Westbury Branch meetings
This will be on Thursday 23rd September at 7.15pm (for a 7.30pm start). Our focus for the evening will be a catch-up! We really want to know how you have been getting on with your personal family history research over the past eighteen months. If this has ground to a stand-still, don't worry - because as an alternative we would like to hear about one of your grandfathers - maybe their war experience, or some accomplishment that they achieved in their lifetime.
However, we are afraid that we will have to follow some strict rules in order for the meeting to take place:
1] That if you have any covid symptoms, we request that you do not attend. Sorry!
2] That we would appreciate that you wear face coverings when you enter the building and when you move around within it. However, we are happy for you to remove these while you are seated.
3] That as we have to ensure a flow of air throughout the foyer area, we will endeavour to leave as many doors and windows as can be comfortably left open, to be left open.
4] Unfortunately we cannot use the kitchen, so we are suggesting that everyone brings their own drink with them, such as bottled water or other cold drink, or an insulated mug or thermos containing a hot drink.
5] When you arrive, we will ask you to write your telephone number in the register, as well as your name, and (if relevant) your Society membership number
6] We will also only use one table and try to create some form of social-distancing where the chairs are concerned.
Although we are excited about meeting together after such a long gap, unfortunately we will not be able to take part in the Westbury Festival. We had hoped to stage an event in the new Heritage Centre (part of Westbury Library), but Lynne Vercoe (our chairman) and Sally Hendry (Heritage Centre chairman) in consultation felt that this would not be possible for this year.
We are still hoping to focus our October meeting on "Getting started with Family Research" and we would therefore like to give everyone the opportunity to share how they started their research and what motivated them to start the hobby in the first place. It is hoped that we will have a speaker for our November meeting.
Please keep the evening of Thursday 16th December free as we hope to have a meal together. Details later.
Hoping to see you on the 23rd IN PERSON,
Rev Graham Warmington
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Recent meetings
On Thursday 24th June at 7:30 Helen Bagott, a freelance editor and writer shared her love of social history. Using genealogy resources she has researched hundreds of postcards sent during the early years of the 20th century. She has published her first collection of some of the true stories in "Posted in the Past". Drawing on the research from her collection of more than 300 postcards, she shared some of the stories in an illustrated talk.
On Thursday 27th May at 7:30, Mr David R Cuffley, from Kent talked about "Brickmaking". The talk was originally presented to try to give family historians an idea of the work their brickmaker ancestors were doing and their working conditions. It’s has been extended to give local historians an idea of the work on the brick-field with some sources for further information. It covered the period from 1700s to WW1 with an emphasis on the 19th century, and how the workforce acts as teams, their wages and social conditions.
Meetings: Methodist Church, Station Road, Westbury BA13 3HA, (Click for map) fourth Thursday each month 7.15pm
Contact - Mrs Lynne Vercoe 01373 823590
