Volunteering Overview

People tend to regard headstones as permanent but that is simply not so. They fall victim to many perils including:

  • subsidence
  • falling and breaking
  • vandalism
  • fires and floods
  • corrosion, flaking and erosion
  • rising salt or damp
  • termites
Old Headstones Broken Headstones

Image courtesy of www.freeimageslive.co.uk/

Imagine finally tracking down your ancestor's grave, only to find nothing at all to mark the spot? Already, a significant number of the headstones pictured on this quite young website have disappeared.

Cemeteries contain valuable historical records and it is important that our history be preserved. Modern technology allows us to store images and details of inscriptions for posterity that may remain long after the originals have been lost.

Volunteer

Have you ever considered photographing and/or transcribing a cemetery? If so you would be providing valuable assistance with this important endeavour. Regard it as "paying it forward".

You can help us immediately, or you can start work on a cemetery of your own.

Start with a small cemetery or church graveyard, or a small section of a large cemetery. As you become more experienced you may choose to tackle a larger project.

Please note that any photography should be comprehensive. We cannot accept photographs of random headstones, as we do not have the resources to process them.

Before you begin, check here or contact us to ensure that nobody is already working on the chosen cemetery.