Are these guys any good

[Peter_NB]

Off the top of my head, knowledge, time and mobility (particularly the ability to visit record offices and other repositories). The "rest of us" vary a lot so far as these factors are concerned.

To anyone starting out in Genealogy, please note that just because it is not available online does not mean it does not exist. The record you seek may be in an archive somewhere or may have been lost, burnt or the bit you want to read has been eaten by a mouse.

[elsinore]

The National Archives has a list of independent researchers which it is happy to recommend (with the usual disclaimers, of course). Most of them are located in London and the home counties with easy access to NA. Many of them specialise in specific areas of research, allowing you to select an appropriate researcher.

https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/h...t-researchers/

I used one of these researchers, based in Kew, a few years ago to research my great-grandfather's naval history. Charges were quoted per hour of research, with an estimate of time required, which was seldom exceeded. If more time was required, the researcher sought agreement before pressing on. He made it easy for me to progress in stages, thus spreading the cost over a tolerable period.

Finally, a professional researcher will be pleased to tell you his or her qualifications, memberships and experience.

Peter