Berkshire Family History Society

The role We have built an automated system that posts our events and articles to five social platforms professionally, on time, with minimal staff input. What we haven’t got is anyone to listen and reply to the conversations that follow . That’s where you come in, in this part-time role. About us Berkshire Family History Society helps people who are researching their family history. We are entirely volunteer-run and have been operating for over 50 years. What we’ve built Over the last few months we have developed a solution that handles the generation of social media content, with the aim of promoting the society’s services to the widest possible audience. Currently we work in broadcast mode. No-one is dedicated to monitoring responses. What we’d like you to do Monitor our five platforms for comments, questions, mentions and direct messages Reply in our voice – friendly, accurate, family-history-appropriate Flag genuine research queries to our ...

Berkshire Family History Society is in need of a Journal Layout Designer to lay out forthcoming issues of the Berkshire Family Historian , our quarterly journal, which is distributed to all members in print or digital format. The current editor will be stepping down in June 2026 after 10 years in the role, and it’s time for new blood and ideas. The editor receives regular and feature articles from a variety of sources. These are edited and proofread before being sent as ‘final versions’ to the designer who arranges them within the pages of the 44 page A5 journal to become the quality magazine expected by our membership. A knowledge of Adobe InDesign would be an advantage. There is a template in place for the journal, so it is a case of making everything fit and look good. The commitment is approx. 8 hours per quarter. You do not necessarily need to be a member of Berkshire Family History Society, or live in Berkshire, as all production matters can be managed via email and Google Wor...

When: Saturday 11 July 2026, 11:00 - 13:00 Where: Family Research Centre Bletchley Park was a typical British country house and estate in Buckinghamshire which few had heard of until the early 1990s. Yet, it was a key part in the allied victory over the Axis Powers during World War 2. Only recently has the true story of the work of the people there been able to be told.   The site was a key part of allied code breaking, but also so much more. The birth of computing which transformed the world during the postwar period started at Bletchley. As did the British electronics industry. Plus, major sea changes in global telecommunications which we are so reliant on in the twenty-first century.   In this course, historian Dr. Richard Marks will take you on a journey through the history of the ‘Government Code & Cypher School’. You will discover what was done there, and the people who did it. The course will also look at how Bletchley fitted into British intelligence and wo...

When: Tuesday 23 June 2026, 14:00 - 16:00 Where: Shottesbrooke St John the Baptist Church The 14th century church of St John the Baptist is situated within the Shottesbrooke Park estate. It has been described as one of the most idyllic in the county. This guided tour with Jacqueline Hazell will include a brief introduction to the Shottesbrooke estate, and the church in particular, and a tour of the church. If the weather is good there may be a chance to look at memorials in the churchyard, and the gardens of the ‘big house’. There will also be refreshments available. The meeting place will be notified a few days before the visit. Please arrive 10 mins early for signing in and safety briefing etc. Numbers are limited, so pre-booking is required. Bookings close three days beforehand.  Image © Andy Burton Oz , and used with permission To book, scroll down.  Full event details and booking

When: Thursday 18 June 2026, 14:30 - 15:45 Where: Abbey Baptist Church Many people still claim that Reading was never an industrial town. This talk overturns that myth. At the heart of the town’s history stands Reading Iron Works—once one of Britain’s major manufacturing powerhouses and a driving force behind some of the engineering marvels of the nineteenth century. From making machinery to supplying essential components for Brunel’s visionary Great Western Railway, Reading Iron Works helped shape the modern world from the banks of the Kennet and Avon Canal. Its story is one of ambition, innovation, and national significance. Join us as we bring this remarkable enterprise back into the spotlight, exploring its origins, its achievements, and its enduring legacy in Reading’s landscape and Britain’s industrial history. This is the last of three talks in the Shops and Businesses Talks Series. The other talks take place on 16th April and the 21st May. You may book tickets for any...