I am an experienced family history researcher and teacher. I see cemeteries as a treasure trove for family and local historians, and I want to help ensure that the information on grave markers is recorded before it is lost.

I believe we all use Find a Grave to honour the memory of those who have died. Everything I do on the site is done respectfully and to support researchers and family historians. If you think I have made a mistake, please tell me—I would always rather correct errors. You are welcome to use any photographs I upload. This is a collaborative project, and I am glad to help; I would simply appreciate knowing how the photos are being used.

I am particularly interested in Foster Hill Road Cemetery in Bedford, which was the town's main burial place for over 100 years. Many families there are connected by marriage, forming a remarkable web of relationships.

The cemetery contains around 100,000 burials and cremations. My hope is that every one of them will eventually be on Find a Grave.

For the last five years, I have been mapping the cemetery. I have drawn detailed plans showing who is buried in every grave. With a small team of enthusiasts, I have been checking each plot in the cemetery, recording which graves have stones and the names on them. The mapping and first full audit are complete, and we are now revisiting some of the earliest sections to check, update and improve our initial recordings.

I am also adding burials chronologically, including those with no stone, so they are not forgotten. Foster Hill Road burials are now complete on Find a Grave from the opening of the cemetery on 5 June 1855 to 16 November 1904, covering over 15,910 burials and the first 49 years are complete.

I have also added the burials of people who died in the Bedford Workhouse from 1855 to the end of 1924. Most have no stones and little recognition, so we are adding biographical details from workhouse and related records where possible.

They can be found here (1179 individuals):

https://www.findagrave.com/virtual-cemetery/1708169

Some of their most interesting stories are here:

https://www.findagrave.com/virtual-cemetery/1749449

There is also a virtual cemetery for the 112 members of the Panacea Society buried in Bedford:

https://www.findagrave.com/virtual-cemetery/1558614

Most are at Foster Hill Road, but a few more recent burials are at Norse Road Cemetery and Crematorium.