RootsChat.Com
General => The Common Room => Topic started by: Lisajb on Thursday 22 July 21 13:41 BST (UK)
-
Back in the year 2000, my aunt's third husband was hit by a bus, and died. This was in late January 2000.
The death registration is Jul-Aug-Sep quarter which is a long time after he actually died. I suppose there may have been an inquest or investigation into the way he met his end, but would that delay registration by such a long time?
Or maybe my aunt, who did like a drink, put the wrong date on the headstone!
-
There would certainly have been an Inquest after a Road accident, that will have been the cause of the late registration.
-
Thank you. Would that have delayed burial?
I've not managed to find any burial records but could contact the church.
I was debating whether to order his death certificate, but being so recent would it be available to me,?
-
Thank you. Would that have delayed burial?
I've not managed to find any burial records but could contact the church.
I was debating whether to order his death certificate, but being so recent would it be available to me,?
Not necessarily, the body is sometimes released for burial before an inquest. The cause of death would have been known, the inquest would probably be to determine who was responsible.
-
Assuming this is England and Wales: if he appears in the probate index, that should give you the date of death.
And there's no reason why you shouldn't be able to get a copy of the death certificate, though for some more recent events the GRO site asks for extra information as part of the application (I can't remember the details).
-
The death certificate was probably issued with the coroner the informant if there was an inquest as seems likely even it it was a formality to rubber stamp a police investigation into the accident. Might be worth trying to find an inquest record, sorry don't know where to look but I'm sure someone on here will know.
-
Thank you everyone.
My aunt died in 2016 and I obtained her death without issue, so hope it will be ok.
Could anyone suggest where to look for inquest records?
-
It is my understanding that when there is no doubt about the CAUSE of death and the purpose of the inquest is to establish the CIRCUMSTANCES of the death, the coroner can issue a certificate to allow burial to proceed before the inquest is concluded.
If you are looking for a press report of the funeral it might be sensible to focus on the period shortly after the accident.
-
Could anyone suggest where to look for inquest records?
Some end up in local record offices, some don't and seem to just disappear. There's more information in the Gibson Guide to Coroners' Records (from the Family History Federation), though the modern records it mentions are all noted as being usually subject to a 75-year closure.
If you can say where the inquest took place, I'll check my copy to see if it says anything useful.
-
Could anyone suggest where to look for inquest records?
Some end up in local record offices, some don't and seem to just disappear. There's more information in the Gibson Guide to Coroners' Records (from the Family History Federation), though the modern records it mentions are all noted as being usually subject to a 75-year closure.
If you can say where the inquest took place, I'll check my copy to see if it says anything useful.
He died in a Bristol hospital, after the accident, and lived in South Gloucestershire. Would it be Bristol Coroners Court?
-
Inquests are held in the area where someone died, not where they lived**, and in this case the book doesn't mention anything for Bristol after 1992. Nor is there anything useful in the Bristol Archives catalogue.
In fact the place of death/residence distinction doesn't apply here, because even though the County of Avon (as created in 1974) was abolished in 1996, there is still an Avon Coroner whose area includes both Bristol and South Gloucestershire. The website is fairly informative, and at the bottom of the "Guide to coroner inquests" page there's a section on obtaining copies of reports, records etc:
https://www.avon-coroner.com/
It doesn't say whether anyone can obtain copies, or only next of kin etc - all you can do is ask, I think.
**Edited to add:
On further thought, is this always strictly true - don't coroners sometimes hold inquests for people who died abroad? But that obviously wouldn't be the case here.
-
All coronors' official reports are closed to the public for 75 years, although next of kin may apply for access.
When an inquest is held into a death, it may not be concluded for months after the date of death. The coroner is actually the person who registers the death once the inquest is over. However, in the case of road accidents similar to the one you describe, coroners can issue an interim death certificate to the family to allow the funeral to take place. I have experience of two such cases: one, a death in December one year, funeral about a week after the death, but registration did not take place until September the following year; the other, a death in February, funeral two weeks later, inquest in May and death registered after that.
Nell