In 1995, I first led an team to organise a five-day, residential conference on behalf of the Isle of Wight Family History Society and the then Federation of Family History Societies. Afterwards, I said ‘never again’ but a bit like childbirth, you forget the pain and remember the joy, so I did it again, three more times, as well as organising untold numbers of day conferences and one-name weekend reunions. Then a couple of years ago, I rashly said I could get 100 people to come to Devon to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Devon Family History Society. The trustees were sceptical and to be honest, I did have my fingers crossed behind my back. The quest for a venue was ‘interesting’. We considered more than fifty. It needed to be affordable, with two reasonable sized lecture spaces, capable of feeding 150 people at once (I was optimistic) and with parking, ideally free parking. There was a distinct lack of anywhere suitable, one potential venue had to be rejected as they could only confirm the booking in July of this year. We settled on Durrant House Hotel, which had the added advantage of being just up the road.

Bookings came in, we filled 150 places and just managed to squeeze in everyone on the waiting list, thanks to a few last minute cancellations. I watched my house fill up with over eighty items of conference paraphernalia. Meticulous planning and many lists and timetables allowed me to go away in September. this was followed by two sets of overseas visitors, who I managed to cram in round said paraphernalia. Then, because I am totally certifiable, I decided it would be a really good time to decorate the conservatory. I have no idea what particular planet I was on when I made that decision but it added to the chaos.

The rest of the team were just brilliant. I wouldn’t have agreed to go ahead if I couldn’t count on support and support I had in bucketloads. Twenty percent of all attendees were on my volunteers list. Then came the flu injection. I am a great believer in putting anything in my arm that is on offer, normally with no ill effects at all beyond a sore arm and with untold benefits over the years. This time though I felt totally rubbish, I am blaming the injection and as I don’t seem to have infected anyone else, I think it might just be a reaction rather than actual flu (NB I would still go for the vaccination every time). If anyone is concerned, I did take a COVID test and it was negative. With a certain degree of soldiering on, a small group of us stuffed 150 conference bags with goodies provided by generous sponsors. I eyed up the huge pile of boxes and other things and wondered how many trips the fisherman of my acquaintance might have to make to the venue. The answer, dear readers, was one. Cars arrived, boxes melted into boots and I could see parts of my house I’d not seen for several weeks.

I am not going to pretend absolutely everything was perfect. Due to another group at the venue, Friday saw more cars arriving than there were parking spaces but we did our best and hopefully everyone squeezed in somewhere. The food was excellent. The hotel staff were just fantastic and almost every message afterwards mentioned the indefatigable Lee in the dining room, who, it turned out, had only been in post for two weeks. Lee for employee of the year I’d say. One thing I was always fully confident about was the quality of our speakers and I was not disappointed, my only complaint was that I could only listen to half of them, as there were two sessions on at any one time. I was also secretly pleased with the after dinner entertainment. Moonstone Murders took on the somewhat daunting challenge of writing a murder mystery with a genealogical theme for an audience of genealogists. They did remarkably well and we had a wonderful evening, although one or two of us did rather overthink it! Sunday’s early morning church service was nearly enlivened by me not realising the hymn music I’d prepared via YouTube would begin with adverts. Thankfully, I pre-ran it so we were not regaled with an American advert for a constipation remedy before the first hymn. That might not have set quite the right tone.

Including the stallholders, over 160 people were involved, hailing from six different countries. There were 16 speakers, 36 volunteers, 50 raffle prizes and countless happy smiley faces. Pleased with how it went? Yes. Exhausted? Yes. Will I do it again? Realistically, no, I need to bow to advancing years at some point.

Thank you to various photographers for the images below.