Zoom
On the Internet
Co-ordinator: Jane Thomas
Email: zoom@wsfhs.orgThere is no set day in the month for meetings. We fit around the terrestrial centres.
These meetings are for Members only; if you wish to join the Society, please go to the Membership page above.
You will need to book for the Zoom meetings. To access the Zoom page in the Members Area, click here.
From the above page, you may also be able to watch a recording of the meeting (see below for an indication of whether a recording is available).
'Doors' open 30 mins before the talk starts on the hour.
There will be a short introduction and explanation of how the meeting will work.
Anyone arriving after the talk has commenced may be denied entry.
2026
| Date | Doors Open | Start Time | Title | Speaker | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tue | 17 Mar | 7.30 pm | 7.50 pm | Droughts, Deluges and Dust Devils Now booking | Ian Currie |
| Wed | 15 Apr | 7.30 pm | 7.50 pm | 25 Years of DNA and Family History. A Personal Viewpoint of Where We Are Today and What Is Importa | Brian Swann |
| Tue | 5 May | 7.30 pm | 7.50 pm | Barefoot on the Cobbles | Janet Few |
| Tue | 16 Jun | 9.30 am | 10.00 am | Kevin Bacon Family History Laboratory | David Cufley |
Forthcoming Meetings
March 17 2026
Ian Currie - Droughts, Deluges and Dust DevilsIan is a full-time weatherman, broadcaster, author, columnist, speaker and editor of Weather eye magazine. He is a Fellow of the Royal Meteorological Society. His forecasts to gardeners and growers are on BBC Radio Surrey and Sussex. Ian correctly forecast the October 1987 storm!
His talk covers several centuries of weather with particular reference to SE England. From 7 metre high snowdrifts, cricket ball sized hail, blazing summers to violent tornadoes or devastating floods.
April 15
Brian Swann - 25 Years of DNA and Family History. A Personal Viewpoint of Where We Are Today and What Is ImportaDr Brian Picton Swann who began family history in 1967, is a founder member of the West Surrey FHS. Professionally, in 1980 he took part in the very first clinical trial of any pharmaceutical product made by recombinant DNA technology – human insulin.
He was first involved in DNA testing for family history in 2000, but began again in earnest in 2006, with his Picton ancestry, which is a classic type of surname for a One-Name Study. He has also worked as a DNA Surname Project Administrator at FTDNA on the Swann / Swan project.
The talk will focus on the now classic use of Y-DNA testing for family history, and why and how that has continued to change and evolve over nearly 25 years.He will also speak on his practical experiences of being a DNA Surname Project Manager at FTDNA.
May 5
Janet Few - Barefoot on the CobblesThis is a novel written about life in a North Devon coastal village at the turn of the C20th into the 20s. This story is based on a real scandal that lay hidden for nearly a century. Daisy lived with the perils of the sea, disease and WW1 but faced other dangers. What was it about her mother’s origins that drove an ordinary fisherman’s wife to take such desperate measures? This presentation explains the research that underpins the creation of this story, some of the family and social history sources used and the problems of combining fact and fiction.
June 16
David Cufley - Kevin Bacon Family History LaboratoryAn interactive experiment to make family history links between members and to verify if the ‘six degrees of separation’ has any relationship to Family History Research.
It will explore the connections members have to each other and how they may be related by genes, place or event. Serendipity and Kismet are important research tools of family historians and are little used and explored, this laboratory will try to highlight their use..
Please refresh your memories of your families especially in regard of your research surnames, places of birth and residence and occupations.
This session needs interaction with other attending members and you need to be happy with the exchanges between members.