About the Society

Founded in 1975, Berkshire Family History Society works to meet the needs of those researching their ancestry across the UK and overseas – as well as those looking for former relatives in historic Berkshire

A registered charity, Berkshire Family History Society exists to help you in your research … WHEREVER your ancestors came from... and you do not need to be a member to benefit 

The society offers:

	The largest Berkshire-focused Family History Community
	Extensive website with exclusive Research Wizard and an online shop packed with books, maps, CDs, data downloads and more to boost your research
	Free or reduced-price admission to society online talks, specialist workshops and courses, natter group and DNA special interest group
	YourTrees – we will host a backup copy of your family tree for free – to help you create an enduring legacy.  You can include media and we also have a ‘Boomerang Tree’ service where we’ll scrub your tree to sort out some common data issues and send it back to you
	Heritage Research Centre –giving all visitors free access to Ancestry Worldwide, Findmypast Worldwide, The Genealogist and The British Newspaper Archive, plus friendly expert advice – if you would like it
	Local Branch meetings – giving members across the World access to experts in local, social and family history
	Member discounts on society products
	Member discounts on Findmypast membership
	Award-winning quarterly journal Berkshire Family Historian packed with news, reviews and features
	Exclusive member-only website content
	Forum – enabling you to share research problems with like-minded family historians across the world
	Free online help and advice about Berkshire-specific family research
	Active and popular Facebook site – run by experienced society volunteers
	Email newsletter – to bring you the latest news, events and research ideas, direct to your inbox
	Projects – your chance to join with others in society project work – wherever you live in the world. It’s your chance to give something back to family history – for researchers of today and tomorrow

The society has around 1,200 members worldwide. It is a registered charity (Number 283010) and subject to the provisions of charity law in England and Wales.

 Objectives of the society

• to advance education of the public in research into family history and genealogy, primarily but not exclusively within the boundaries of the pre-1974 Royal County of Berkshire; and
• to work to promote the preservation, transcription, indexing and ready public accessibility of related records and information

An Executive Committee and a 100-strong volunteer team run day-to-day operations and activities. All are unpaid.