Louise Cocker, a 53-year-old Lidl employee from Norfolk, has spent 24 years photographing gravestones across the county, capturing almost half a million images. Her database of 615,000 names is now considered one of the most comprehensive photographic records of memorials in England.
'I'm just passionate about it,' says Cocker, whose hobby helps people trace their ancestors. 'You can make somebody's day when you help them find their ancestor.' Her work exemplifies how private passions are driving Britain's genealogical research boom.
Mary McKee of Findmypast describes these enthusiasts as 'the hidden engine room' of the industry. The company licenses datasets from about 40 amateurs, including former insurance broker Cliff Webb, who compiled indexes of apprentices and court cases, and retired academic Mark Peel, who recorded civilian casualties of World War II.
Webb, now focused on Elizabethan wills, says: 'I think wills are the closest we can get to how ordinary people felt. It's real humanity.' Peel adds: 'People did amazing things to make sure others weren't forgotten.'
