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Past Meetings & Events - 2007/8



11 Sep 2007
Mr Ebbett
History Basics & Families

9 Oct 2007
Gregory Holyoake
A Childhood in Post-war Kent

20 Oct 2007
33rd Society AGM
Mrs Audry Gillett
Claims to Fame

13 Nov 2007
Cecil Humphery-Smith
The Roundabout of Family History

11 Dec 2007
Bill Beer
Putting Meat on the Bones

8 Jan 2008
Lt Col Mike Martin
Britain on the Home Front

12 Feb 2008
Lea Oakely
Oxney Court

11 Mar 2008
Meryl Catty and Audrey Gillet  
Willpower

08 Apr 2008
David Wright
Death and Burials

13 May 2008
Martyn Webster
Deal's Piers

10 Jun 2008
Michael Gandy
The East India Company

8 Jul 2008
Jenny Noake
Clues from Costumes

12 Aug 2008
No meeting this month


Kent Family History Society

Deal and District Branch


Tuesday 11th September 2007

Branch member Mr. Ebbett gave us a talk entitled "History Basics and Families"

Tuesday 9th October 2007

For the October meeting we managed to book well-known local author and "Prefab Kid", Gregory Holyoake, to talk to us again about his childhood in post-war Kent.  A popular local speaker, Mr. Holyoake always varies his talk, in which he acts out scenes from his early life.  His memories, and the display of souvenirs from childhood, once again brought back many happy memories of youth to several members, including your webmaster.

Saturday 20th October 2007

Your Chairman, Mr. Alan Makey, the Executive Committee and the Deal & District Branch Committee, welcomed members to the 33rd (2007) AGM of the Kent Family History Society.

Doors opened at 10 am with a welcome tea/coffee and time to catch up with old friends before the morning talk at 11 am.

The speaker for this event was Mrs. Audry Gillett, who gave a talk entitled "Claims to Fame".

A break for lunch around 12 noon - 2 pm gave ample time to sample the food at one of the many local eating places.

The business of the day commenced promptly at 2pm, and concluded with refreshments (tea/coffee) at around 3:30.

Full details will be published in your September Journal.

Tuesday 13th November 2007

November saw the first visit to Deal branch of Cecil R. Humphery-Smith, President of the Institute of Heraldic and Genealogical Studies (Canterbury) and author of many important books on family history.

The title of his talk was "The Roundabout of Family History."

Tuesday 11th December 2007

Your Webmaster was persuaded to give another talk for our Christmas 2007 party.  My talk this time was entitled "Putting the meat on the bones."  We all seek to create a family tree showing our ancestors but this talk is aimed at trying to encourage you to go much further and produce a family history with as much information as you can find.

The story began several years ago when a wallet containing some letters and photos came to light, revealing a hitherto unknown branch of the family in Pennsylvania.  Research in various civil and military records revealed a great deal about the common ancestor, Samuel Purdy, and a visit to the USA provided some valuable clues.

Members enjoyed some festive refreshments after the talk.

Tuesday 8th January 2008

Our first meeting in 2008 saw the return of Lt. Colonel Mike Martin, whose subject this month was "Britain on the Home Front".  Col. Martin has previously entertained us with talks on Nelson's Navy (13th September 2005) and The Victoria Cross (12th September 2006) and this month's offering was not disappointing!  Colonel Mike livened up what was an extremely informative talk with his usual sprinkling of humorous stories and jokes.

Tuesday 12th February 2008

This month's speaker was Lea Oakely, who regaled us with the history of Oxney Court, near Ringwould, and the people who have made their home there over the centuries.  The house was destroyed by fire many years ago, but the current owners have restored it to its former glory.  However, the chapel is still in ruins, as it has been for a century or more.

A very interesting talk, illustrated with pictures of the house before it was burnt down and before it was restored - casual visitors with cameras are no longer welcomed!

Tuesday 11th March 2008

We had two for the price of one again in March when Meryl Catty and Audrey Gillett gave us their well-known double act in a talk entitled "Willpower".

As usual, this was a very well researched, interesting and amusing talk, with fascinating examples from various wills of the past, which all served to remind the audience of the huge importance of wills as a source of information for family historians.

Look out for the ladies again in September when they will be regaling us with a talk entitled "An Enumerator's Tale".

Tuesday 8th April 2008

Our speaker this month was new to the Branch: Mr. David Wright gave us a talk entitled "Death and Burials".

Tuesday 13th May 2008

Another new speaker for May - coinciding with the celebrations for the 50th anniversary of the opening of the new pier by HRH the Duke of Edinburgh in 1957, Mr. Martyn Webster will talk to us about Deal's piers.

Tuesday 10th June 2008

The Branch A.G.M. will be held at 7pm to enable the talk to start at the normal time.

Our speaker for June will be Michael Gandy, who will making another welcome return to Deal to talk about the East India Company. Some of you will remember Michael's previous talks to the Branch on the problems of London ancestry (13th March 2001) and Irish Ancestry (14 November 2006).

Tuesday 8th July 2008

Our speaker for July was to have been Committee member Jenny Noake, but circumstances prevented her from being with us, so Bob and Kathleen Hollingsbee kindly stepped into the breach at short notice and brought along some old copies of local newspapers for members to peruse.

Our thanks to Bob and Kathleen.  Hopefully, Jenny will be able to give her talk at some future date.

 

 

 

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