The FreeBMD Database was last updated on Tuesday 23rd September 2025 and currently contains 297,583,156 distinct records (402,754,993 total records).

Martlesham Heath Aviation Soc next meet 3 Oct 7:30 pm. Richard Folkes OBE talk will explain how he managed helicopter scenes in “Skyfall” & set up arrival of “The Queen” by parachute at 2012 Olympics. £3 Soc members, £5 others/ pay at door. See poster attached

Ipswich Group next meet 7:30pm, 1st October at Salvation Army Citadel, 558, Woodbridge Rd, Ipswich, Easy Parking at rear. Andy Relf will talk about “The Necropolis Line" or "A Single to Surrey" £3 for members, £4 non-members – pay on door, cash please. All welcome

Sudbury Group next meet 30 Sept . A talk by John Miners on "Horsehair Tales" Venue: Long Melford Village Hall, Hall St, CO10 9JQ Plenty of parking. Starts at 2.30 pm Entry is £2.50 for SFHS members & £3.00 for non-members. Refreshments after talk

For those wanting to visit The Hold: The park & ride service from Martlesham P&R to London Road P&R (& back) has had a stop added on Grimwade St (called Fore St) which is just round corner from The Hold & also a stop in the university car park. The downloadable timetable has the new stops.

Bury Group next meet on both 24 & 25 Sep at 19:00 both days. Carl Mustoe will present the Story of 3 Surnames: Bowring, Jeffs, Nunn, & Some Suffolk Connections. Church of Latter Day Saints, Symonds Rd, Bury St Eds, IP32 7DZ. Free parking & entry, refreshments .

A clipping from Cransford Register in a 1998 edition of Roots, submitted by Margaret Barfield showing how important settlement was

Our Haverhill Group have their next meet on 11 Sept Edel Pinnock will talk on "The History of Art" Haverhill Old Independent Church Hall at 7.30pm, Members £2.00 Visitors £3.00 incl. refreshments. EVERYONE WELCOME

Occasionally you will come across some odd words when researching - here's the beginning of an article on strange occupations. Members can search past copies of Roots for mentions of family/place of interest. Beware you can easily get distracted by articles like this!

The date for the East Anglian Group of Family History Societies LIVE show is Saturday 18th April 2026 at the Burgess Hall in St Ives, Cambridgeshire - We will have a stall again. We really enjoyed the 2024 show

Picture showing a carter. This one visited the villages east of Stow and delivered “stuff”. Basically essentials like paraffin

Next Martlesham Heath Aviation Soc talk is Friday 5th Sep 7:30 pm. Catherine Buchanan will talk on "RAF Felixstowe – The People not the Planes”. At Martlesham Heath Community Centre, Felixstowe Rd, Martlesham Heath IP12 4PB. Members £3 non-members welcome £5.

Another set of emigrants - voluntarily I think. Hugh CLARK & family (7 children) Article from June 1925, from 1995 edition of Suffolk Roots. No mention of where in Suffolk they came from. My daughter attended the St Catherine's University during her year of study in Canada.

Looking at back copies of Suffolk Roots and came across this snippet in 1990 1836, new poor law, cheaper to force people to migrate (within UK or elsewhere) than to keep them in the workhouse

A Fascinating visit earlier this week to the workhouse and hospital at Southwell, Nottinghamshire. It was still in use in the 1970s as a home for homeless families although the father was not permitted to stay with the family and had to find lodging elsewhere.

Update on Suffolk Parish register release date on Ancestry NOW 8TH AUGUST -

Another great blog post on the subject of how to get from A to B from 1600s-1800's - before train, canals, and certainly cycles and cars www.campop.geog.cam....

Time in hours.

At this harvest time we see the combines out in the fields - it's only 95 years since the first all-in-one machine was seen in Suffolk. Here's a clip from a 2014 edition of Suffolk Roots

Ipswich Group next meet 6 Aug 7:30pm. Bill Mann will talk on "The way holidays used to be" At Salvation Army Citadel, 558 Woodbridge Rd, Ipswich. Easy parking at rear. NO need to prebook, just turn up and pay the modest entry fee.

August 14th

A reminder that our next Zoom is next Monday 28th July 7:30pm UK time. Kim Smith will talk about " Lawrence of Arabia… and Felixstowe." See poster for more info. Register using this link: tinyurl.com/SFHSLawrence...

Our Bury Group will have its next meet on 31 Jul at 19:00 - and will be a workshop - subject TBA Church of Latter Day Saints, Symonds Road, Bury St Edmunds, IP32 7DZ. Free entry, light refreshments after the session

Sudbury Group next event 29 July Stories Behind The Stones with Janette Robinson Venue: Long Melford Village Hall, Hall St, CO10 9JQ Plenty of parking. Starts at 2.30 pm Entry is £2.50 for SFHS members & £3.00 for non-members. Refreshments after talk

🥳 NEWS! Massive news for anyone with Cambridgeshire or Huntingdonshire ancestors. The digitised and indexed parish registers are now available on Ancestry! 🥳 Well, that's my weekend gone...

Very sad to hear that the #LocalPopulationStudiesSociety is to close in Spring 2026 after having been a fantastic support for local historians for so long.Closure is due to a failure to get volunteers for the committee. Family and local history societies - this is the writing on the wall.

A search of past Roots for mentions of "midsummer" brought forward this piece in a 1999 edition although I believe the original advert if you like, was from 1827. Training to be governesses or suchlike I believe.

Are any of my Aussie genie friends due to make a trip to the UK in the near future? I really, really, really want a book that I can't get here, but the postage from Aus is expensive (on EBay).

Nice article on workhouses pre 1834 (new Poor Law) .... "Were all workhouses Dickensian? Indoor relief under the Old Poor Law (1601-1834)" www.campop.geog.cam....

Ipswich Group next meet 2 July 7:30pm. Cathy Shelborne presents "The Story of Admiral De Vere Broke’. Known for winning the battle between his ship, HMS Shannon & USS Chesapeake in the war of 1812. At Salvation Army Citadel, 558 Woodbridge Rd, Ipswich. Easy parking at rear.

The next meet of Lowestoft Group 1st July Thelma Waller will talk about "Baking in the Family" Venue: St Margaret’s Hall, Lowestoft. Doors open 19:00, talk begins 19:30. Plentiful free parking. All welcome. Refreshments and chat after the talk

The latest edition (58) Really Useful Bulletin from the Family History Federation now available at www.exploreyourgenea... Learn about such diverse items as the Hudson Bay Company, and Felixstowe FHS

Our next Zoom is 28th July 7:30pm UK time. Kim Smith will talk about " Lawrence of Arabia… and Felixstowe." See poster for more info. Register using this link: tinyurl.com/SFHSLawr...

Sudbury Group have a Quiz on 24 Jun ALL WELCOME Venue: Long Melford Village Hall, Hall St, CO10 9JQ Plenty of parking. Starts at 2.30 pm Entry is £2.50 for SFHS members & £3.00 for non-members. Refreshments after talk

The June edition of Suffolk Roots is now available to read/download on the members' pages of our website. You can find it on the News tab of the website. Members need to be logged in. The postal version should be on its way shortly

Interesting snapshot of life in Whepstead - taken from June 2006 Suffolk Roots - vaccination, gleaning, bankruptcy and more

The Really Useful Bulletin from the FHF is well worth subscribing to. The current (57) issue has an excellent article on hiring fairs amongst a bunch of other really useful stuff. www.familyhistoryfederation.com/subscribe-to...

How did the elderly poor survive in the past? Interesting blog. www.campop.geog.cam.ac.uk/blog/2025/04...

Are folks aware of the Family History Federation Surname Interest search? You can search members interests for about 2 dozen societies (inc Suffolk) You may find someone else interested in the same surname as you at the other side of the country www.familyhistoryfed...

A reminder that our next Zoom is on Monday 9th June at 19:30, Claire Moores will be taking the register before the first lesson on "Studying the three R's" See poster for more information, Open and free to all. Use this link to register tinyurl.com/SFHSSchool

Are folks aware of the Early British Census Project at ebc.byu.edu/Home Coverage varies by county, Suffolk has just one parish (Playford 1827) at the moment, but its a start

The next meet of Lowestoft Group 3rd Jun, Ivan Bunn will relate "The Story of Sgt “Long” Jack Hargreaves" Venue: St Margaret’s Hall, Lowestoft Doors open 19:00, talk begins 19:30. Plentiful free parking. All welcome. Refreshments and chat after the talk

Unfortunately I got this wrong, the meet was pulled forward and held on 22nd - sorry about that The next meet of our Bury St Edmunds Grp will be on Thursday 29th May at 19:00 The evening will be spent looking at Family Tree Software

Our next Zoom is on Monday 9th June at 19:30, Claire Moores will be taking the register before the first lesson on "Studying the three R's" See poster for more information, Open and free to all. Use this link to register tinyurl.com/SFHSSchool

The next meet of our Bury St Edmunds Grp will be on Thursday 29th May at 19:00 The evening will be spent looking at Family Tree Software Venue: Church of Latter Day Saints, Symonds Road, Bury St Edmunds, IP32 7DZ Free parking, and refreshments

Sudbury Group have a talk "Tea for the British, with a little twist of Suffolk" after their AGM on 27th May Venue: Long Melford Village Hall, Hall St, CO10 9JQ Plenty of parking. Starts at 2.30 pm Entry is £2.50 for SFHS members & £3.00 for non-members. Refreshments after talk

Latest Transcription Index Carlford & Wilford Marriages 1538-1649 Ths is now available via our online shop: suffolkfhs.co.uk/sho... as a CD or a download, for £10 + postage if applicable Members are entitled to a 20% discount (not on postage).

Reminder that our May Zoom is on 19th. A panel will look at problems pre-submitted by members & suggest ways to resolve them. An opportunity to learn some new research options. Free to join the Zoom - see poster for details, Use this link to register tinyurl.com/SFHSHelp