Temperature and Weather Records for Morningside, Edinburgh 1930

[janwbay]

Hello there.

I wonder if someone can help me please.  I would like to find out what the temperature, conditions and weather was like on the night of 27th January 1930 in Morningside, Edinburgh.

A relative was found drowned in a burn, and I  have a theory that she may have slipped in cold, icy conditions but have so far found nothing to prove or disprove my theory.

I have googled lots of weather and temperature related queries, and so far have found nothing to help.

Does anyone have any ideas where I should look, or who I should approach please?  Any help would be much appreciated.

regards
Janice

[trystan]

Janice,

The temperature in Scotland on 27th January 1930 was between 0'C and 2'C (average 1'C)

Source: http://www.rootschat.com/links/01j3u/

So yes the conditions were at or around freezing conditions.

When we look closer on that night's temperature, it dropped below freezing (-2'C the next morning).

Source: http://www.rootschat.com/links/01j3v/

Your theory sounds very plausible and likely considering the temperatures at the time.

Even a sustained exposure of 10'C or less for a relatively short period of time (ten minutes or so if memory serves me correctly) can prove fatal.

Trystan

[Rosinish]

Hi Jan,

There's a good chance this was recorded in the newspapers i.e. a look-up request may yield more info?

Annie

[Ruskie]

It is a very good idea to check newspapers.

She may have committed suicide or there may have been foul play involved in her drowning. Someone I was researching accidentally drowned in a canal after a drinking session in a local pub ...  There could be any number of scenarios.

Was there a post mortem or an inquest?

[Forfarian]

Was there a post mortem or an inquest?

There could not have been an inquest because there is no such thing as an inquest in Scotland.

First, was there anything in the Register of Corrected Entries? If there is, there will be an oval stamp in the left-hand column of the death certificate. RCEs can be viewed on Scotland's People - you need to scroll down to the bottom of the page, below the certificates, and click on the blue link.

There might have been a Fatal Accident Inquiry, though these are mostly held into accidents at work rather than other sorts of accident. If there was, there should be a record somewhere in the National Records of Scotland www.nrscotland.gov.uk

[Ruskie]

I was not aware of that, thank you Forfarian.

[janwbay]

Thank you everyone for your help and input. It is much appreciated.  Thank you for the weather record which shows that it was freezing in Scotland.  I wonder if you can tell me if it is possible to see if it was icy, or snow had fallen in that particular area. 

I have the death record and an RCE.  Suicide was initially suspected, but asphyxia by drowning was the conclusion on the RCE.  I will attach these here.  The lady was a housekeeper in Edinburgh and lived in Dalhousie Terrace.  She was last seen alive at 11pm on the 27th January and found on the 28th January in the Braid Burn. 

We have been to the scene.  The burn runs parallel to the road along the bottom of a slight slope.  I imagine she got off a bus and then had to walk to Dalhousie.  This is pure speculation as I have no idea where she was last seen, only that it was 11pm, or where a bus would have dropped her off if she came from the centre of Edinburgh to Morningside. 

I have searched the newspapers online and have only found the death notice.  I have tried to get the record from the Procurator Fiscal but they appear to have been lost somewhere. 

Does anyone have any more ideas as to where I can search, or who else I can approach?  Any help is very much appreciated.

[Forfarian]

I have the death record and an RCE.  Suicide was initially suspected, but asphyxia by drowning was the conclusion on the RCE.

They aren't mutually exclusive, though usually the RCE will say if the court concluded it was suicide. Interested that the death certificate says 'felo de se' - was this an attempt to obfuscate, I wonder?

We have been to the scene.  The burn runs parallel to the road along the bottom of a slight slope.  I imagine she got off a bus and then had to walk to Dalhousie.  This is pure speculation as I have no idea where she was last seen, only that it was 11pm, or where a bus would have dropped her off if she came from the centre of Edinburgh to Morningside. 

That raises a whole lot of new questions!

If she did travel by tram or bus, why stay on the vehicle beyond the most convenient stop for Dalhousie Terrace, and then wander in the wrong direction away from the main road and tram/bus stop?

I think it is more likely that she walked from wherever she had been.  People walked more than they do now! I have stayed just round the corner from Dalhousie Terrace and it took me much less than an hour to walk to the city centre.

The death certificate says she was in the Braid Burn east of Braid Road. Dalhousie Terrace is west of Comiston Road, which in turn is west of Braid Road. If she was coming out from the city centre to go home there is no reason why she would be anywhere near the Braid Burn. Perhaps she was visiting someone in the Greenbank area, fell into the burn while making her way home and was swept down the burn and under the bridges to be eventually found in the Hermitage of Braid.

[Ruskie]

Does not the cause of death as "Apparently drowning" with the addition of "Felo de se" mean that this MD suspected suicide?