The Family History Society of Cheshire

My great aunt Constance was a woman of high social status, a wife of a British official, born in 1898 this is her account of her life in Burma and the story of a civilian trek in 1942 involving thousands of people who had to face for the first time in their lives, an arduous hike across some of the world's most treacherous terrain, dealing with monsoon climatic rivers, jungles and steep mountain ranges and dangerous wildlife. We learn how Rangoon was at that time the world's busiest immigration port with millions arriving into this rich, stylish and exciting destination and how Burma was recognised as the most beautiful country in South East Asia. We discocer how living in Rangoon throughout its heyday of the 1930s meant a charmed life, one that was filled with opulence, bon viveur and style. We then learn how life can change overnight and the juxtapose of a situation where there was no possibility of turning back but only in moving forward. This is an hour talk with time for Q & A at the end. Please email Margaret Spate at to express an interest in attending this zoom meeting. Please include Zoom July 12 in the subject line. I will forward joining details a few days before the meeting

This is our second face-to-face meeting of the year. Samantha Roberts is the current Town Clerk of Nantwich Town Council - Have you ever wondered what her role is? Find out more at our meeting In contrast Sheila Mitchell will talk about Frederick Cooke ( distantly linked to her family tree) who was the first Town Clerk of Crewe Town Council (1868-1909) This will show what he had to do one hundred years ago in contrast to the present day. . He was there at the beginning of Crewe becoming known as Crewe and saw many changes. Please come and find out more. Do you have town council officials in your family tree? Brookfield Hall is situated off Shrewbridge Road CW5 7AD Free parking admission: Members - £2 Visitors - £3

Janet is the current President of the Family History Federation and Chair of Devon FHS. Janet is an experienced and qualified family, social and community historian who lectures regularly on these subjects throughout the UK and overseas. She has spoken at many national and international genealogical events and is also a well-known author. Janet makes a welcome return to FHSC with this presentation which examines the symptoms, prognoses, and treatments for a number of well-known and less well-known epidemic diseases from the Black Death to the influenza of 1918. It mentions some of the relevant records and considers how our ancestors might have reacted.   This event is for members only and registration opens on 1 July  and closes on  18 July REMBEMBER you need to be logged into the website using your user name and password to register, Then please click on the title of this Seminar, then click ‘Join’, followed by ‘Save’ – You will receive an email confirmation of your request to attend the talk and the zoom links/meeting protocol will be forwarded 2 days prior to the talk.  If you run into any difficulties with this then please contact us on the dedicated seminar email address – or see the 'Seminar Talks and how to Register' section under 'Online Talks and Meetings' in the FAQ section of the website. The Seminar series is co-ordinated by Margaret Spate, Jean Laidlaw and Margaret Roberts and ALL correspondence, queries etc should be sent to the dedicated email address -   

It all started with a letter from Colditz”. It is the story of Charles Lockett who was born in Cheshire and was a POW in Colditz. It also tells the story of Peter Lockett, his brother, who was a POW for most of the war in Zagan where the Great Escape took place. If you wish to attend please email Margaret Spate adding August 16th. in the subject line. Joining details will be sent out a few days before the meeting

Else Churchill is the Genealogist at the Society of Genealogists (SoG) in London and a member of the Lords Chancellor’s Advisory Council on National Records and Archives. She has over 30 years of experience as a genealogist. Formerly a professional genealogical librarian and researcher, Else has worked for the SoG since 1994. She now leads on external liaison, representation and communications; the Society's education and publishing programmes as well as being the Society's subject specialist. Else will discuss the online digital collections of the Society of Genealogists Library. In addition to providing a library and research facility for family history, the Society holds some unique records and archives. While not a public archive per se the SoG is often an archive of last resort, providing a home for records that might otherwise have been destroyed. Many of the SoG's digital collections are produced as a result of volunteer projects, which have been powering away at home during lockdown. Please email Margaret Spate at using Zoom Sept.13 in the subject line to express an interest in attending this meeting. I will forward joining instructions a few days before the meeting