About the Speaker

Jane Harris

Jane Harris is the Customer and Archives Manager at Hampshire Archives in Winchester, a post she has held since 2007. Previously, she catalogued the Automobile Association and Royal Observer Corps collections held at Hampshire Archives.

About the

Humphrey Southall

Humphrey Southall is a Professor of Historical Geography at the University of Portsmouth, he is an expert on the History of the North-South divide in Britain, gazetteers and geospatial ontologies and the role of travellers in the development of political life. He works with Dr Paula Aucott, they have been working together on the Great Britain Historical GIS project for over twenty years, and have been invited to present their research findings around the world. The main public interface to their work is the highly successful local history website A Vision of Britain through Time, which they continue to maintain and update.

About the Speaker

Paula Aucott

Dr Paula Aucott is a Senior Research Associate at the University of Portsmouth, her research interests include historical Geographical Information Systems (GIS), historical land use and medieval landscapes. She works with Humphrey Southall, they have been working together on the Great Britain Historical GIS project for over twenty years, and have been invited to present their research findings around the world. The main public interface to their work is the highly successful local history website A Vision of Britain through Time, which they continue to maintain and update.

About the Speaker

Janet Hird

Janet Garnett Hird was born in Hampshire and, growing up close to a Norman castle within Roman walls, soon developed in interest in history. She has been researching Wymering parish, now part of Portsmouth, for many years. She joined VCH Hampshire volunteers in 2014 after gaining an MA in local and regional history. She contributes to their research on north Hampshire though her focus remains on Wymering. When she has time she also studies her own family’s history in north west England.

About the Speaker

Roger Ottewill

Roger Ottewill retired in 2008 after 35 years in higher education and was awarded a PhD in Modern Church History by the University of Birmingham in 2015. His interest in local religious history extends to local politics and administration, particularly with respect to the 19th and 20th centuries. A volunteer with the Victoria County History Hampshire team since 2016 he has been researching aspects of Basingstoke’s history between 1800 and 1925 and that of surrounding parishes. In recent years he has published articles in various journals, including Southern History, The Local Historian, Hampshire Studies and The Journal of the United Reformed Church History Society.

About the Speaker

Sarah Lewin

Sarah Lewin, Information and Archives Manager, has worked for over 40 years at Hampshire Archives, a service run by Hampshire County Council. She has a wide knowledge of the county’s archive collections, with particular interests in diocesan, parish and probate records, and always enjoys engaging with researchers of all kinds.

About the Speaker

Fiona Ranger

Fiona Ranger is a professional family, house, and local historian with deep roots in Hampshire. She has been researching her own family history for many years and has developed a strong interest in uncovering local and social histories. Fiona is an Associate of the Association of Genealogists and Researchers in Archives (AGRA) and is currently studying with the Institute of Heraldic and Genealogical Studies (IHGS) through their correspondence course.

An active member of several family history societies, Fiona serves as Bookstall Manager and Liaison Officer for the Hampshire Genealogical Society, and until recently was also a Trustee of the Society.

About the Speaker

Else Churchill

Else Churchill is the Genealogist at the Society of Genealogists in London. Formerly a professional genealogical librarian and researcher, Else has worked for the SoG since 1994. She is the Society’s subject lead, working across the organisation and runs the publishing programme. She was the recipient of the IHGS Julian Bickersteth Memorial Medal in 2023 for her exemplary contribution to family history studies.