Skull clan's fact-finding meeting

Members pooled research and helped to fill in the blanks

People with the family name Skull or Scull who have been researching their origins have met in Wiltshire.

More than 70 clan members attended the gathering in Lyneham at the weekend, to pool their data and help solve some of the puzzles in the lineage.

People from Hampshire, Gloucestershire and Derbyshire and two brothers from Australia attended the event.

Organiser Sid Skull, from Bradenstoke in Wiltshire, said the meeting had helped to unravel more mysteries.

Friendly bickering

"It went very well. There were exhibitions of pictures for people to look at, they can chat with each other and I think everyone enjoys it," he said.

"I'm still finding out more and more people who have the Skull/Scull name in their family history - there are hundreds of us and they're all round the world."

"Rodney and Neil Pyke from Australia have supported this event ever since it started in 1993 and we're pleased they were able to be with us again today."

He said the surname seems to have originated in the Brecon area and spread over the centuries into Bristol, the villages of Dauntsey and Edington in Wiltshire, Bitton in Gloucestershire and Ashmansworth in Hampshire.

About 200 families are involved in the research of the family tree and there is said to be some friendly bickering about the correct spelling of the name.