Local History 3 is a very friendly group who meet roughly once a month. Our meeting days are flexible depending on the availability of the venue. We visit local places of historical interest within a 25 mile radius of Waterlooville. These frequently include a guided tour and talk. Most are morning or afternoon visits and we always get together afterwards for tea and cake.
We are a friendly group of people who share a common interest and fascination with family history, whether it be our own or someone else’s!
“Genealogy” is much more than names, dates and places on a family tree, but also the family stories, (whether they are proven true or not !) the social & historical context that our ancestors lived in, their occupations, and much more beside.
Each of us have varying degrees of experience, some with very little and others with many years and we often find that our individual research takes place on a stop/start basis within our personal lives. Some of us use computers for recording our findings, some are paper based only – but even computers generate paper !
So our aim is to encourage and learn from each other, share our experience and personal research stories, pass on tips and generally give help to each other, and of course to enable people to make new friends within the wider U3A group.
Things we did in 2023 :
We had a talk via Zoom on the topic of Brick Walls, which highlighted things we either didn’t know or had forgotten about! We were also provided with an information sheet.
In July we had a visit to Portsmouth Dockyard, hosted by the Portsmouth Royal Dockyard Historical Trust. This enabled us to see some of the things that the Trust has managed to save which would otherwise have been lost. Certainly worth a visit.
We have talked about researching outside the UK, looking at various documents. This didn't apply to all of us but, of course, with Genealogy you never know when circumstances will change. We've had discussions on Military research and our ancestors' occupations. One of the group members gave us a talk on their Derbyshire ancestors which included a PowerPoint presentation.
We have had volunteers from the Portsmouth Royal Dockyard Historical Trust visit to talk about The Triangle Girls - the women who kept the Dockyard going through the Second World War as many of the men had gone to fight in the war. And another talk from the Trust was entitled A Moment In Time - a fascinating delve into the life of a certain William Floyd, sparked by the discovery of a page that had been ripped out of a 1781 ledger for works to vessels of the Fleet.
In previous years we have visited The National Archives in London, Winchester Archives, The Society of Genealogists in London, The Spring at Havant and Highland Road cemetery. We’ve done research, with the local history group, on the men who died at the Battle of Jutland and the men on the war memorial at St. Andrews church; both resulted in booklets being produced. We’ve had talks on Portsmouth, military archives, lantern slides, members' “brick walls” and The Guild of One Name Studies.
Between 2013 and 2016 we collaborated with the University of Portsmouth's Port Towns and Urban Cultures (PTUC) group to research local casualties of the Battle of Jutland. The scale of loss of men from Portsmouth and Gosport at Jutland equated to that of the "Pals" battalions at the Battle of the Somme. Click the link below to visit the resulting web pages and see full information about the project. https://porttowns.port.ac.uk/jutland-map/project.html
We are friendly and enthusiastic group, who enjoy learning more about things we know and finding out a lot of things we don't! For most meetings members prepare a brief talk to open a discussion on a topic of their own choice. At other meetings we have short talks of about ten minutes. Topics are usually themes from the 1500s to the present day. If you wish to join us don't panic! You will not be expected to give a talk at the next meeting! As you will see below, we have covered a wide range of topics so far!
A Tudor Christmas John Logie Baird The Andover Workhouse Scandal The Luddites The Tay Bridge Disaster No Homes Fit For Heroes Selling Your Wife at an Auction (Divorce) Aspects of Norwich History DNA Fingerprinting (Alex Jefferies) Dr. George McGonnagle (The Housewives' Champion) Beate Sinora Gordon The Bike in Wartime The Speaking Clock Joseph Paxton (gardener and architect, designer of the Crystal Palace where the Great Exhibition of 1850 was held) The early days of the Post Office Joseph Lister (pioneer of antiseptic surgery) The Golsboro Incident The HMS Birkenhead Drill History of Women's Toilets The Crimean War The British in India (including the personal lives of people who lived through it) The Gordon Riots (the political situation, Catholic suppression and conditions at the time) Flying in the 19th century (focussing on pioneers and their machines) Fake News - the Real Wild West (the truth behind the legends) Wentworth House and some of the people who lived there Dr. James Lind and scurvy (including the causes, symptoms and cure of the disease) The Gold Standard - what it is, why it was first introduced and its history The history of Railway Inspectors and safety on the railways The early days of postal services from a single messenger to the founding of the first General Post Office The growth of tourism, from the first British tourists to package holidays The Peterloo massacre - events leading up to it and the aftermath History of the Carlisle to Settle railway Jesse Boot - transformed the Boots Company into a national retailer First flight of the Spitfire The Berners Street Hoax Brendan Bracken biography Sheffield memorial to a crashed American bomber Unchaining the Insane - the history and treatment of mental illness in Britain The Frictionless Match Elon Musk - technology entrepreneur, inventor and engineer Sir Henry Tate The early life of Emma Hamilton Gerard Mercator
We are a friendly group of history lovers who meet to explore interesting topics of Modern History from 1485 to the present day. Recent topics include Wild Bill Hickok, The Bauhaus, Hedy Lamarr, The English Sweating Sickness and HMS Unicorn We each take it in turn to prepare and deliver either a long talk of about 25-40 minutes or a short talk of about 15 minutes duration. There is a long talk and a short talk at each meeting and each talk is followed by a discussion.
The group discusses topics in the news. Members are encouraged to submit topics in the week before the meeting and are free to give a presentation of they so wish. We aim to have a lively exchange of views on the most interesting and controversial events and ideas which have arisen during the previous month.
Topics in recent months have included :
The war in the Middle East UK's broken asylum system The winter fuel payment Kamala and Trump The House of Windsor Ukraine The House of Lords NHS
We meet once a month for a general chat about what is going on in the world and giving our ‘expert’ opinions on how to resolve problems. Newspaper cuttings help to provide a variety of topics and views, leading to some interesting and lively discussions. Tea and biscuits help things along!
The Buildings Appreciation group “does what it says on the tin”! We meet every month (except August) to discuss architectural styles through the ages, so that we can better appreciate the built environment around us, wherever we may be.
We tend to concentrate on buildings in Great Britain since these provide us with actual examples, but those abroad are often useful examples of architecture which have inspired architecture in this country. This was particularly evident during study of the Renaissance.
We are moving from specific aspects (doors, windows, fireplaces, etc.) to complete buildings (palaces, manor houses, peasant houses, etc.).
Each month we meet in a member's house and one member gives a talk on their chosen area. In 2025, having completed Tudor and Renaissance, we will be concentrating on Jacobean.
Christmas 2024 we met and each member contributed an offering of Tudor food or drink they had made. It was a gourmet journey as well as great fun. We hope to repeat it for Christmas 2025 with Renaissance food.
We are learning by visiting examples of the period we are studying; in 2024 our visits included The Great Barn The Vyne Braemore House Living Museum, Gosport and Wilton House
2019 saw us work our way through Norman cathedrals (or remains of, in some cases!). Several people chose ones they knew well, or even revisited. It was intriguing to find that some of the cathedrals seem to have very similar designs, despite the distances.
September, 2019 We had a tour of the architecture of Chichester Cathedral, conducted by our knowledgeable guide, Alan. Near the Lady Chapel, he pointed out four different styles of architecture in a relatively small space, proof of the adaptability of the masons. We ended with a short, but fascinating talk by the Clerk of Works, who spared us some time from his very busy schedule up on the roof, to tell us about the work being done up there (we could hear it!).
2018 As Andrew Negus’ talk at the General Meeting had been so interesting we asked him to conduct a tour for us around Salisbury.
July 2018 Eight people from the group visited this Saxon ‘church in the field’ at Idsworth, on 24th July.
Our group started in July 2012 and we meet via Zoom every month so that we can share the presentations each of us puts together in turn.
Recently we have been working through the major art movements of the 20th century and are now moving into the 21st. So over the last few months we have been learning about artists like Louise Bourgeois, Ai Wei Wei and Andy Goldsworthy.
Email groups@waterloovilleu3a.org.uk Visit the Groups Table at a Coffee Morning or General Meeting If the group is full, your name can be added to the Waiting List and you will be offered a space when you reach the top.
This group started in May of 2018 and covers any aspects of the subject that the members decide they are interested in. There is a mixture of practical experiences where possible, together with expert speakers, videos and visits to sites and museums of interest.
2024 presentations and visits :
Modern technology and how it has moved Archaeology forward
Doggerland
Richborough Roman Fort
A History of Archaeology part 1
A History of Archaeology part 2
The archaeology of Cranborne Chase
Visit to Cranborne Chase and Down Farm museum
Pommelte : revisit to the German Stoneheange - the most recent findings
Bog Bodies, Crannogs, Brochs and Lake Villages
Idsworth : Old Idsworth – what we thought we knew and what we now know about its history. Old Idsworth is believed to be the site of a deserted Medieval village. The Chichester & District Archaeology Society has carried out extensive work in the surrounding area in an effort to find the remains. The results of geophysical surveys and an excavation are revealed with an explanation as to how these throw new light on the history of Old Idsworth.
The Galloway Hoard - from finding through conservation to display.
Anatolia
Christmas archaeology quiz, round up of the year and 2025 planning
