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The History of the Braund Society
1981
The Braund Society was the brainchild of Cyril John Braund. When he retired back to his native Bideford he was meeting other Braunds but did not know how they were related. He wanted to form a society to unite the family. The first meeting of the Braund Society steering committee took place on 10th November 1981. Those present were Cyril Braund, Len Braund, Ken Braund and Karen Hayward; Karen is still a member of our committee.
1982
The Inaugural Meeting of the Braund Society was held at The New Inn, Bideford on 28th February 1982, when over 200 people attended. Cyril Braund became the founder Chairman. Subscriptions for the year were set at £3 for an individual UK membership and £4 for a couple. It is believed that there were about 200 membership addresses in the first year. The initial belief that all Braunds came from Bucks Mills was soon dispelled.
The Inaugural Meeting of the Braund Society 1982
In the summer of 1982, the first newsletter was issued, containing 8 pages of very small print. 250 copies cost £13 to print. The society organised a trip to Plymouth in July, followed by the first family church service at St. Anne’s, Bucks Mills the following day.
The first Christmas dinner was on 3rd December at Buckleigh Grange, Westward Ho! and cost £6.80 a head.
1983
At the April reunion and AGM Ann Chiswell, gave a talk on the work of The Federation of Family History Societies, Ann was then the secretary of the Federation to which the society then belonged. Ann is also a descendant of the branch 6 Braunds. Alan James Braund was elected Chairman. A buffet and dance was held at Port Quarter, Appledore.
In the summer, Bob and Grace Braund of New Jersey visited. A September Harvest Home visit to Braundsworthy Farm was followed by the first of many skittles evenings, this time at The Bickford Arms.
The Christmas Dinner was held at The Riversford Hotel.
1984
The 28th-29th April reunion weekend and AGM included skittles at The Gannet and lunch at The Royal Hotel, followed by a talk by Peter Christie, ‘The Good, the Bad and The Ugly Braunds’. Rosie Diggins was elected Chairman.
On Saturday 9th June, members of the society met at Stratfield Saye to celebrate the 10th Birthday of the Federation of Family History Societies. In August there was a visit to Lanhydrock House and a fancy hat competition.
The ‘Logo’ was created by R Allin Braund and commemorative plates went on sale.
Overseas visitors included Phyllis Braund, Cleo Hughes, William G Braund, Bertrand ‘Mack’ Baulch, Eleanor Casey and Paul and Janice Found.
There were 153 members, 99 UK and 54 overseas.
1985
The Spring reunion moved to the first May Bank Holiday, to give those from further afield more chance to attend. The AGM was at The Royal Hotel Bideford. The weekend included a visit to Tapeley Park and the unveiling of the Society Plaque in Bucks Mills. Dorothy White was elected Chairman and the office of President was created, with Cyril Braund becoming the first President. Ian, Paula and Jenny Braund from Australia attended. Later in the year, Paul and Betty Found visited from Canada.
R Allin Braund produced the society plaque, the bust of Captain James and the Chairman’s chain of office.
In June, the society had a stand at the Devon Family History Society Open Day in Barnstaple.
Christmas Dinner was at The Beaconside Hotel.
There were 120 members, 88 UK and 22 overseas.
1986
The Annual reunion and AGM included lunch at The Royal Hotel, Bideford. Eric Braund was elected Chairman and Dorothy White became President. Martha Few was christened at the church service at St. Anne’s. Martha was to marry there in 2008 but not at a Braund reunion! She is now the society’s social secretary.
Ian, Paula and Beau Braund visited from Australia. Grace Braund and her daughters from U.S.A attended a society outing to Exeter Maritime Museum and a tour of the gardens of Eric and Lilian Braund. This was followed by a visit to Killerton Park and a meal at The Royal Hotel. There was a church service at St. Anne’s on the Sunday.
The Christmas Dinner at The Beaconside Hotel cost £7.25 a head.
1987
The May reunion including skittles at The Joiners’ Arms, Bideford, a church service at St. Anne’s and lunch at The Royal Hotel, Bideford. Old photographs of the area were shown by Pat Slade.
The May Reunion 1987
Anne Binkley visited from America.
The society visited Castle Hill, Filleigh and went to see ‘South Pacific’ in Plymouth.
We returned to Beaconside for our Christmas Dinner.
1988
This year’s reunion saw us meet for skittles and darts at The British Legion Social Club, Appledore. There was a church service at St. Anne’s and lunch at The Royal Hotel, Bideford.
We visited Buckland Abbey in October and returned to Beaconside for Christmas Dinner.
1989
The spring reunion took place as usual. Gordon Braund from British Columbia and his daughter Elizabeth, from Vancouver, visited. The society plaque was returned to its site at The Temperance Hotel, Bucks Mills. Ivan and Robert Braund visited from America.
There was a river trip on the Oldenburg in August, a ferry trip from Totnes to Dartmouth in September and 20 members attended a Christmas Dinner at Penhaven Country House Hotel Hotel.
Braund Society pottery was launched.
1990
The May reunion including a visit to Hartland Quay Museum, lunch at The Royal Hotel, Bideford and a slide show by Chris Braund. Eric Braund became President and Cyril Braund Chairman. Paul and Betty Found visited from Canada and Tom and Judy Cain from New Jersey.
There were summer river cruises from Barnstaple and Dartmouth and a Christmas dinner at Penhaven Hotel.
1991
The reunion included lunch at The Royal Hotel, Bideford. Chris Braund became chairman. Cyril Found talked on old Bucks Mills.
Subscriptions rose to £5 for individuals within the UK and £9 overseas, an extra £2 for couple membership. These subscriptions remained unchanged for almost two decades.
Chris Braund gave his second talk on the Braund Society to the Isle of Wight Family History Society.
Braund Society barometers became available.
The Christmas Dinner at Beaconside cost £9.75 a head.
There were 80 members of the society.
1992
The annual reunion in May included a visit to Clovelly, a ploughman’s meal at Bucks Mills and lunch at The Royal Hotel with Marjorie Snetzler as the speaker. Eric Braund was elected as President. Christmas Dinner at Beaconside Hotel cost £9.95 a head.
The first South African member, Vincent Braund, was enrolled. There were 78 members, 67 UK and 11 overseas. This was our lowest membership total ever.
1993
For our May meeting this year, we had supper at Bucks Mills, lunch at The Royal Hotel and a talk from Pat Slade on The Lifeboats of Appledore. Hector and Stephen Davis Braund visited from New Zealand and Vincent Braund came from South Africa.
We returned to The Beaconside Hotel for Christmas Dinner.
1994
The Society was represented at The Federation of Family History Societies’ Annual General Meeting and Conference hosted by North Middlesex Family History Society.
The annual reunion included supper at The Old Mill and lunch at The Beaconside Hotel, followed by a talk on Lundy Island Ships by Pat Slade.
Chris and Len Braund represented the society at the Family History Fair at Lostwithiel, Cornwall.
Christmas lunch was at the Beaconside Hotel, followed by a visit to Bucks Mills in the evening.
Michael Braund and his three children visited from Australia.
1995
During the May reunion, we had a trip to Clovelly, lunch at The Beaconside Hotel and a talk from Chris Braund and Janet Few explaining who is related to who. The idea of numbered branches, to make organising the family history easier, was born.
A Race Apart, Len Braund’s history of the family, was published at £4.50 a copy.
Our printing costs were halved as the journal was taken to Biltmores on the Isle of Wight for production. In September 1995 Janet Few took over as editor and the journal doubled in size from two A4 inserts to four.
Chris and Janet represented the society at the 21st birthday celebrations of The Federation of Family History Societies at The House of Lords.
Dr Robert Braund visited from America.
Christmas lunch was held at The Beaconside Hotel.
Pin badges and sweatshirts went on sale.
Cyril John Braund, founder of the society, died.
1996
The annual reunion included a family outing to The Big Sheep and lunch at the Beaconside Hotel. A new constitution was adopted. Keith Braund was elected President.
Contents pages appeared in the journal for the first time. In September, the ‘Blue Pages’ list of members and services was included in the journal for the first time.
The project to make a central collection of family photographs was launched.
1997
In May we went on a nature trail at The Beaconside Hotel, had supper at The Old Mill, Bucks Mills and Sunday lunch at The Beaconside Hotel.
We mounted a display at the Family History Fair, Princess Pavilion, Falmouth, Cornwall. We attended the first South West Area Group (SWAG) Family History Fair at Weston Super Mare.
There was a social gathering at The Welcombe Cross café in August, to meet Elaine, Bruce and Catherine Found and Judy Williston who were visiting from U.S.A. and Canada.
The September journal contained the first edition of Twiglets.
The journal now has a regular 20 inside pages. We have a stand at Devon Heritage Week in Barnstaple Library. Christmas Dinner was at The Beaconside Hotel.
1998
In February over 80 people attend the church service at St. Anne’s, Bucks Mills to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the death of Captain James Braund.
Alan Braund (AJB) produced the first official Braund video. The annual reunion included an outing to The Milky Way and lunch at Fosfelle, Hartland.
Elaine Found and Judy Williston visited from the U.S.A. and John and Chris Parry from Australia. We returned to Fosfelle for Christmas lunch.
1999
The journal was commended in the Elizabeth Simpson Award for the best family history society journal, a competition run by the The Federation of Family History Societies.
The annual reunion included a coach trip to Braundsworthy Farm and churches of Braund interest, a visit to The Milky Way, Skittles at The Pig on the Hill and lunch at Tantons Hotel, Bideford. There was an unveiling of the tapestry by Marina Gale, designed by Dawn Owen.
The Braund Tapestry
We had a stand at SWAG Family History Fair at Weston Super Mare.
In July, there was a visit to the gardens of Eric and Lillian Braund at Wimple, Exeter.
The Braund Rootsweb mailing list went live with 27 members. The society got e-mail access and the family trees were computerised. We joined Genfair making it possible to pay for subscriptions and sale items by credit card.
We received publicity in the magazine of the The Guild of One Name Studies, Family Tree Magazine and on Radio Devon.
Don and Janet Braund visited from Pennsylvania.
The first of the society postcards painted by Elaine Found (King’s Cottage) went on sale.
The Braunds of the Millennium project was launched.
The Christmas lunch was held at The Royal North Devon Golf Club, Westward Ho!
2000
The 1st Australasian Reunion was held in Armidale, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the death of Frederick Braund.
Our 18th Birthday celebrations were held in April. This was our first extended reunion. Over 100 attended, including 19 from overseas; 9 branches of the family were represented. An exhibition was mounted at Bucks Village Hall. Coach trips were organised, touring places of interest to the Braund family in both Devon and Cornwall. Sheila Ellis gave a guided tour of Clovelly. Janet and Chris give talks on the Braund family. Lunch was at Clovelly Village Hall.
We were awarded 3rd place in the best journal competition run by The Guild of One Name Studies. The journal now had 28 inside pages on a regular basis.
For Christmas lunch we went to Tantons Hotel, Bideford.
The ‘Braunds of the Millennium’ Folder was completed.
There were now 196 membership addresses.
2001
The annual reunion including a visit to Torrington 1646, skittles at The Pig on the Hill and lunch at Clovelly Village Hall. Chris and Janet appeared on the TV programme ‘From the Snug’, featuring Bucks Mills.
We had our usual stand at SWAG Family History Fair at Weston Super Mare.
We were awarded 3rd place in the best journal competition run by The Guild of One Name Studies.
Janet Few won 3rd place in The Institute of Heraldic and Genealogical Studies’ family history competition for her Braund family history.
The first official, society funded, publication to be written by us was launched:- The King of Bucks.
Journal binders were made available.
Christmas lunch was at The Royal North Devon Golf Club, Westward Ho!
We had 214 membership addresses.
2002
During the May reunion, we went on a guided tour round Bideford, had a putting competition and a buffet at The Royal North Devon Golf Club, Westward Ho!, then met for lunch at Clovelly Village Hall.
Roots of the Tree was published.
The 2nd Australasian Reunion was held in Sydney.
Twiglets editor, Martha Few, won joint first place in the Young Genealogist of the Year competition.
The Christmas lunch at The Royal North Devon Golf Club, Westward Ho! cost £10 a head.
2003
We had a stand at The Federation of Family History Societies’ conference in Exeter.
A week long reunion for our 21st Birthday Celebrations was held in May. Thirty members had an unbroken continuous membership for all twenty one years. 118 members attended the reunion including 30 from overseas. 7 countries and 4 continents were represented. The Bucks Mills Victorian Pageant took place. The display at Bucks Mills was opened by Historian Len Braund. Talks were given by Janet, Chris and Michael. Lucinda and Rebecca were christened at the church service. There was a coach trip to Braund churches and Braundsworthy Farm.
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Who lives in Cottages Like These? was published. New pin badges were launched.
We had a stand at the SWAG Family History Fair at Weston Super Mare.
We were awarded 1st place in the best journal of 2002 competition run by The Guild of One Name Studies.
We returned to The Royal North Devon Golf Club, Westward Ho! for our Christmas lunch.
2004
Janet and Chris represented the society at The Guild of One Name Studies
Conference.
The May gathering included a walk round Bideford and lunch at Merry
Harriers.
Society Historian, Len Braund, died.
Christmas lunch was at Merry Harriers.
2005
Lucinda Wright took over as Twiglets editor.
The 3rd Australasian reunion was held in Adelaide.
The Australian Reunion in Adelaide 2005
We walked round Appledore in May, had lunch at Merry Harriers and went for a walk round Bucks Mills.
We again had a stand at SWAG Family History Fair at Weston Super Mare.
A Braund website was launched.
The journal was awarded 1st place in the best journal competition run by The Guild of One Name Studies and commended for content in the Elizabeth Simpson Award, run by The Federation of Family History Societies.
Chris Braund being Presented with a Guild of One Name Studies Award
for the Best Journal
Publican, Purser, Printer and Poet was published.
Christmas lunch was at Merry Harriers.
2006
The Society had a stall at the ‘Who Do You Think You Are?’ Fair in Winchester, eleven members attended.
During the May reunion we concluded our walk round Appledore from last year and had lunch at Merry Harriers.
Christmas lunch was also at Merry Harriers.
2007
The journal was printed by ‘Parchment’ for the first time and the 100th edition was published.
Chris and Janet represented the society at The Guild of One Name Studies conference in Basingstoke.
Was the Grass Greener?, the joint compilation of biographies of emigrant Braunds, was published.
During a week in May, over 100 people, from 5 countries and 9 Braund branches, attended the 25th Anniversary Reunion. This included an exhibition at Merry Harriers, the unveiling of the Braund Society quilt, with squares from members all over the world and a rerun of the Victorian Living History Experience in Bucks Mills. Trips to Clovelly, Hartland, Braundsworthy Farm and churches of Braund interest, as well as the church service at St. Anne’s took place.
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The Braunds' Victorian Living History Experience in Bucks Mills
Overseas visitors included Syd and Pam Birrell from Canada, Bill and Sandie Braund Nicholls from Michigan and Hector and Marg Davis from New Zealand.
The first Braund DNA results (those of Chris Braund) were received. This is not a society project but we are coordinating the results.
We joined the social networking site Facebook.
Christmas Dinner was at Merry Harriers.
We had 227 membership addresses, our highest ever total.
2008
We had a stand at North Devon Discovery Day at the Milky Way and at The Devon and Cornwall Family History Fair in Plymouth.
We ran a week of outings in the runup to The Guild of One Name Studies Conference. We become the first One Name Society to host a Guild of One-Name Studies Conference at Durrant House Hotel, Bideford. 153 attened, the highest number ever for a Guild conference. Speakers included Michael Braund from Canberra, Janet Few and Chris Braund.
Forty seven members took part in the reunion weekend, which included food at The Crealock Arms, skittles at the Pig on the Hill, a visit to Barnstaple and Sunday lunch at Merry Harriers.
The Society had a stand at Devon Family History Society’s Summer Special.
Thirty three members attended Christmas Lunch at Merry Harriers.
2009
Subscriptions rose for the first time since 1991. UK single membership was £6 and £7.50 for couples, overseas £11 and £12.
Sixty one members took part in our May reunion, the highest total ever for a weekend reunion. Attendees included Hector Davis Braund and Hilary Jannick from New Zealand, Wilf Braund aged 94 and Grace Braund aged 89. We ate at Yeory Farm and the Crealock Arms. On Saturday there was a tour of Torrington with Torrington 1646. Sunday was the AGM, church service and lunch at Merry Harriers. In the evening we viewed Braund memorabilia. Monday was Bucks Mills Local History Day, run by the society, including talks, a display and a guided walk.
The DVD produced by Alan J Braund to celebrate our 21st birthday won first prize in the ‘multi-media’ section of The Guild of One Name Studies publications competition.
Australian Braunds gathered in Brisbane.
Chris Braund, Dave Braund, Gloria Braund and Janet Few represented the society at The South West Area Group Family History Fair at Weston Super Mare.
The Braund Family History Facebook Group had over 100 members.
A reunion in Auckland, New Zealand was held.
The Virtual Braund Museum was established, with pictures of Braund artefacts, some of which are owned by the society and some of which are in private hands.
Christmas Lunch was at Merry Harriers.
2010
Founder member and member of the first society committee, Wilfred Braund, died aged 95.
Janet Few, Chris Braund and Rob Barnard manned a display in Bucks Mills for the National Trust.
The May Reunion included a guided tour of Bucks Mills, a talk about and visit to Clovelly, incorporating a memorial service for Wilfred Braund. We held our usual service at St. Anne’s and ate at Merry Harriers. We also had a heritage walk round Bideford.
Chris Braund gave talks on the family and society at venues in Devon, Dorset and Somerset.
After several false starts, we established a satisfactory website, thanks to Matt Jesson.
‘Twiglets’, the junior section of our journal, migrated to the website.
2011
We held a street party at St. Anne’s to celebrate the Royal Wedding. There was a display and talks in Buckland Brewer, followed by skittles at The Coach and Horses. The church service at St. Anne’s preceded lunch at Merry Harriers. We then attended Padstow ‘Obby ‘Oss day. Judy Williston, Marti Lynes and Patsy Kemner joined us from USA.
Janet Few and Chris Braund represented the society at The South West Area Group Family History Fair at Weston Super Mare.
The South West Area Group Family History Fair at Weston Super Mare
Thirty five attended the 5th Australasian reunion in Echucha, Victoria, organised by Brian and Pam Hall and Dorothy and Roy Honeychurch. Attendees came from New Zealand, UK and 6 Australian states.
Captain James Braund began his worldwide travels.
We now had 11 DNA test results.
Branch 24 of the Braund family was created.
Thirty one of us met for Christmas lunch at The Farmers’ Arms, Woolfardisworthy. The cost was £16.
2012
We started a Twitter account @BraundSociety.
Alan Braund’s DVD of our 21st Birthday celebrations was retrospectively given an Award of Excellence by The Guild of One Name Studies.
The Society information from the ‘Blue Pages’ was transferred to the website.
Janet and Chris gave a talk about the thirty years of the Braund Society to The Guild of One Name Studies.
For our 30th birthday celebrations, there were 101 attendees from seven countries; 27 were overseas visitors. The ages of the attendees ranged from 6 months to 92 years and 9 branches of the family were represented. The week included plenty of eating and socialising with visits to Braundsworthy Farm and East Shallowford Farm amongst other places. We sailed to Lundy and had a coach trip to Cornish areas of Braund interest. There was our traditional church service at St. Anne’s, an exhibition and a quiz. We also enjoyed a Barn Dance.
We had to raise subscriptions due to huge increases in postage costs. UK membership became £7 for an individual and £9 for a couple. Overseas rates were £18 and £20. There was the option of receiving a pdf version of the journal for the first time; subscriptions for this were £7 worldwide.
We published Before Braundsworthy about the early Braunds.
We began to keep in touch via Skype.
We compiled an album of Braund wedding photos.
Janet contributed to Ancestry.com’s blog, writing about the origins of the Braund name.
Chris addressed the conference of The Guild of One Name Studies about ‘Why be a Society in the 21st Century.
Our Christmas lunch was held at The Farmers’ Arms, Woolfardisworthy.
2013
Some journals were distributed electronically for the first time.
Some committee members participated via Skype.
Our May Reunion 3-6th May included a guided tour of Torrington, a visit to Arlington Court near Barnstaple, skittles at The Coach and Horses, Buckland Brewer, a church service at St. Anne’s Bucks Mills, lunch at Merry Harriers and a visit to Bude.
In July we had a stand at The South West Family History Societies Group Fair at the Winter Gardens, Weston Super Mare as usual.
35 people attended the very successful Australasian Reunion in Canberra.
The Christmas Dinner was held at Merry Harriers.
We had 177 membership addresses.
2014
Our Facebook Group membership exceeded 300.
In March we attended Dorset Family History Society’s Family History Fair in Poole.
The Reunion held from 2nd-5th May included a visit to Tintagel, a meal and quiz at Merry Harriers, a church service at St. Anne’s, Bucks Mills, lunch at the Half Moon at Sheepwash and a visit to Lynton and Lynmouth.
We join branched 6 and 13 together and extended branch 6 by a generation, after 37 years of searching. Branch 6 now originates in Devon, rather than Cornwall.
On 6th May Braunds were among those who met the Princess Royal, Princess Anne in Clovelly to mark the 175th anniversary of the founding of the Shipwrecked Mariners’ Association. Some Braunds were involved as VIPS because they descended from those who lost their lives in the fishing disaster of 1838.
We gathered for Christmas Dinner as usual.
We had 158 membership addresses.
2015
Our North Devon Reunion, held from 1st-4th May, included a visit to Poundstock Gildhouse, probably our best outing ever, a trip to Morwellham Quay, a church service at St. Anne’s and lunch at Merry Harriers.
The Braunds at Poundstock Gildhouse
At the same time, the Australasian Braunds were meeting at Armidale for a trip to the museum to see a display featuring George Braund, a BBQ and a variety of talks on different aspects of Braund history. The highlight of the week-end was a visit to The Armidale School on May 4th, the 100th anniversary of George’s death at Gallipoli.
We had a stand at the South West Area Group Family History Fair at The Winter Gardens, Weston Super Mare on 16 May.
Michael Braund’s book on members of the family who lost their lives in military conflicts, The Price of Conflict: Braund fatalities 1805–1946 was published.
Our first ever North American Reunion was held in Toronto, Canada 9th–12th October.
The Canadian Reunion 2015
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The Christmas Dinner was held at The Half Moon Inn, Sheepwash.
We had 156 membership addresses.
2016
The Annual reunion was held from 29th April-2nd May. We visited Cotehele House, had a buffet and quiz at The Bell Inn in Parkham. Ate at The Half Moon in Sheepwash after the church service and went to Finch’s Foundry near Okehampton.
Michael Braund’s book on members of the family who lost their lives in military conflicts, The Price of Conflict: Braund fatalities 1805–1946 won a Guild of One Name Studies Award of Excellence.
We launched a free electronic news sheet for members and non-members.
Christmas Lunch was at the Thatched Inn at Abbotsham on Saturday November 26th.
We had 150 membership addresses.
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2017
An Australian Reunion was held on Yorke Peninsula, South Australia in March. There were talks, visits, meals and the launch of a book about the Braunds of Yorke Peninsula.
Our 35th birthday reunion stretched across nine days. Forty five members from three continents, representing seven Braund branches were in attendance. We visited Hartland, Clovelly, Poundstock Gildhouse, Morwellham Quay, Braundsworthy Farm and East Shallowford Farm. We also had a boat trip from Ilfracombe. There was an exhibition of Braund memorabilia, talks on the Braund Family, a church service at St, Anne’s. We played mini golf and had a quiz.
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Part of our Display
Janet Few’s article about the Braund family was given a Guild of One Name Studies Award of Excellence.
We begin funding some DNA tests.
Chris gave a talk about the society to a joint meeting of Devon Family History Society and The Guild of One Name Studies.
Christmas Lunch was at Merry Harriers.
We had 140 membership addresses.
2018
The Reunion from 4th-8th May included a meal in Appledore, a visit to Castle Drogo, a quiz, a church service at St Anne’s and lunch at Merry Harriers.
The Society was represented at the South West Area Group Family History Fair in Swindon.
Jaci Braund visited from the USA and Judy and John Smith from Australia.
Janet Few’s novel Barefoot on the Cobbles, based on a Braund family story, was published.
We gathered for Christmas Lunch at Merry Harriers.
2019
5th– 8th April the Australasian Braunds met in Waikanae Beach, New Zealand. The reunion included a celebration for the 95th birthday of Hector Davis-Braund.
As usual, the UK reunion involved eating, quizzing and visits to RHS Rosemoor and Coldharbour Mill. Thirty nine members attended.
Diane and Hilary visited from Canada. Michael, Pam and Brian visited from Australia.
Christmas Dinner was at The Waterfront in Westward Ho!.
2020
The end of the membership year is moved to the end of January to give more time to prepare the accounts in time for the AGM.
We cancelled our in-person reunion due to COVID-19 and met via Zoom instead. This was a great opportunity for far-flung members to join in for the first time. We replicated as many of our usual reunion activities as possible, with talks on the Braund family, virtual visits to Clovelly and Bucks Mills an online church service and a quiz. We were online for 36 hours over two days, to give those in different time-zones a chance to attend.
We held informal Zoom chats for members.
The Christmas Lunch was cancelled and replaced by a virtual get-together.
2021
Our May Reunion was virtual once again. With twenty-seven hours of online talks, chats, a quiz and a church service. Thirty eight members attended from five countries, representing eight branches of the family.
Janet Few gained an award of excellence from The Guild of One Name Studies for an article on the Braund family.
We had an in-person Christmas Lunch at Country Cousins in Westward Ho!, as well as a virtual chat.
Work began on re-vamping our website.
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2022
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On 28 February, exactly forty years since the inaugural meeting, our new website was opened up for inspection.
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Altogether, 62 people attended our 40th Birthday Reunion, which took place from 29 April - 2 May in North Devon and online. We ate at The Bell in Parkham, Hartland Quay Hotel and Merry Harriers. There was an exhibition of our memorabilia at Buckland Brewer Methodist Church, with talks from local author Liz Shakespeare and Clovelly Harbour Master, Stephen Perham. More talks took place online, with contributions from Michael and Janet. We held our annual church service at St. Anne's Bucks Mills and a conducted tour of Bucks Mills was paralleled with a virtual version. We visited the Maritime Museum at Appledore and saw the new Braund exhibition there. There was plenty of time to chat, meet old friends and make new ones.
President Keith Braund opens our Exhibition
In May, Janet and Chris gave a talk about the 40 Years of the Braund Society for The Guild of One Name Studies.
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In July, fourteen members visited East Shallowford Farm.
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Our Chairman, Chris Braund, became a companion of St. Boniface for his services to St. Anne's, Bucks Mills.
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Our Christmas lunch was held at Country Cousins in Westward Ho! followed by a virtual chat.
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2023
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We are the featured study on the website of the Guild of One-Name Studies.
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The Braund Society features in Family Tree Magazine and a picture of our quilt also appeared in Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine, to accompany an article written by our Historian, Janet.
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Our Chairman, Chris Braund (branch 2) was awarded the accolade of Master Craftsman of the Guild of One-Name Studies, for his long standing service to the world of one-name studies.
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During our May reunion, we visited Arlington Court and the Burton Art Gallery. We had our usual church service at St. Anne's, followed by lunch at Merry Harriers and a walk round Bucks Mills. We also got together across the world online.
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The Australasian Reunion was held in Bargara, Queensland in May.
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The 2023 Australasian Reunion
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Our Christmas lunch was held at Country Cousins in Westward Ho! followed by a virtual chat.
The lunch had the highest attendance for several years.
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2024
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Our May reunion included a virtual talk about Lundy from Chris Braund, a walk, a skittles match, as well as trips to Rosemoor and Hartland Abbey. We held our church service in St. Anne's, including welcoming a new member into the church. He is the fifth generation of his family to belong to the society, four of those generations were present. Our Sunday lunch was at Merry Harriers and this was followed by a guided walk round Bucks Mills. Our far-flung members got together online.
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We had several visitors from Australia, including Pam and Brian, Michael and Susie and Troy and Anne.
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Some of us took a trip on PS Waverley.