I have recently been trying to trace the burials of a number of relatives. This has not been easy, since there is no real central database. Some parish registers are still not online and those that are online are spread all over the place on different websites. Searching for civic burials means is hindered by many, if not most, records not being online. It means searching online databases and contacting lots of different bodies, including local authorities, private cemetery companies, etc. Many of the websites dedicated to finding graves and burials concentrate on headstones, rather than the actual burial. Many of my relatives were too poor to merit a headstone, often ending up in common graves with no visible reminder of their passing. The only record their burial is likely to leave is the record in the burial register, which is often not easily located. Privately run cemeteries can change a fortune for conducting searches.
Of the five major life events locating a burial is in my experience far harder than finding a baptism or a BMD record. If anyone has a good method of finding burial register records I would love to hear about it. I would really welcome a more systematic approach, as opposed to my rather hit and miss method.
My real reason for this rant, however, is the response I have received from some holders of burial registers. Most bodies that haven't put their burial registers online, by far the majority, charge for a search, which is fair enough, though in some cases extortionate. But what is really bugging me is that some claim that they cannot supply a scan of the register, as this would breach Data Protection regulations. For instance, a response from Rushmoor Council Bereavement Services states that: "Unfortunately due to Data protection we cannot scan our registers."
Now how can this be true, when we all know that suppliers such as Deceased Online willingly provide scans of such registers, albeit for a price. If you purchase a scan from Deceased Online, or indeed many other suppliers, you do not find other entries on the same page blacked out. I do not understand this inconsistency. Are burial registers in the public domain albeit for a price or are they protected under Data Protection legislation?