Volunteer Spotlight
RootsWeb.com values each individual and organization that volunteers their time and talents to making our site one of the best on the Internet. We hope you enjoy meeting some of these outstanding volunteers whose dedication have made a difference to RootsWeb.com and other researchers.
Ben Laurie
Computer Programmer and FreeBMD Co-Founder
:Many individuals, who have no personal or financial benefit to motivate them, spend hours working for someone else. Genealogists are often helped when these individuals work to develop programs that make genealogical research easier. Although we may never know where this drive comes from, it is because of these people that so many people are benefited.
RootsWeb.com has chosen to spotlight Ben Laurie this month. Laurie is not a genealogist, but he is a co-founder of FreeBMD (Free Births Marriages and Deaths), and has dedicated countless hours to the development and maintenance of this valuable genealogical tool.
FreeBMD is a website hosted by RootsWeb.com that provides free access to the Civil Registration index for England and Wales. In the early 1990s, Graham Hart, Camilla von Massenbach, Dave Mayall and Ben Laurie were granted permission by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) to transcribe these records. After several years of growth, the site that is entirely dependent on volunteers now contains more than 31 million records.
Laurie became involved with FreeBMD through his acquaintance with von Massenbach and Hart, and because of his technical background. Following approval by the ONS, Laurie and Hart began work on the technical details of the project. Laurie was instrumental in this development, and wrote the technical blueprints for the website and related programs. It was also through his acquaintance with RootsWeb founder, Brian Leverich, that FreeBMD became affiliated with RootsWeb.
With the continuing growth of the website, additional volunteers are now helping with site maintenance and development. Laurie now acts as the FreeBMD technical lead, and sets the direction of the site development as well as oversees the programming.
Laurie is a prominent member of the technological community. He has made his living as a computer programmer since 1978 and is a key player in the development and distribution of free software. He was instrumental in the development of the commonly used Apache server software and has designed several other open source programs. He is a member of the core Apache group and sits on the board of directors, and is the joint-author of “Apache: The Definite Guide.” Based in London, England, Laurie currently acts as a freelance consultant and technical director for various organizations. For more information on his various projects, please visit his website.
On behalf of the genealogical community, we thank you for your contribution.