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The Balchin Family Society is a non-commercial organisation, run by volunteer family members.

The Society exists:

  • to promote and encourage research into Balchin Family history
  • to produce and circulate a Family Newsletter with findings and information provided by members
  • to organise gatherings and meetings
  • to collaborate with Members in supporting the Society’s activities and objectives.

The Society’s main activities are:

  • the publication of a twice-yearly Newsletter

Two issues are sent out per year, in January and July;

Extracts from some of the articles which have appeared in the Newsletters can be viewed by clicking here. Others include:

Mary Balchin and Her Runaway Spouse; A Camberwell Murder Mystery (victim Clementina Balchin);

Evacuation to Royal Windsor; Evacuees Experiences in WW2; Two Balchins of Keymer, West Sussex;

The Mystery Submariner (A Balchin traced from a photo album); The Five William Balchins of Hassocks; The Hartley, Kent, Womens’ Institute and the Balchin Family; Eric Graham Balchin of Windsor 1926 – 2004.

Series of articles: Admiral Sir John Balchin, 1669 – 1744;

Balchin Houses: Vanhurst, Thorncombe Street, Bramley; Cedar House, Cobham, Surrey;

Balchin Authors: Nigel Balchin, Dr Frank Kenneth Balchin, Dr John F Balchin;

Births, Marriages and Deaths (regular item); reports of the annual Gatherings.

  • the organisation of  Gatherings

Gatherings have been held each autumn in Surrey or nearby, a location traditionally linked with the origins of the Balchin family. Members and other invited guests have given talks on various topics related to the interests of the Society’s members. A Balchin archive, family trees, photographs, and copies of relevant documents have been on display with time to inspect these and make contact with other members, sharing ancestry or particular interests and seeking advice on research. There is often a guided visit to local sites associated with past generations of the Balchin family.

For information on past gatherings click here.

  • research into family history

We research into family history from the 1500s to the present. A future project is to transfer the family tree from a large scroll to computer, to make it easier to find information, and ultimately make it more accessible to members.

We hope that you will be interested in the Society, and that you will join us in promoting  and encouraging the study of the Balchin family genealogy. Please pass this information on to any other members of your family who may wish to know about the Society.

To join the Society, please read the Balchin Family Society Constitution, complete the membership form and send it with your subscription or email below to:

Membership Secretary: Tina Balchin, 17A The Avenue, Sandy, Bedfordshire SG19 1ER, England   email: society.membership@balchinfamily.uk