Uckfield

Our member Geoff Bridger, who is a nationally known WW1 historian and author, will look at Military History.   He will look at basics for beginners and share where the most useful and easily located military records can be found.   Although primarily covering the First World War, he will also touch on other conflicts.

Refreshments will be available on arrival.

Members will look at the basic tools of family history research, namely birth, death and marriage records and censuses.   There will be a number of short presentations.

Refreshments available on arrival.

Mary studied poor relief for ten years, first for her MA and then her PhD which she obtained in 2022.   Her study focussed on eastern Sussex, including Uckfield, and in particular the intra-regional variations in levels of poverty in agricultural communities in parishes within the Weald, in Lewes and on the Downs.   Her talk considers the impact of the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act on the poor and on the relief officials.   One commentator described the legislations as, 'a measure of extreme harshness and cruelty'.

Most of us will have agricultural labourers in our family trees during the period of Mary's study so it should be a most informative evening.

Members are invited to share their family story which could be about a special person  or how they managed their research etc. surprises or' skeletons in the cupboard'.

Bring your problem brick walls - we may be able to solve them!

Louise spoke to us in 2022 and is making a welcome return and will be sharing the stories of more famous local women.   Louise has worked as a guide and Museum Teacher at the Royal Pavilion and Museums for 22 years and led walking tours based on the city's women's history for 10 years.

Louise's talk will  include an explorer, a cookery icon, the country's first female fire-fighter, an allotment pioneer and an early policewoman.

Tea and Biscuits will be available from 7pm

Christopher is making a welcome return.   After 44 years (43 of them at East Sussex) as an archivist, and having read Jurisprudence at Oxford, he now works as a freelance researcher, translator and editor.   Among his current projects is a calendar of medieval deeds in the archive of the Duke of Norfolk at Arundel Castle.

Christopher's talk will cover all aspects of how people in the past dealt with estates of the dead, whether or not they had left a will.   It will cover the languages and formats of probate records, describe the jurisdiction and work of probate courts both before and after the state takeover in 1858.   In particular we will look at the sentences at the ends of wills and at grants of administration, which before 1733 are written in Latin.

A fun evening.   Refreshments.

John Kay, a well known local historian, will talk about the life and times of Captain William Green, a military engineer of obscure origins who spent most of his adult life in Sussex in the 18th Century.

It is an understatement to say he had an interesting and varied life.  John will share his research methods and sources.

Members will share their experiences of solving problems and their research methods to overcome them.