Found in the Solway

[steveg6638]

Annie -

I checked William Whiteman, as although it was 1919, William Walker was discovered towards the end of 1918. Unfortunately William Whiteman and the William John Walker (19) were separate individuals.

Thanks for the map. Unfortunately the reports don't say where in the Solway he was found, so it's hard to say which area the death could have been registered.

Pete -

Thanks. Unfortunately, I'm a long distance from Annan (Bedfordshire in England) so only have access to on-line records. At some point I'll have to visit the area.

Steve

[Elwyn Soutter]

I'm hoping to find more details, for example would there be reports of a coroners inquest anywhere, and to work out why I can't find a registration of the death.

Scotland doesn’t have Coroners or inquests. With most deaths that require further explanation, the police submit a report to the Procurator Fiscal. The Fiscal then decides whether there’s a criminal aspect and whether a death certificate can be issued.

See:

https://www.glasgowlmc.co.uk/advice-guidance/procurator-fiscal/

A Sheriff can conduct a Fatal Accident Enquiry but that’s fairly rare and unusual for a death by drowning. It’s more appropriate for accidents involving negligence etc.

There should be a death certificate for this death but it might not have been issued until some time after the body was discovered.

[steveg6638]

Thanks for the information Elwyn.

Do you know whether there are publicly available records for the Procurator Fiscal ?

I've been checking 1918 and 1919 in all of my searches.

Steve

[Rosinish]

Steve,

The link I gave you to National Records of Scotland would be your best bet on finding a cert. with all the info. you have as they hold all the records for the whole of Scotland.

Annie

Added You can tell them your reason for enquiry is primarily because there is no DC available at SP.

[Elwyn Soutter]

Thanks for the information Elwyn.

Do you know whether there are publicly available records for the Procurator Fiscal ?

I've been checking 1918 and 1919 in all of my searches.

Steve

You would expect old legal papers to end up in the National Records in Edinburgh. However from this link, it doesn’t appear that they have much there from the Fiscals Offices older than 10 years.

https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/record-keeping/guidance-for-depositors/courts-and-legal-bodies/crown-office-and-procurator-fiscal-service


Why not contact the PF in Dumfries and see what they can tell you? Do they still have records from 1918/19 and if not what have they done with them?  You might need to make an FOI request to view them as they are not over 100 years old but the first thing would be to find out if they still exist.

http://www.copfs.gov.uk/in-your-community/our-offices/office-details/?id=38