The People Behind SNSBI
Get to know the officers who contribute their time and expertise to running the Society and supporting its members.
Current Officers
The following are the office-holders from May 2025.
| Role | Name | |
|---|---|---|
| President | Jennifer Scherrer | president@snsbi.org.uk |
| Vice-president | Angus Finnegan | vp1@snsbi.org.uk |
| Vice-president | Diana Whaley | vp2@snsbi.org.uk |
| Joint secretary | Katie Hambrook | secretary@snsbi.org.uk |
| Joint secretary | Kathryn Bullen | secretary@snsbi.org.uk |
| Treasurer | Julia Stanbridge | treasurer@snsbi.org.uk |
| Webmaster | Keith Briggs | webmaster@snsbi.org.uk |
| Journal editor | Hildegard L.C. Tristram | editor@snsbi.org.uk |
| Newsletter editor | Jane H. Macdonald | newsletter@snsbi.org.uk |
| Publicity officer | Kathryn Bullen | publicity@snsbi.org.uk |
Ordinary members of the committee
| Name | Notes |
|---|---|
| Dr James Chetwood | |
| Dr Sofia Evemalm Graham | |
| Ms Kathryn Hardy | |
| Mr Ben Marshall | |
| Dr Thomas Pickles | |
| Dr Justin Ó Gliasáin | |
| Rhian Parry | |
| Dr Peder Gammeltoft | Co-opted for 2025 |
Officer photos and biographies
Jennifer Scherr
My curiosity about names may well have begun with my Russian-Jewish surname. My father’s own general interest in names was inspired by Percy Reaney, who taught at his school in Walthamstow. I was partly attracted to study English at Nottingham University by Ken Cameron’s second-year year option on English place-names, for which I worked on Croydon field-names. I have been a member of EPNS since leaving Nottingham, and, more recently, a council member. At an early EPNS AGM I was introduced to the spring conferences of the former Council for Name Studies (CNS) by Alex Rumble. Later, John Field encouraged me to attend and contribute to the meetings of ICOS. John also proposed me as CNS secretary to replace Ian Fraser. When CNS evolved into SNSBI, I carried on in the same role for 20-odd years. Encouraged by Richard Coates and many others, I am researching for a popular dictionary of Somerset. I have written about the element bretesche (brattice, a parapet or gallery of wood), and about the names of wells in Somerset. I contributed some editorial checking to the original Family Names of the UK database, the basis of the Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in the British Isles. I have published, jointly with Gwyneth Nair, on aspects of English female names. I am also interested in names in Gibraltar, having lived there for 5 years.
Keith Briggs
I have been interested in historical linguistics and onomastics from an early age, having been inspired by my grandfather and mother. Nowadays I work mainly on Suffolk place-names, and some aspects of Suffolk local history and dialect. I have published A dictionary of Suffolk place-names, and An index to personal names in English place-names (now available as a free download). I am completing a four-volume survey of the the place-names of Suffolk. Most of my papers on these topics are in the Journal of the English Place-name Society, Notes & Queries, and the Proceedings of the Suffolk Institute for Archaeology & History. I recently re-researched the ancestry of Geoffrey Chaucer, using original 13th-century documents in the Suffolk Archives, and on that basis published a revision of the traditionally accepted ancestry. I also like working on the histories of specific commonplace words, when these can be illuminated by onomastic data. Examples are girl, road, and beach. I also have a special interest in the history of four-letter words, such as this, this, and this. I am also webmaster for the Suffolk Institute for Archaeology & History. In my spare time, I work as a research mathematician in the telecommunications industry.
Kathryn Bullen
My fascination with place-names began during my Masters in English Studies (2016-2018) at the University of Nottingham. Subsequently, I began a PhD in place-names, focussing on the Isle of Axholme in Lincolnshire (2018-2024). As part of my PhD placement with North Lincolnshire Museum (2021-2022) I created a complementary website about Axholme place-names. Currently, I work as a Researcher/Project Manager focusing on place-names, heritage, and community engagement. In my spare time, I am a member of Regia Anglorum, a living history reenactment society which recreates early medieval history.
James Chetwood
I’ve been interested in language and history for as long as I can remember, and there aren’t many better things than names for exploring both at the same time. I mainly focus on personal names in medieval England and Britain, but am interested in names of all kinds from any period. My PhD examined the transformation of the personal naming system in England between c.800 and c.1300. I currently work at the University of Sheffield as a Lecturer in History and Digital Humanities.
Julia Stanbridge
am a qualified accountant with an MA(hons) in linguistics from Auckland University, New Zealand. Since arriving in the UK in the 1990s I have developed an interest in the landscape, archaeology, and place-names of the British Isles. I currently work full-time as an accountant and act as treasurer for three other charities.
Diana Whaley
Names have intrigued me since childhood: pestering my mother for funny names when she came home from work as a medical records officer (Thistle Never-No-More Goldsmith was my favourite), and observing the street-names in my native York (Skeldergate, Whipmawhopmagate, The Shambles …). In my teens I became fascinated by early English texts and Icelandic sagas, and chose a degree (and then an academic job at Newcastle University) that would take me in those directions. My doctoral research focussed on Old Icelandic skaldic poetry, and I’m still very involved in editing in that field, but place-names have come increasingly to the fore, and many of my more recent publications have been on the names of the Lake District and Northumberland. I particularly love the way that landscape, human history and language converge in place-names and their study. Since attending my first SNSBI conference, in Cork in 1983, I have learnt so much from fellow members, enjoyed their company and been honoured to be involved in the running of the society..
Katie Hambrook.
Bio coming soon.
Harry Parkin
Bio coming soon.
Aengus Finnegan
Bio coming soon.