Honorary membership
I feel very humbled to receive the honorary
membership of the Berkshire Family History
Society, although I am accepting not only for
myself but also on behalf of John Brooks, Arthur
Ruffle, Gwen Prince, Val Ayres, Brian Edwards and
most recently Margaret Foreman.
Visiting the Berkshire Record Office to
transcribe parish registers on Thursdays has
become a way of life. It all started through
getting interested in my family history way back
in the late 1970s. Although I had no Berkshire
roots when I retired in 1983 I asked Adam Green,
the then County Archivist, if there was anything
I could do for the BRO to recompense for the help
I was getting from their records. He told me that
I could transcribe a parish register -
Ashampstead. The early register had me putting
Greens down as Groons. I learnt quickly. Before
long I joined John Brooks and Arthur Ruffle who
were also transcribing parish registers. Next to
join the team were Gwen Prince and Val Ayres.
John typed all our transcripts and it was a great
loss to us when he died suddenly, so I approached
the Berkshire Family History Society to provide
help. Brian Edwards came to our assistance
putting the transcripts on disc - wonderful
things computers (I must get one). All initial
printings are checked against the parish
registers and for this we are grateful to
Margaret Foreman. Val and I, sadly, are fast
approaching the end of our transcribing days. To
date there are still 733 registers to be
transcribed, so we urgently need more help from
members of the Society.
Volunteers are always needed to transcribe the
registers, type up the transcripts at home on
computer, or cheek the draft copies.
