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My initial enquiry was about my aunr sheila's name on a headstone in Whitburn cemetery but I am no further forward as to what happened to this old headstone and why my aunt's name, Sheila Dickinson was on the headstone.      As, my aunt died in 1990 and this old headstone was replaced just after my cousin Andrew was interred prior to 1990 there was no reason for her name to be on a headstone as she was still alive.    A mystery!!!!  However, from her death certificate, I found out she died ion 18th December 1990 as a result of a vehicular collision as a pedestrian, Nearr Kinnaird and she was not buried as I thought she might have been, in Dundee.  But, in fact she was cremated on Christmas Eve 1990, in Dundee no family present and her ashes were passed from the Crematorium back to the Funeral Directors for a month but not claimed and then returned to the Crematorium and scattered in the woodland, no family present.  How sad is that.    She lived in Dundee in a high rise until her death in 1990 aged 66yrs. and the high rise flats were demolished in 1995 but I am trying to find out her start in life.   She was never adopted and never married or had children.   The Adoption Society in Edinburgh said it was common for a new baby to be looked after by a family until a placement was found in an orphanage.  But, I am struggling to find out where she grew up and why her family, 5 siblings, never sought to find her.   Orphanage records don't appear to be available for one reason or another so am unsure where I go from here.  I was told my dad HAD a sister and I was named after her.  No more.   Any help on orphanages would be appreciated, Sheila     

I have finally found the details of my Aunt Sheila's birth and death.  Her name was Sheila Dickinson. She never married.    She was born in 1924 and died in 1990 and I was told my Dad had a sister and that I was named after her.   But, nothing more.    She died in Dundee and the Dundee cemeteries have checked and there is no sign of a burial there.   They have asked me to check with the Crematorium and I am waiting for their reply.     My sister told me she saw my name on a headstone in Whitburn Cemetery and got such a shock because she was there at the funeral of our cousin in 2008 but by the time she returned to get more detail, the headstone was not there and a new headstone was erected, but without my Aunt's name on it.  It is a puzzle and I just want to know where she is rested.  I am hoping the Dundee Crematorium find something and perhaps her ashes were interred in Whitburn which would account for her name being on the old headstone, but why would her name not be on the new one?      Sheila

Hello Brian, just thinking again.    Elizabeth Dickinson, married name Wood, and m.s. Gilchrist was  born in 1917 in Errol, and died in Whitburn in 2012 but as I found out she was cremated and not interred with her husband and son and father in law.     So, if there is a Sheila Dickinson on the headstone, it is definately not Elizabeth known to me as Aunt Betty.     On the headstone was there a name Sheila Dickinson with any detail about that person?      kind regards Sheila

Hello Brian, thank you so very much for all the information you have given me and I think you are spot on with Martha and Robert.   I have since found out that James joined up and was killed in action and Elizabeth committed suicide. This freaked me out a bit but I spoke with an old friend of the family who vaguely remembers the incident.       As you probably know Kirkintilloch has the Forth & Clyde Canal running through the town and this is where she met her demise.       It was hushed up at the time and he didn't have much more to say.   This explains why my mum Agnes told me she was 14 yrs old when her Mum died following a botched abortion and she was left on her own with my Grandad with no mention of other siblings except Elizabeth who she said drowned.     I will be very interested to hear the detail on the headstone for my Aunt Sheila Dickinson and must thank you very much for taking the time to venture back to the cemetery to find out.  Regards Sheila

Hi Brian, yes, West Lothian Council did check the occupants of grave Q84, and it's Manse Road, as my cousin Andrew Wood in 2008 my uncle Robert Wood in 1991 and his brother Thomas Wood I think, in 1968.    And, no record of Sheila Dickinson being interred in the grave    Not sure if they would have a record of when an inscription of a memory would be put on the headstone.  Regards Sheila