Membership

Membership application or renewal

PLEASE NOTE that RENEWALS IN 2024 need to be done through ‘joining’ the Society as we agreed at the 2023 AGM to modify membership categories and increase subscriptions. For the interim therefore, please proceed as if you were joining the Society from new, though with the added advantage that first logging in to the website will bring up your membership details in the application form. See the ‘becoming a member’ page for details.

If you wish to join the Society from new, go to the drop down menu under ‘Membership’ and select ‘Become a Member. Then, select the relevant membership type from the four options at the bottom of the page. However, if you wish to complete the process ‘on paper’,  please contact the Secretary using the contact form, press the button below.

Current membership costs are as follows:

Student Membership… £6.00 per year. For an individual aged 16-25 years and in full-time education, either in the UK or overseas. Quarterly journal available through email and on the website

Electronic Membership….£12.00 per year. For an individual resident in the UK or overseas. Quarterly journal available through email and on the website.

Standard Membership… £15.00 per year
. For up to two people at the same address in the UK. If you are not UK resident, please use electronic or overseas membership. Includes mail delivery of the printed quarterly Journal.

Overseas (Airmail)… £25.00 per year
. For an individual resident outside the UK. Includes airmail delivery of printed quarterly Journal.

Membership will run for one year from the time of joining.

The benefits of being a member of the Society

An important benefit from a person joining the Society is that the Society gets stronger, which is then an increased benefit to its members. We aim to promote and encourage mutual help between people interested in family history and genealogy, so what better way to support this than in being a member! We can engage with the Society in ways ranging from general participation to more defined roles in volunteering for one of a number of tasks that keep the Society afloat. However, we also receive, ranging from engagement with like-minded people through to some specific benefits listed here.

THE SOCIETY JOURNAL

The journal is produced quarterly and sent post free to all members, or digitally to those with electronic membership. The Journal contains many topics of interest to family historians. It is the vehicle through which the Society business is communicated to members as well as containing members letters, members interests and a ‘help wanted’ section. There are also many family history articles submitted by members which cover a wide range of topics.

MEETINGS

A programme of talks is arranged quarterly by Zoom and members can attend for free.  The current programme details can be found in the “Events” page. We also hold or attend a number of local events where we have a stand and offer help with research.

MEMBERS’ INTERESTS

Members are encouraged to submit their current research interests, which are then shared with all members and, where possible, introductions made. It has to be noted that changes in regulations relating to privacy have made this less of an open process as it was before. We are working on a solution and this will eventually be contained within the web site Members Area.

WEB SITE, MEMBERS AREA

FindMyPast Discounts – Members can obtain discounts for Find My Past subscriptions and there are frequent, almost weekly, special offers from FMP where the discount codes will be available on our website.

The archive of our Society Journal can be found in the website Members’ area. There is also a facility to search the journals electronically through PERSI (The Periodical Source Index, which is the largest subject index to genealogy and local history periodical articles in the world).

EXCHANGE JOURNALS

The HDFHS has exchange agreements with a number of other family history societies and related institutions, both in the UK and around the world. Journals are exchanged regularly and due to their generally being produced for ‘members only’, the agreement is that any copies we receive are placed behind our membership firewall. Should you wish to consult those journals, they lie within the members’ area.