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Author Topic: CAIRNS: Coroner's reports in Dunoon?  (Read 840 times)
manui
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CAIRNS: Coroner's reports in Dunoon?
« on: Sunday 07 August 05 12:40 UTC (UK) »
Joseph Alexander Cairns, aged 16, was found drowned in the River Finnart near Ardentinny in October 1913. The death registry entry says that the coroner's report is to be found on the page for November 26th of that year.

I'd like to know the circumstances of poor Joseph's demise. Where does one go to access old coroner's records, please? When we visited Ardentinny in summertime, the River Finnart looked very innocuous but, given the geography of the area, I suppose it is probably prone to flash floods.

If the coroner's report isn't easy to access, what local newspaper might have had a report of the tragedy?

Manui
« Last Edit: Sunday 07 August 05 12:49 UTC (UK) by Berlin-Bob » Logged
ibi
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Posts: 362
Re: CAIRNS: Coroner's reports in Dunoon?
« Reply #1 on: Sunday 07 August 05 13:05 UTC (UK) »
Manui

What you are seeing on the death register entry is a reference to the Register of Corrected Entries, where there will be the result of the examination of the situation by the Procurator Fiscal.  It is unlikely to do more than confirm the time, place and cause of death. You can obtain a copy from GROS in Edinburgh.

There never have been coroners in Scotland!

The following information is extracted from Retour, the Newsletter of the Scottish Records Association

The Scottish equivalents of coroners' inquests are fatal accident inquiries (FAIs). Since 1895 FAIs have been held into fatal accidents in the workplace and cases of sudden death where public interest was involved, but not into deaths by suicide.

The original Fatal Accidents Inquiry (Scotland) Act 1895 provided for public inquiries by sheriff and jury, upon petition by the procurator fiscal, into fatal accidents occurring in industrial employment or occupations.

This was amended in 1906 to include provisions for inquiries into any case of sudden or suspicious death in which it appeared to the Lord Advocate that an inquiry should be held. Joseph's death may have been subject to an inquiry, but equally, if the investigating procurator fiscal was satisfied that there were no suspicious circumstances, the matter would not have been taken further.

FAI records are held in the National Archives of Scotland (NAS). They often consist only of the verdict reached, and for some years are wanting altogether.  Information as to what sheriff court FAI records survive can be found on the NAS online public catalogue at www.nas.gov.uk .

The best source for determining what newspapers existed is Joan P S Ferguson's book, - Directory of Scottish Newspapers (1984), - widely available in reference libraries in Scotland. Her work has been updated NEWSPLAN: Report of the Newsplan Project in Scotland, published by the British Library in 1994. Both of these publications list the newspapers which were published in each town and county at that time, and which libraries have copies on paper or microfilm.   

You could also try making contact with Argyll & Bute's Library Service at http://www.argyll-bute.gov.uk/content/leisure/libraries/localcollection?s=797&a=0

ibi
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manui
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Re: CAIRNS: Coroner's reports in Dunoon?
« Reply #2 on: Sunday 07 August 05 13:37 UTC (UK) »
Thankyou ibi, that was comprehensive and very helpful.

Sad though Joseph's death was, I can't help thinking that at least he didn't have to endure WW1 trenches with a probable same end result.

Manui
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ibi
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Posts: 362
Re: CAIRNS: Coroner's reports in Dunoon?
« Reply #3 on: Sunday 07 August 05 14:20 UTC (UK) »
Manui

My pleasure !

When I come across a post like this I sometimes aim to make the reply as wide as possible so that it can be referred to by others.

Your comment is sad but apt as Scotland's casualties were particularly severe, - In WWI 27% of Scottish troops mobilised were killed, - 159,000 - compared to 12% for the whole of the UK, i.e. slightly more than 1 in 4 never came home.

(In WWII 50,000 Scots amounted to 1/3rd of the UK’s dead, and in Korea Scots made up 1 in 4 of those killed.)


ibi
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wmather
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Re: CAIRNS: Coroner's reports in Dunoon?
« Reply #4 on: Tuesday 11 April 06 20:41 UTC (UK) »

I would suggest that you try the local newspaper, the Dunoon Observer which has been in existence since the 1870s.  This is a weekly publication and has a short extract every week of an event 100 years ago.  There is every likelyhood that they will have something in their archives.

William
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manui
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Posts: 78
Re: CAIRNS: Coroner's reports in Dunoon?
« Reply #5 on: Wednesday 12 April 06 08:08 UTC (UK) »
Thanks, William. I hope to get up to the Dunoon area in August, so I will definitely try to access the local paper archives then.

Manui
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