Neil Mach has entertained us with talks including “Rocking Surrey: History of Suburban Rock and Roll” and “Surrey Farmland Girls – the story of the Women’s Land Army” recently and will be back again soon. He’s also the author of many books, and describes himself as a “hippy grandad”(!)
Nick Pollard is the Curator of Spelthorne Museum in Staines. He is a retired engineer who offers a wide variety of talks including “The Story of the Queen Mary Reservoir”, “Shepperton Film Studios” and “Heathrow, Stone Age to Jet Age”.
Lorraine Spindler is the curator at Leatherhead Museum, runs guided battlefield tours, teaches local history/genealogy and is currently researching Canadian soldiers and SOE spies based in Surrey during WW2.
John Griffiths-Colby has worked as a journalist and illustrator and offers a variety of talks on Local History, Business Change, Social Media, and Retro styling(!) He lives in Reigate. He’s given us several local history talks pertaining to aspects of the two world wars that have affected our locality and will do another in late 2024.
David Rose writes a weekly history column in the local Woking paper. He lives in Guildford and has a wide range of talks, including “The Rock & Roll Years in Guildford”, “Surrey Villages, Past and Present” and “Guildford’s Lost Shops”. He also plays guitar and leads local walks.
David Nicholson
David will be giving us a Zoom talk on “Brooklands – the birthplace of British motor racing” in January 2027
Anne Sassin-Allen, who is originally from Pennsylvania, is Projects and Outreach Officer of Surrey Archaeological Society, and a Tutor in Archaeology at Oxford University. She gives talks on many aspects of archaeology, including LIDAR.
Peter Burgess is a caving and archaeology enthusiast, an active member of the Wealden Cave and Mine Society (WCMS). His talks include “Going Underground: Surrey’s Mines & Caves” which we hope to run in 2027
Wandle Industrial Museum offers many talks, on diverse subjects including “The Surrey Iron Railway”, “Mills of the River Wandle”, “The Wandle’s Calico People”, “Surrey Breweries” and “The Life of William Morris”, by a variety of speakers including Mick Taylor and John Hawks
Anne Anderson‘s specialities are in archaeology, art and architecture. Her many talks include ““Ashtead Pottery After WW1”, Voysey’s Surrey Houses”, “The DeMorgans and the Lovelaces” and “Surrey Arts and Crafts gardens.” She is a regular Arts Society lecturer.
Ian Castle specialises in WW1 German air raids on Britain, based on his own research. His talks include “The night the Zeppelins came: Croydon on the front line” & “The Zeppelin Onslaught: Britain’s Forgotten Blitz”. He is currently compiling a list of all people who died in German WW1 bombing raids.
Kathy Atherton specialises in the history of the Dorking area and is responsible for exhibitions at Dorking Museum. Her talks include “Suffragettes & Socialists in Surrey”, “Literary Mole Valley”, “Radical Local Artists” and “Suffrage and “Mary Neal & the Suffragettes who saved Morris Dancing”
Michelle Howes
Geoff Burch started working on the railways at 15, eventually becoming a top-link fireman based at Guildford, working on steam locomotives until 1967, then on diesel trains. He’s written several books and has many a tale to tell
Sam Dawson is a cave guide, author (of “Underground Dorking” and more)and an active member of ”Subterranea Britannica”, which researches and preserves the subterranean history of Britain. He lives in Dorking.
Judith Hill taught history at the University of Surrey and is now a freelance speaker. Her talks include “Victorian Life Upstairs & Downstairs”, Poverty and Unrest in Surrey 1815-1834 and “The role of the workhouse in the early 19th century”.
Trevor Brook is an engineer, broadcaster and local history researcher. He gave us a very popular talk on “Munich and the Czech Refugees in Surrey” in 2025
Merton Priory is little known outside Merton, but, despite the vandalism of Henry VIII’s cronies, it is a unique archaeological survival with plenty of history. Talks can be arranged through Merton Priory Trust.
Cherrill Sands is a consultant garden historian with an MA in the Conservation of Landscapes, Parks and Gardens from the Architectural Association, London. She also works at Painshill Park and is also a trained dancer!
The Surrey History Centre, based in Woking, offers many talks, on local history and family history research, by a variety of speakers. Their talks include “The Gentleman Magazine”, “Surrey on Film 1914-1953” and “John Evelyn’s Surrey”
Anne Milton-Worsell has taught History at the University of Surrey, the Open University and the WEA. Her talks include “Saving the View from Richmond Hill”, “Victorians and Their Houses” and “How we kept the Wombles on Wimbledon Common”
Paul Whittle was a major in the Territorial army, and offers a variety of talks on travel, things military and heritage transport in the UK and abroad (he is Vice Chairman of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway Society.) He now lives in Woking.
DLHG 