The possibility of starting a Local History Society was the idea of Robin Marsh and a small paragraph appeared early in 1990 in the Parish Magazine asking if anyone would be interested in joining him. The Item was seen by Ken Whitcombe who thought it sounded interesting and so met up with Robin to discuss the idea. Between them they decided to go ahead.

Then began the long process of actually forming a society, firstly a committee, what to call it, what should be its aims, should it have a President, not to mention all the practical details and the arrangements for registering with the Charity Commissioners. A great deal of help was given by Roger Packham and Ken Clew, both local historians with a great deal of knowledge and experience in setting up a new society.

At last in June 1990 the first committee meeting was held with Robin Marsh in the Chair, Ken Whitcome as secretary, Eileen Whitcombe being persuaded to act as Treasurer to be the officers and Roger Packham and Mr and Mrs Sutton as committee members with Lady Macrory agreeing to be President. The Committee then got down to arranging the details of subscriptions, speakers, outings, newsletters and so on.

Finally in November 1990 the first public meeting was held at St. Peter’s Church Hall attended by about 40 members with Roger Packham showing views of old Walton. Everyone expressed keen interest and it seemed that the society was going to be a success. By January 1991 there were 69 members paying an annual subscription of £5.00 for joint members and £3.00 for individual members. It was now evident that a larger venue was required for the first AGM and so began the association with the Riddell Hall. This first AGM in April 1991 was a cold and snowy evening, would anyone come? Yes they did, together with many people wishing to join, and all enjoyed Ken Clew talking on Aspects of Walton.

After this membership snowballed, soon reaching the 300 mark with members enjoying the newsletters, talks and outings made as diverse as possible. Some memorable occasions have been the Roman Evening and the V.E. Party.

The committee has changed over the years, and now includes members representing Headley, Kingswood and Tadworth to bring additional expertise. On the death of Lady Macrory Mr Philip Truett was invited to join us as President. The ill healthand subsequent death of our Founder and Chairman Robin Marsh caused problems for the society in 1994, and a major reorganisation of the committee membership resulted in Sheila Webb taking on the role of Chairman, with a new strong and active committee to support her. The ill health and recent death of Sheila Webb has meant that Tim Richardson has taken on the role of Chairman. Our President Philip Truett is due to retire at the 2019 AGM and we are pleased that Tim Taylor has agreed to take on the role of President.