The Josephine Birchenough Bursary Fund Award

Josephine Birchenough (left) was a founder member of the Society and an enthusiastic supporter of our activities over many years. Following her death in 1994 some money was donated by members in her memory and it was decided to use this to establish a Bursary Award scheme.

Originally members of the Society were invited to apply to the fund for a sum in order to follow some form of research, or carry out a specific project that fulfils the objects of the Society. A few awards were made on this basis, but they are now made for journal articles. This reflects the way that Josephine willingly gave fellow family historians help and encouragement from her prodigious knowledge and experience.

Each year the President and Vice Presidents judge what they consider to be the best articles from the previous year's journals. The awards then are presented at the Society AGM, and consist of a number of prizes - currently £75 and a number at £25. A report on the 2010 Awards by Society President Jean Stirk appears in the June 2010 journal.

These are the criteria used to assess each article:

1. An interesting read.
2. Method: how research approached & steps taken to discover the information.
3. Sources: exact references and where located.
4. Confirmation: how details confirmed.
5. Problems: how overcome; comment on pitfalls.
6. Simple family tree; hand drawn or computer program.

Please see also the Journal Guidelines page.

There is no longer any need to apply to the Society, all journal articles are automatically considered by the judging panel.

Steve Archer (webmaster)
with assistance from Jean Stirk (President)