Camberley Centre
Camberley Adult Education Centre, France Hill Drive, Camberley, GU15 3QB
For map click here.Co-ordinator: Sue Turner
Email: camberley@wsfhs.orgFrom January 2026, all the meetings will be on the Third Saturday of the month.
The gate to the Centre and the door will open at 1.30pm and the meeting will start at 2.00pm.
There are no meetings in July, August and December.
2026
| Date | Doors Open | Start Time | Title | Speaker | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat | 17 Jan | 1.30 pm | 2.00 pm | CHANGE TO TALK Stranger Things (Coincidences, odd happenings, etc) | Informal Meeting |
| Sat | 21 Feb | 1.30 pm | 2.00 pm | Clandon Park – a heritage project like no other | Margaret Taylor |
| Sat | 21 Mar | 1.30 pm | 2.00 pm | CHANGE TO TALK Mixing DNA results with a paper trail - Demystifying | Penny Walters |
| Sat | 18 Apr | 1.30 pm | 2.00 pm | Tongham Tapestry | Gill Picken |
| Sat | 16 May | 1.30 pm | 2.00 pm | Beginners Guide to Civil Births, Marriages and Deaths | Sue Turner |
Forthcoming Meetings
January 17 2026
Informal Meeting - CHANGE TO TALK Stranger Things (Coincidences, odd happenings, etc)This informal meeting will be led by Sue Turner who has some strange families, with odd coincidences that could provide answers to her brick walls. Bring along your stranger things to share your discoveries or to ask how they could help.
February 21
Margaret Taylor - Clandon Park – a heritage project like no otherMargaret has been a volunteer for the National Trust at Clandon Park since 2013. When the fire broke out in April 2015 she was on duty in the house and has been involved in giving talks about the fire and aftermath ever since. They are now moving towards having final plans to share so she will give an overview highlighting why Clandon Park has always been special through to current ideas of how it will be seen when it reopens. Margaret and her husband Alan, who gave a talk in October 2025, have been members of the West Surrey FHS since 1976 and have served the Society in many different roles in the earlier years of their membership.
March 21
Penny Walters - CHANGE TO TALK Mixing DNA results with a paper trail - DemystifyingHave you done a test and you’re not sure what the results mean? What would the benefits of doing a DNA test be when you’ve already done a thorough paper trail? This presentation will walk you through the initial stages of understanding your DNA test results, and potential ethical dilemmas will be discussed.
Dr. Penny Walters has been a University lecturer for 30 years, teaching Masters’ Business studies at British Universities. She lectures internationally in-person including throughout the UK, Ireland, America, and Australia; writes articles; is sought after for a wide range of webinar topics; and is a regular consultant on a variety of television and radio programmes. Penny has authored the books: 'Ethical Dilemmas in Genealogy' (2019) and ‘The Psychology of Searching’ (2020).
April 18
Gill Picken - Tongham TapestryThis talk tells the story of the village of Tongham from Victorian times starting with the story of the families who lived at “the Big House” -16th century Poyle Park; the Chester and the Mangles families; the establishment of the parish church in 1866 - the son of the first vicar of Tongham Cyril Garbett became Archbishop of York - and the links between the Maitland and Garbett families (Sir Peregrine Maitland, buried in the churchyard was a hero of the Battle of Waterloo). It also includes the middle classes in the village, the farmers and the tradesmen, the shops, pubs, the railway station (established in 1849 before the military came to Aldershot in 1854 and thus used for the building of the Camp) and finally Archbishop Garbett’s recollections of the poor of the village.
Gill is a retired library supervisor from Hampshire libraries having worked at Aldershot, Farnborough and Fleet libraries. However she started her career in Surrey libraries working at Farnham Library and spent a year working in a London library in the swinging sixties! She did an Open University Arts degree in her 40s and after retirement she spent 15 years volunteering at Farnham Museum answering enquiries and encouraging use of the Museum library.
May 16
Sue Turner - Beginners Guide to Civil Births, Marriages and DeathsThis is the first in a series of Beginners Guides to Family History, taking place over the next few months. This talk will look at the Civil Registration of Births, Marriages and Deaths in England and Wales and also in Scotland, which has a different system of recording. Although aimed at beginners, it will also be useful for more experienced family historians as methods of searching for the right Certificate has been changing over the years.
Sue is Chair of the Society and has been working on her family history for nearly 50 years, having produced over 200 family trees for herself, partner, brothers in law and friends. She has a Masters degree with distinction in Genealogical, Palaeographic and Heraldic Studies from the University of Strathclyde.