The relative who keeps old photographs often becomes the family’s unofficial memory keeper.

Family history survives because somebody decided to hold on to things. It is rarely an appointed job. One person keeps the albums, remembers who is in them, and gradually becomes the one everybody rings to ask. That role is a genuine service and also a quiet burden, since it tends to come with a full cupboard, a pile of unlabelled prints, and no successor. Nobody thanks the archive until it is needed.

If you have such a relative, spend an afternoon writing names on the backs with them. If it is you, say plainly that you would like help, and think about who might take it on next.