down for information about the Nursteed Centre, and also note that the Society's Resource Centre (ie for its office, libary, research etc) is on the Bath Road, at the other side of Devizes from the Nursteed Centre.
The Devizes Branch's regular meetings are on the third Tuesday of each month (except December) at 7.30pm. Some meetings may be on Zoom. See below for contact details, details of topics, venues and any changes. Everyone is welcome, and there is no charge. Tea/coffee available and time to chat or ask questions. Please keep an eye on this page for any changes.
Future meetings
Tuesday 15 April - "Heroes and Ghosts" - Mike Hallett. Wing Commander Harold Blackburn MC AFC was Mike's grandfather, a pioneer aviator before World War I and a war hero. After the War, scandal struck the family and plunged it into shame for three generations. Along the way, his story was lost, his memorabilia buried in a drawer for decades
Tuesday 20 May - "Beyond the 1939 Register". Richard Holt will look at the history behind the registers and additional records of National Registration, the information that they contain, and how they might help you with locating family members between 1939-1991
Tuesday 17 June - "History of the World as seen through my Family Library" - JJ Heath-Caldwell
Tuesday 15 July- " "Was your Ancestor a Gypsy" - Beverley Walker
Tuesday 19 August - Our Branch visit to the REME Museum, Lyneham (our visit last year was cancelled
Tuesday 16 September - "Maple Leaf Villa" The story of the name given to the first Wiltshire library headquarters by the Canadian Army in 1914
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Recent meeting - March. After a very brief AGM, our Members' Evening was an enjoyable opportunity to hear some details on members' own trees, to learn how they'd researched them, and to get to 'know' some of the interesting individuals that had emerged - often unexpectedly.
Recent meeting - February - Breaking down brick walls in your family history research" – Mark Bayley. After being involved in the development of FindMyPast and TheGenealogist and associated sites for years, Mark was impressively adept with many ways of searching. He started by showing us how investigating the (probably) familiar Censuses could be varied to produce less obvious information. Then he moved on to less familiar (at least less familiar to me) resources where Smart Search, imaginative use of keywords, and the direct linking of maps to results could remove that one brick to bring that obstinate wall tumbling down. The underlying lesson was to keep going back and exploring afresh
Recent meeting - January - "More than just names on a page" - Debbie Bradley's talk was a whistle-stop tour of resources that might help to bring our ancestors to life. She mentioned a great many, some perhaps familiar, such as newspapers an estate records, and others more obscure, such as the archives of the London Underground, Marks & Spencer and major banks. There were many more. With ancestors from Chirton, Devizes and Swindon, Debbie added extra colour to what we might know about the history of our local area as well as giving plenty of ideas for future research.
Recent meeting - December - our annual Christmas Party included the well-established quiz provided by Barbara Fuller and another from Bob Knightley, along with other entertainments and seasonal drinks and snacks. It was an excellent way to round off our Branch's year.
Recent meeting - November - "Shipwrecks and Survivors" - Graham Warmington. In 1782 John Warmington was shipwrecked on the coast of South Africa. Graham told a detailed story of the amazing escape from the wreck, the personalities involved and the hardships endured. John Warmington was one of eighteen who survived a trek along the coast and across tremendously difficult terrain. He was one of only four who returned to England.
Recent meeting - October - "Extraordinary Wiltshire Women" - Ruth Butler of the Wiltshire & Swindon History Centre introduced us to some Wiltshire women who shaped the nation's history. She included the manouvering of powerful medieval heiress Ela of Salisbury, pioneering woman writer Mary Herbert, Blanche Arundel - defender of Wardour, Arundel Penruddock - Civil War campaigner, Ethelred Anna Maria Bennett - leading but poorly recognised Geologist, and other equally worthy women before reaching 20th century queen of speed The Hon Mary Bruce.
Recent Meeting - September - "Reading old handwriting" with Jenny Pope. As coordinator of WFHS's team that transcribes old documents, Jenny was very well-placed to explain the the wide range of old writing that we may encounter. She showed us examples of differing shapes being used to depict the same letters - in some cases many different shapes for a single modern letter. They were not wrong, just different. She armed us with print outs of the examples and set us to transcribing from some old documents. It was fascinating as meanings suddenly became clear. As a follow-up she recommended TNA's online Paleography course - ie the study of old handwriting.
The Nursteed Centre - our usual meeting place for the Devizes Branch of WFHS
Meetings: Nursteed Centre, Nursteed Road, Devizes SN10 3AH, (Click for map) third Tuesday of each month, 7.30pm
Access: 800 yards along A342 towards Andover: signed on the right by the pedestrian crossing.
Contact: Branch Chairman David Weaver on 01380 723191 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
