HGS Family History Groups
*** Although some HGS groups have resumed in-person meetings, some are continuing to run meetings via Zoom, and others running a mixture of in-person / Zoom meetings, so please do check to see the type of meeting.
For those meetings that are held via Zoom, please contact the appropriate Group Organiser no later than 24 hours prior to the talk to be added to the invitation list. Remember to include your membership number or indicate if you are a guest.
If you plan on travelling to an in-person meeting where you are not already on the Group Organiser’s contact list, we suggest that you contact the Group Organiser to let them know: this way, if the meeting is cancelled (e.g. due to speaker unavailability) they will be able to let you know, saving you an unnecessary trip.
**Please note that not all venues are yet open / have issued their guidelines, so do check back regularly for updates.**
We meet regularly to discuss the opportunity to share, learn, exchange ideas and information, as well as to help us each further explore our family history projects. Why not come along and see for yourself?
- You can attend the meetings of any of our 13 Hampshire-based groups. All of these groups meet in the evening with the exception of the Fareham Afternoon Group.
- The International Group meetings are held every two months via Zoom: these meetings are on alternate months to the National Group meetings.
- The National Group meetings are held every two months via Zoom: these meeting are on alternate months to the International Group meetings.
- Visit a Group’s page (via the menu on the right) to see their programme of talks, news and articles. Contact a Group Organiser using the form at the bottom of their Group page.
- Come and meet like-minded people. HGS Group Meetings are free to members and prospective members.
- They are a good way to gain some new insights on how to further explore your family history.
- Whether you are a beginner or an expert, with a family from within or outside of Hampshire, you will always be welcome and find someone who has something new and interesting to share.
- January 19, 2022 - Ringwood Group: My family and other Smugglers - Roger Gutteridge - via Zoom
- January 20, 2022 - Winchester Group: My Grandma's Birthday Book - Fiona Ranger - via Zoom
- January 26, 2022 - Basingstoke Group: Members’ Evening: Why My Ancestors Moved - Settlement, vagrancy, relocation, Gypsies, etc.
- January 27, 2022 - Fareham Evening Group: Ratcatchers - David Cuffley - via Zoom
- February 2, 2022 - International Group: Members' Session
Do you want to know what records are available for a particular subject? Do you have a question about a certain area in Hampshire? Do you have a ‘brickwall’ that you want to breakdown? Send your questions to us by 14th January 2022 and hopefully with the help of members of the Exec and the Research Centre we will try to help. We look forward to hearing from you.
We will be joined on the day by other members of the Exec. - February 5, 2022 - International Group: Members' Session
Do you want to know what records are available for a particular subject? Do you have a question about a certain area in Hampshire? Do you have a ‘brickwall’ that you want to breakdown? Send your questions to us by 14th January 2022 and hopefully with the help of members of the Exec and the Research Centre we will try to help. We look forward to hearing from you.
We will be joined on the day by other members of the Exec. - February 7, 2022 - Romsey Group: Our Embarrassing Ancestors – Janet Few - via Zoom
- February 8, 2022 - Fair Oak Group: Demystifying DNA - Neil Littleales - via Zoom
- February 10, 2022 - Andover Group: Members' Evening: Focusing on the 1921 Census - via Zoom
Sharing our experience and discoveries so far, and useful tips.
- February 14, 2022 - Portsmouth Group: Overcoming ‘brick-walls’ in family history research - Chris Broom- via Zoom
Creative ideas for surmounting those often frustrating barriers encountered during family history research.
- February 16, 2022 - Ringwood Group: Four Merchant Seamen from Southampton - Mike Hobbs - via Zoom
- February 17, 2022 - Winchester Group: Behind the Scenes of "Who Do You Think You Are" - Nick Barratt - via Zoom
- February 23, 2022 - Basingstoke Group: Members’ Evening: Original documents - transcribing workshop
- February 24, 2022 - Fareham Evening Group: A Plague upon all your Houses - Janet Few - via Zoom
- March 2, 2022 - National Group: Heraldry - Ann Ballard
Ann will describe and illustrate the value of heraldry in more general research and introduce some of the basic terminology. Her talk will show how heraldry can unlock some vital clues in research, help identify local families, and how heraldic sources are valuable in wider family history research.
- March 7, 2022 - Romsey Group: Searching for Dora – Les Mitchinson
- March 8, 2022 - Fair Oak Group: Members’ Evening & HGS Bookstall
- March 10, 2022 - Andover Group: Victorian Crime, Police and Criminals - Antony Marr - via Zoom
- March 14, 2022 - Portsmouth Group: Pubs, Inns & Taverns & their Signs - Tony Cross
Pub signs are functional art. They are a story in themselves and this talk explores the origins of these hostelries and explains the background to some of the common and popular names on painted sign boards.
- March 16, 2022 - Ringwood Group: Female Inebriates in Victorian England - Jane Fox - via Zoom
- March 17, 2022 - Winchester Group: Portsmouth - Harlots, Dung & Glory 1100-1790 - Andrew Negus
- March 23, 2022 - Basingstoke Group: Agricultural Labourers - Persis Wiltshire
- March 24, 2022 - Fareham Evening Group: The History and Mystery of Maps - Tony Painter - In Person
- April 2, 2022 - International Group: An armed incident at Barton on Sea - Nick Saunders
This talk reveals what happened on the beach at Naish, Barton on Sea in 1825 when smugglers and Revenue men came into conflict. It gives an overview of smuggling on the Hampshire coast at that time. It looks at some of the men involved in the incident and what happened to them. It ends in Winchester Assizes where the details of the incident were reported in the newspapers of the time.
- April 4, 2022 - Romsey Group: Members’ Evening – Funny Stories
- April 11, 2022 - Portsmouth Group: Members Evening – following on from Chris Broom’s talk in February what ‘brickwalls’ have you managed to breakdown or circumnavigate?
- April 12, 2022 - Fair Oak Group: Southampton City Buses in the Post-War Period - David Hutchings
- April 14, 2022 - Andover Group: Members’ Evening - TBA
- April 20, 2022 - Ringwood Group: Henry Smith, a most notorious, naughty, false, lying fellow, a global black sheep or a maligned character? - Sue Paul - via Zoom
- April 21, 2022 - Winchester Group: Pubs & Publicans - Kay Lovell
- April 27, 2022 - Basingstoke Group: Members’ Evening: My Ancestors were Shopkeepers
- May 3, 2022 - Romsey Group: The Civil War in Hampshire – Alan Turton
- May 4, 2022 - National Group: Frosts, Freezes and Fairs - Ian Currie
Weatherman, author and columnist, Ian Currie will take you through Britain’s severest winters over the last 1,000 years, and say how we coped and even benefited from them. How did 17th century watermen make a living when the rivers froze over? What activities took place on the ice-covered rivers at Frost Fairs. And why has the river Thames in the heart of London not frozen since the last occurrence over 200 years ago in the famous 1814 Frost Fair?
- May 9, 2022 - Portsmouth Group: Railway worker accidents in the Portsmouth area before 1939 - Mike Esbester
Mike will introduce railway staff accidents and the dangers of railway work before the Second World War. He will discuss the 'Railway Work, Life & Death' project, which is documenting employee accidents in Britain and Ireland for this period, and the various resources it offers for family historians. Taking a Portsmouth slant on the national industry, Mike will put the city and area in its wider context and the social history of railway work. Finally, Mike will discuss the 'Historians Collaborate' agenda, and how different types of historian can work together better.
- May 10, 2022 - Fair Oak Group: The Lady in the Yellow Caravan - Jane Glennie
HGS Group Locations
Click on a pin for the address and directions.
HGS Family History Group and Society Events for the next 3 months
To attend a Zoom talk offered by any of the groups, please contact the appropriate group organiser no later than 24 hours prior to the talk. Please include your membership number or indicate if you are a guest.