Crewe & Nantwich Group AGM
Short AGM, with refreshments (home-made cakes).
An additional activity will be announced later
Stories of the Victorian & Edwardian Workhouses
George Cogwell is giving us a talk on The Work House.
Dreadful workhouse - The Life of the poor & sick of the Victorian / Edwardian society in the workhouse.
The talk includes details of Georges Grandparents and their employment documentation
FHSC Seminars: The 6th Annual Dorothy Flude Memorial Lecture Hunger, Health and Hope: A History of School Meals in Britain with Dr Heather Ellis
What children eat at school has long been a matter of political debate, social concern, and everyday experience. Since the introduction of the School Meals Service in 1906, meals served in schools have been used to tackle malnutrition, reduce inequality, and promote social inclusion. They have also been the site of controversy, from free milk in the 1940s to Jamie Oliver’s campaign against Turkey Twizzlers, and today’s calls for universal free school meals.
This lecture explores how policy, practice, and lived experience have shaped school dining across the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. With reference to new oral histories, archival evidence, and ethnographic studies in contemporary schools, the lecture highlights the emotional and sensory dimensions of mealtimes as well as their wider social and cultural meanings. At stake is more than what children eat. School meals open a window onto questions of inequality, poverty, community, and the politics of care.
This event is also open to non-members, with fee of £5. Registration opens on 1st October when the red ‘Register [Individual]’ button will show on the top left of this page, just click on that button, you will also receive an email confirmation. Non-members will be required to create a free FHSC account and complete the payment details. Registration will close on 19th October.
The zoom links/meeting protocol will be forwarded to all registrants the day before the talk.
If you run into any difficulties with this, then please contact us on the dedicated seminar email address – The Seminar series is co-ordinated by Margaret Spate, Jean Laidlaw and Margaret Roberts and ALL correspondence, queries etc should be sent to the dedicated email address.
PLEASE NOTE WE DO NOT RECORD SEMINAR TALKS
Researching Merchant Navy officers and seamen by Victoria Doran
English Civil War in Cheshire
Tony Bryan author of new novel 'King and Country', Lord John Byron's war in Cheshire. that will be available from April 2026, is doing to do a talk on the Civil War in Cheshire
FHSC Seminars: Fact from Fiction: what the great 19th century novels can tell us about our ancestors? with David Annal
Family History Through the Eyes of Great Novelists! Have you ever wondered what the great novelists of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries can teach us about our ancestors?
Join us as Dave Annal takes a fascinating exploration of family history hidden within the pages of some of Britain's best-loved novels. Drawing on the works of authors including Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, Thomas Hardy, George Eliot, Emily Brontë, and Wilkie Collins, Dave reveals how fiction can provide remarkable insights into the lives, experiences, and challenges faced by our ancestors. Using extracts covering subjects such as family relationships, birth, baptism, marriage, work, education, travel, and family research, Dave demonstrates how novelists can help us understand the social realities behind the records we use every day. Along the way, we encounter family trees, agricultural labourers, Victorian city streets, and even a Dickens character who could be described as one of the earliest family historians.
The talk concludes with a piece of advice from Great Expectations that every genealogist should remember: "Take nothing on its looks; take everything on evidence. There is no better rule." Whether you are a lover of classic literature, an enthusiastic family historian, or simply curious about how fiction can illuminate the past, this promises to be a thought-provoking and enjoyable presentation.
This event is also open to non-members, with fee of £5. Registration opens on 1st November when the red ‘Register [Individual]’ button will show on the top left of this page, just click on that button, you will also receive an email confirmation. Non-members will be required to create a free FHSC account and complete the payment details. Registration will close on 16th November.
The zoom links/meeting protocol will be forwarded to all registrants the day before the talk.
If you run into any difficulties with this, then please contact us on the dedicated seminar email address – The Seminar series is co-ordinated by Margaret Spate, Jean Laidlaw and Margaret Roberts and ALL correspondence, queries etc should be sent to the dedicated email address.
PLEASE NOTE WE DO NOT RECORD SEMINAR TALKS