As the incoming chairman of our Society my
first pleasant task is to thank the outgoing
chairman, Ivan Dickason, for his leadership and
dedication over the past few years, particularly
with the move of the Research Centre into its new
home next to the Berkshire Record Office. This is
not my first stint as chairman, but the rapid
changes in the way that research is carried out (with
a much greater use of the Internet) means my
experience in computer technology will be even
more important in the years to come.
As I write this, in July, I'm looking forward
to my first Executive Meeting for several years
and helping to form and carry out plans for the
future of our Society.
At the tabletop book sale at the Research
Centre in early July I was reminded once again of
a problem we face within the County. Someone came
along to the book sale and said something to the
effect of, 'I haven't joined your Society because
I've no Berkshire interests.' Several of us
immediately replied, 'Join the club! We've no
Berkshire interests either!' (To be truthful, I
do have a distant cousin, Watson Failes, who
managed to die while he was vicar of Ashbury in
the west of the County). Needless to say, after
showing our visitor around the vast array of out-of-county
material in the Research Centre we recruited
another member.
We do have a challenge to reach out to those
family historians living in and around Berkshire
and without any direct interest in Berkshire, to
let them know we can help them, and what they, in
turn, can gain by helping others. You can help,
by letting interested friends and acquaintances
know what our Society can offer them.
